I’ve recently turned a corner on the view of using a spoon to spank my child. While I didn’t really follow the argument that your hand is for loving not discipline, that is one perspective. But more what gets me thinking is the process that goes with a spanking when you use a spoon instead of your hand. If I am able to impusively use my hand, I can tell there is more emotion to the act. But when I have to get the spoon (or if you can train your child to get it for you all the better!) and “set up” the spanking, it’s almost like counting to ten. It allows me to think about the process and why I am doing it, instead of just feeling frustrated that my kid disobeyed. I’ve also  noticed that when I spank my daughter with my hand, there is no reaction from her because I am not able to hit her hard enough (mentally more than physically). I’m not totally convinced yet, but it’s something to think about.

1. Armageddon. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. It’s got love, action, drama and comedy. It’s my favorite movie.

2. A Walk to Remember. This movie with morals is heart-warming and heart-felt, and it makes me cry every time. Mandy Moore and Shane West give outstanding performances.

3. Miracle. My all-time favorite sports movie; very inspirational. You can’t help but want to jump out off your couch and cheer for USA (even though we all already know the outcome)!

4. Clueless. A story full of teenage angst, so totally 90s you just gotta love it.

4b. The Wedding Singer. I almost forgot this one! I love cheese and this 80s parody is full of it. The story is sappy but sweet, and the music is oh-so fun.

5. Facing the Giants. I really felt the emotions of the characters in this movie, even though the acting is not great. These are people we can relate to, and the Christian message woven throughout is awesome.

6. Troy/Gladiator. I’m a sucker for good ol’ Hollywood epics with great action and drama. What’s not to love?

7. Back to the Future. Time travel, Michael J. Fox, wacky scientist and a DeLorean? This one’s easy!

8. Beaches. Sorry, folks, but this one has to be on the list. I cry every time I see this movie. Not that crying is a telltale sign of a great flick, but the story of friendship is so deep and real, you can’t help but appreciate it.

9. Remember the Titans/We are Marshall. Great, emotional sports dramas. Titans just makes you feel good. Marshall is a sad but inspiring portrayal of a true story, plus extra points for Matthew Fox.

10. Tommy Boy. Just plain funny. David Spade and Chris Farley are a hee-larious duo.

11. Sweet Home Alabama. A sweet romantic comedy.

12. Legally Blonde. A fun chick flick; great for a some laughs. I guess I like Reese Witherspoon.

13. Indpendence Day/Enemy of the State. I pretty much like any of Will Smith’s blockbusters. There’s always a lot of action, drama and humor.

Honorary mention: School of Rock. I’m a closet fan of Jack Black and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Part of what is feeding my anger lately is a focus on the negative rather than the positive. So, my assignment this week in counseling is to write a thankful list. I keep putting it off, however, because I have a bad attitude about even that. We have a house and food and clothes … yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. I know what I am supposed to feel, I just can’t seem to feel it.

But I was inspired yesterday. I was looking through some old photos of the house, looking for good outside shots of the front, back and sides for an architect Matt is meeting with tonight for our possible addition/remodel.

Wow! Have we come a long way. I can’t believe our house used to look so sad and dirty and, well, ugly. So, I was humbled in that moment and felt the presence of God’s blessing in our life. Thank you, God, for our house, a place we can call home and that has received a lot of TLC with our personal touch over the past 5 years (actually, I just realized that mid-March will mark our 5th year in the house!).

Now, on to the rest of my list:
2. Two beautiful, healthy, happy children (and they are pretty darn good kids, too).
3. A husband who loves me and his family.
4. My husband’s job that allows me to stay at home with the kids.
5. A career in writing/editing that has enabled me to work even just a little bit from home, and the opportunity to do so recently through my old employer.
6. Family, without a lot of the drama that comes with a lot of families today.
7. Friends. Friends who host monthly game nights and girls’ nights and guys’ nights and have us over for dinner and get together with me and the kids during the day …
8. Two cars, both having been reliable and especially the family car, the one I drive most, which is warm and comfortable and, so far, everything still works.
9. Our Bible study group, which prays for us and helps us to grow spiritually.
10. A faith in God and the freedom to express it, even if it gets less popular in today’s society, and a network to support an encourage me in that faith.

As host of this week’s Fun Monday, Mariposa wants to know: What’s in a Name and What’s on your Plate!

What’s in a Name?
When I started blogging, I knew I wanted to write about motherhood. I had just recently had a friend, who doesn’t have any kids, tell me I was a “supermom.” My reaction was a weird mix of pride and sadness. I realized I had been successful in appearing like I had it all together but inside all I could think was “if you only knew …” So, I made a decision then to be more transparent. But I also didn’t want to write just about motherhood, because there is more to me than “mama.” It seems me and my mom friends are often talking about how motherhood seems to take over once you have kids, so by some divine intervention I can only imagine, I came up with Mom-Me: a site celebrating the “me” in “mommy.”

What’s on Your Plate?
As for my favorite dish, hmmm, not sure if I can narrow that one down. The one entree I just can’t seem to get enough of is pizza–with lots of cheese and pepperoni and a sprinkle of green pepper. I like my homemade pizza, cardboard pizza, Pizza Hut deep dish pizza (even though they won’t deliver to my house any more!), Alfredo’s thin crust pizza, Georgio’s deep dish pizza, Chicago-style pizza … you name it! Not far behind would be Mexican, tacos with nachos and cheesy enchiladas in particular. You might be noticing a “cheese” theme … that’s no mistake, because I do love cheese. 

Nothing like spring to get me excited about painting my toenails a bright new hot pink! The flirty and playful feel of this season’s nail polishes are pretty, yet seductive, and definitely will get you in the mood for spring.

New colors feature a subtle play of romantic neutrals and pastels with a pop of color to complement the season’s fashion palette—filled with bold graphic prints and romantic patterns. Among current color trends for spring are muted pastels in shades of pink, lavender, gray and white, with brighter, bolder colors such as fuchsia, coral, orange and red primarily for toes. My favorites? OPI Kiss to My Karma deep red and OPI I’m Indi-a Mood for Love hot pink; Carolyn New York Pride Week, a hot pink with a touch of purple; and Essie’s Hard to Get flirty pink.

There’s also a lot of deep, dark reds and blues—which continue to be the hottest current trend. OPI’s Russian Navy nail lacquer is one such trendsetter, which has been updated with Yoga-ta Get This Blue! in the brand’s 2008 India Collection. I tried it and it’s not for me, but the color anywhere else would be be-a-utiful!

The natural look for nails (my preference for fingernails–too much maintenance otherwise!) is a continuing trend as well, so look for new sheer and natural colors that are flattering on all skin tones, in addition to reparative, nutritive products that make natural nails healthier, such as Avon’s Nail Expert and OPI’s Nail Envy. Look also for specially designed brushes for a salon look and formulations free of toluene, formaldehyde and DBP as companies improve the quality and application of their polish. Read more in the March issue of GCI magazine.

Linda Chavez was right on in her article today about patriotism (refering to Ms Obama’s comments earlier this week): http://www.townhall.com/columnists/LindaChavez/2008/02/22/liberal_patriotism

But most Americans already think their country is great — no matter who occupies the White House. Patriotism isn’t about loving your country when your party is in power. It isn’t about liking its political leaders or even agreeing with all the nation’s policies.  …

Patriotism is a lot like the unconditional love of a parent for a child. A parent doesn’t demand a child be perfect in order to love him. Nor does that love mean that a parent does not recognize a child’s faults. …

Our elected officials don’t make America great, nor do temporal policies. America is great because of its people, its defining institutions and its freedoms. You would think a woman hoping to be the country’s next first lady could take pride in that.

I really wanted a little kitchen for my darling kids, who both love to play with their plastic food, grocery cart and mini pots and pans. But, we just don’t have the space and even the little ones are pretty expensive. So, when I saw this make-your-own oven in Parents magazine, I juust had to try it. I let my daughter help so it’s got a little personality, and she thinks it’s really special. We took a moderately sized cardboard box and I cut off two of the side flaps with a box cutter. I used those to cut out knobs and glued water bottle lids to it. I cut one piece of black construction paper to the “door” and lined the inside with tin foil. I printed off the computer four “hot” burners and used packing tape to adhere and protect it. Avery colored and glued random bits of cardboard on the side and, for whatever reason, took apart a pen that wasn’t working and glued some of the springs on top.

Bonus: it doubles as a robot!

I think too much about what other people think. And I don’t just mean in a “Do I look fat in this?” or “Am I a good mom?” or “Is my house clean enough for guests?” kind of way, although those certainly are questions that regularly float through my brain. I don’t think it’s bad to value others’ opinions. Especially as a Christian, I think it is important to think about how you talk and act reflects God in you, and we need to be open to critique when others speak the truth to us. But, there comes a point where I don’t even know what I think about things because I try so hard to see things from everyone else’s perspective.

A close friend once surprised me by saying she can see the Holy Spirit in my eyes when she is speaking of others and she can see that it truly pains me if I think they are being spoken about in a negative way. She believes I am sensitive to others and their feelings, and is often convicted of her speech when I am around. I am surprised at first because I didn’t know that this could be true, but the more we talked about it, I realized that it made sense. But my sensitivity to others also means I care too much what they think.

We’ve been studying John Ortberg’s “Shadow Mission” in our small group. Your shadow mission is Satan’s perversion of your true mission from God. It’s the evil lurking within us that corrupts our desire to do God’s will, usually without our even realizing it. Knowing how we respond to pleasure and pain, he pulls us away from our authentic mission using our pride and our hurts. The way he describes it, the shadow mission often is an overcompensation or a projection for what we think is a weakness in ourselves or in others, because we are putting our confidence in ourselves or in others instead of on God. In my case, I value others’ opinions more than my own. As a Christian in a secular world, there’s some merit in this, but it’s just enough off God’s path that it sends me in the wrong direction, onto a path of self-centeredness.I am still trying to pinpoint it, but somewhere in all this is my shadow mission. It would help if I could first identify God’s mission for my life.

What do you think?

What pattern of weakness is particularly prevalent in your life and seems to be at odds with the expression of your gifts and achieving God’s high purpose for your life?

“… I have received wonderful gifts from God. But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three times I begged God to take it away. Each time He said to me, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

My mom, my daughter and me in the same little red knitted dress.

For more Wordless Wednesday entries: WordlessWednesday.com and 5 Minutes for Mom

Take the Quiz

Because Senator Dick Durbin (IL) is ignoring the constituional mandate to give judges up-or-down votes in the confirmation process, 28 well-qualified judicial nominees are awaiting justice.  

Contact Senator Durbin today at 202-224-2152 or durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm and make your voice heard!  It is one of the Senate’s most important duties to provide prompt consideration of presidential nominees for the federal judiciary.  Yet, despite urging from the President, Senator Durbin has continued to embrace a policy of obstructionism when it comes to giving judicial nominees timely consideration.  These judicial nominees are exceptionally qualified men and women who are committed to serving our nation.  They deserve fair treatment.  They deserve consideration, an up-or-down vote. And the court system is suffering because of the delay … which means justice is being delayed. For more information, visit www.aclj.org.

I sent my letter, now it’s your turn (feel free to copy and paste)!

Did you know snow flakes were actually ice and very transparent, not “white” as it appears? Not to mention how each tiny crystal is completely unique. What an amazing God to create beauty in such a tiny bit of nature.

We went to Discovery Days through our county’s conservation district–check it out if you have one in your area for free kids’ educational programs–and learned all about snow and snowflakes. One of the books they showed to the kids I actually thought was really cool. The Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht (the author is from North Dakota so he gets bonus points from me since that’s my birthplace) showcases the beauty and uniqueness of individual snow crystals with close up photography.

We also made snow crystal catchers by laminating a sheet of colored paper, which the kids decorated, then glued a piece of black felt onto it to catch the snowflakes. The conservation district also provided magnifying glasses which we tied on with yarn, but you could use any magnifying glass even if it’s not attached. When you are finished, the key is to put the catcher in the freezer before you go out so that it doesn’t melt the snow as it lands on it.

Of course, the most memorable moment for my daughter was the last thing we did: eat powdered “snow” doughnuts!

Happy Valentine’s day, babe!

1. You make me laugh. Even though I often roll my eyes, you know I love it!

2. You hold me when I cry. Sometimes I just need a hug, thank you!

3. You remember [almost] everything! I need a lot of reminders …

4. You are kind to servicemen, dogs and old people. I’m always impressed when you thank a stranger in uniform for his service to our country.

5. You like to get on the floor and play with the kids. I love that you come home from work and divert the kids’ attention so that I can make dinner or just have some quiet time.

6. You put family before your job. I love that you’re home by 6 (usually earlier).

7. You work hard. You have a strong work ethic, which shows a lot of character.

8. You’re loyal. I’ll never have to question your faithfulness to me, the family, our friends or your co-workers, or God.

9. You don’t complain when the house needs to be dusted, the sink is full of dishes and there’s a ring around the tub. ‘Nuff said.

10. You appreciate my cooking, most of the time. :} And you eat it, even if you don’t care for it.

11. You sacrificed getting a dog, even though you wanted one badly, because you knew I didn’t want to have to take care of it.

12. You take out the garbage without ever being asked. It’s a little silly, but I know some wives have to nag.

13. You do a lot of things around the house, willing to learn knew things, so that we can afford to fix the place up!

And, you love me!