LAYER ONE:
— Name: Miranda
— Birth date: Dec. 16, 1975
— Birthplace: Mobile, AL
— Current Location: Millbrook, AL
— Eye Color: Blue
— Hair Color: Naturally-Brown
— Height: 5′4″
— Righty or Lefty: Righty.
— Zodiac Sign: Sagitarius

LAYER TWO:
— The shoes you wore today: Black Skechers
— Your weakness: Fattening Lattes
— Your fears: something happening to my husband or children
— Your perfect pizza: Pepperoni, mushrooms & extra cheese
— Goal you’d like to achieve: A happy childhood for my children & long fulfilled marriage.

LAYER THREE:
— Your most overused phrase on AIM: “lol”
— Your first waking thoughts: “What time is it?”
— Your best physical feature: I don’t feel that I have one.
— Your most missed memory: Probably my children as babies.

LAYER FOUR:
— Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
— McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonald’s.
–Adidas or Nike: Neither’ I usually wear flops or Skechers tennis shoes
— Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: No tea!
— Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate.
— Cappuccino or coffee: Both

LAYER FIVE:
— Smoke: No.
— Cuss: I am not always a little lady
— Sing: Love to, but not very well.
— Take a shower everyday: Usually a bath in the huge tub.
— Do you think you’ve been in love: Yes. But I never knew how deep it could be until I was married.
— Want to go to college: Not again. I went for 2 years.
— Liked high school: Disliked the competition and the cliques.
— Believe in yourself: I wish I did
— Get motion sickness: More now that I am older!
— Think you’re attractive: Not even
— Think you’re a health freak: Not at all. Wish I could be
— Get along with your parent(s): My mom is the only parent living & we get along
— Like thunderstorms: LOVE them!
— Play an instrument: I have not musical talent whatsoever.

LAYER SIX: In the past month…
— Drank alcohol: Yes
— Smoked: No.
— Done a drug: No
— Gone to the mall?: I work there.
— Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: Came very, very close.
— Eaten sushi: Nope
— Been on stage: No.
— Gone skating: No.
— Made homemade cookies: No, and that’s a crying shame.
— Dyed your hair: No. But dang I need to.

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…
— Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Not in a very, very long time.
— Gotten beaten up: Several times, but you should have seen the other guy.
— Shoplifted: Yes, as a child.
— Changed who you were to fit in: Only in high school. Not as an adult.

LAYER EIGHT:
— Age you hope to be married: Was married at 21.
— Numbers and Names of Children: Chloe (age 2) and Jordyn (age 4)
— How do you want to die: Suddenly and peacefully. Not screaming, and not wondering where my children are.
— Where you want to go to college: Started out at Pensacola Christian College & then went to University of Mobile
— What do you want to be when you grow up: I am grown up! And I am a wife & mother. Job= Optician/Lab Tech
— What country would you most like to visit: I don’t like to travel.

LAYER NINE:
— Number of drugs taken illegally: 3
— Number of people I could trust with my life: Hmm.. Maybe 10.
— Number of CDs that I own: Love music! Tons. Of course, now I am into I-tunes and have thousands of songs.
— Number of piercings: Two in each ear, but I only use one each.
— Number of tattoos: 2. One on my lower back & one on my shoulder.
— Number of scars on my body: Not many. I have had stitches a couple of times.
— Number of things in my past that I regret: Several, but I would not change them, as they led me to where I am today. I would not risk losing any of the precious things in my life for a minor adjustment. And at this point, it would all be minor.

Today’s epiphany is very profound.

I had a sudden realization that my husband’s hair is much longer than mine.

I am one of those weird people that actually looks forward to Mondays. Most people hate Monday because it is the beginning of their work week. Monday is the end of my week. The weekends are jam packed with work, church, small group, etc. I usually work Thursday through Sunday and then have Mondays off. I love being able to sit around the house in my pajamas sipping coffee (Seattle’s Best Cinnabon to be exact). I love hearing the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher running. I am a geek, yes, I know. Those sounds are the sound of progress! The house is usually trashed from the weekend. Blair is able to keep the girls happy, dressed, and fed, but the house is a wreck on Monday. Today it is storming outside. When it is raining outside, the coffee tastes better, and the nap in the afternoon is wonderful! The kids are having movie day and sitting on the floor on a picnic blanket eating popcorn. They think they are big time! Plus, they are actually quiet. It certainly won’t last long.

Did I mention I love Mondays?

I am not a huge fan of these question & answer things, but have enjoyed reading others. So here goes…

Four Jobs I’ve had:
1. Cashier at Chick-fil-a
2. Book binder at a print shop
3. Manager of a Wal-Mart Vision Center
4. Fitting room attendant at Marshalls

Four movies I can watch over & over:
1. Weird Science
2. Breakfast Club
3. Beaches
4. Dead Poet’s Society

Four Places I’ve Lived:
1. Mobile, AL
2. Enterprise, AL
3. Pasadena, TX
4. Pensacola, FL
Four TV Shows I Love:
1. American Idol
2. Grey’s Anatomy
3. Starting Over
4. Miami Ink

Four Places I’ve Vacationed:
1. Mentone, AL
2. Panama City
3. Perdido Key
4. Gulf Shores

Four of my Favorite Dishes:
1. Breakfast food of any type for dinner
2. My mom’s cajun spiced steak
3. O’Charleys grilled chicken salad
4. Junk food

Four sites I visit daily:
1. I Tunes
2. www.ebay.com
3. All of my blogging buddies
4. www.weather.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Bookstore drinking coffee & reading magazines
2. napping
3. Scrapbook supply store
4. Starbucks

Four bloggers I am tagging:
Most that I read have already done this except:
Byron

Several things that I have decided are so wrong, yet seem so right.

If I leave the kids in the same pajamas for like three days in a row, then there is less laundry.

If I do not actually take down the tree, I can just leave it up and not have to put it up next Christmas.

If I wear my hair in a ponytail everyday, I don’t have to wash it as often.

If I wait to brush my teeth until after coffee, then I will not have to until later in the day. (So gross, yet I am so dang scatterbrained.)

If I shut the door to the bedroom, then I will not see the enormous pile of laundry to be folded nor the unmade bed. Well, I guess technically I don’t see the exercise bike either.

If I leave the blinds closed, I will not have to look at the huge pile of leaves and straw that needs to go “somewhere.”

If I play the girls’ favorite shows and movies all day, the children are entertained for hours.

Today has been one of those days, thus far, where I want to scream. I mean scream at the top of my lungs.

Chloe(2 1/2) and Jordyn(4 1/2) have made me crazy. Well, at least crazier than I was yesterday.
My day as a part-time stay-at-home mom started out fine. I did not even hear Blair leave for school, nor did I hear Jordyn get up and rummage for a pop-tart.

And then Chloe woke up… mad! Chloe is so spirited & a bundle of wildness!

Much too unhappy to allow me time to prepare a Martha Stewart meal or rake a comb through my tangled, nappy hair. I tied it all back in a ponytail as usual and made the stunning Poptart, cereal, fruit and apple juice breakfast. But soon after, things got rough. Chloe screaming and fussing at Jordyn. Jordyn screaming and fussing at Chloe. Jordyn mad because Chloe licked her and Chloe mad because Jordyn touched her. Jordyn mad because the play shovel in the yard has dirt on it. Chloe mad that I had to clean the Pop-tart out of her hair. And on and on it goes.

I’d like to say these kinds of days are a rarity, but as any mother can tell you, most of us can expect at least a few a week. Sometimes seven. I get frustrated when I think of the chores yet to finish, the toilets to scrub, the piles of laundry to fold. And yet, when I tell Blair that I am gonna run away, I know that I could not live without seeing those dirty little faces every day.

That is the funny thing about motherhood. Motherhood offers more rewards—and more heartache—than anything you’ll ever encounter. Just when you think you’re going to lose all ounce of sanity, you glance over and see them blinking back tears of sorrow with that bottom lip poked out—and instead of cracking, you melt. Things slide into perspective and you hug them so hard they could break. How could I possibly love them any more?

God loves my kids more than I do. He promises to sustain me when I’m fed up and want to run out the door screaming. I like this promise from Isaiah.

Even to your old age and gray hairs,
I am he, I am He who will sustain you
I have made, and I will carry you;
I have made you and I will carry you.
(Isaiah 46:4, TNIV)

God’s grace is sufficient to fill in the gaps in my mothering, and that makes my effort worthwhile.

God loves me just as much as He loves my children.
Parenting isn’t just about the growth of my children. It’s about me maturing and learning about myself. Growing in Christ.

God’s favor is my primary reward.
It is okay if somedays my kids just don’t like me and think I am crazy. My kids aren’t always going to say thank you. Thank you for letting me eat the food off of your plate instead of my own. Thank you for not getting a shower to be with me. Thank you for letting me use the shirt you just washed to clean the dirt off of my outdoor Barbie jeep. Thank you for letting me cling to your leg at every moment. Instead of my reward being a thank you from them, it should be me seeking to find favor with Christ. This takes the pressure off of my kids to fulfill me. It helps me look back to God, which is what I should have been doing all along.

I could list more than three lessons I’ve learned in my 4 short years of mothering. Things like never trust the kids when they are quiet come to mind.

The lessons like this are the hardest for me to grasp. That’s why I carry them so close to my heart. I never really imagined myself in this place. Mothering has taken my confidence by storm. I’m here by myself all day with these little runts who look to me for EVERYTHING—and I’m afraid. Since birth, these little ones have challenged me in every way possible. It offers payoffs greater than the mind can fathom. I can think outside myself in ways I never knew how. And I’m consistently, continually, drawn back to my God.

This, in itself, is the greatest gift of them all. I do look forward to the day my children say “thank you.” I look forward to seeing them grow up in Christ. But truly, I think I’m getting a slice of the bigger picture. By finding myself at God’s feet again and again every day, not only am I growing, but my children see my growth, and learn from it. Together, then, we four forge ahead. It’s not an easy path, but it’s beautiful. I wouldn’t trade it for ANYTHING in the world.

Okay, I admit it. I am a couch potato. Since having 2 kids, we do not ever go out much. Thus, I have started watching MUCH t.v. It has also been an escape from my mundane activities.

What I have been watching lately:

Reality T.V. is high on the list- American Idol, Starting Over, Biggest Loser, Survivor (when it is running), Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Bringing up Baby

Lost - Wow, I am completely & utterly hooked.

Grey’s Anatomy- Yes, I think McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) is hot.

E.R.

Trading Spaces - I am still a devoted fan. I am over the reruns, but do watch the new episodes on Sat. nights.

Design on a Dime

Mission Organization

Mythbusters- This one is totally Blair’s fault. He is desperately trying to geek me up.

I am ashamed to say the list goes on. I do usually rationalize watching because during most shows I am folding laundry, dating & sorting pictures, on the exercise bike, etc. Trust me, there is always plenty of laundry to sort & hang.

I could lie & say I am thinking about cutting back on what I watch. The invention of TiVo has furthered this addiction. No commericals! I can fast forward through the commercials & boring junk. Also, I can watch shows at any time of the day or night. The living room box has all of the kids shows on it. This has totally warped my children forever. They pick whatever show they want to watch at any point during the day.

I do think we all need our escapes & sanity time. This happens to be one of my much needed escapes.

There was a time in our life where we had an authentic, loving group of people that were a “support system” for us here. The group was a place to share burdens & joys. A place of openness & honesty. Once you have had something like that before, it can be such a frustrating & lonely place to not have that in your life. You can be surrounded by a small group of people & feel such loving support. But you can also be in a room full of different people & still feel so totally alone. My heart craves deep, loving, long lasting community……..

I know this makes me a freak, but I just love the song Baby Got Back by Sir Mix Alot. I am digging I-Tunes. I can go in and find all kinds of stuff for my music library. Much to my coworkers dismay, I have acquired Baby Got Back, Everybody Wang Chung Tonight & Walk Like an Egyptian. The 80’s rock!

1. I have a passion for scrapbooking.

2. I am a coffee-a-holic.

3. I hate to travel. Don’t put me on a plane, in a bus, or in a car for any length of time.

4. I really like disco music!

5. Red & black are my favorite colors.

6. I could live in black yoga pants, flip flops & baggy shirts.

7. I hate clutter.

8. I am more perceptive about people than I want to be.

9. I am extremely pro-life. Not only am I a Christian, my mom was pregnant at 16.

10. I am an only child.

11. I drive a mini-van. Sometimes I even turn up the radio & roll down the windows & pretend to be cool.

12. I only use white towels & sheets. Bleach baby!

13. I hate to iron.

14. I don’t think I have any talent.

15. I prefer email to the telephone.

16. I truly dislike fake people.

17. I prefer socks instead of slippers.

18. I am not afraid to tell people that I love them.

19. My husband is my best friend.

20. Spring is my favorite season.

21. I love reality t.v. Survivor, American Idol, Starting Over, Real World/Road Rules. You name it!

22. I really do like the smell of cleaning products. I don’t just sniff them randomly. It has to be after my house is spotless.

23. I would trade 5 years of my life just to be a size 10 or 12.

24. Above #23 makes me want to cry.

25. I got married 5 days after my 21st birthday.

26. Blair & I only dated 6 weeks before we got married. Seriously!

27. My middle name is Fawn. I think my parents were hippies.

28. I am lousy at forgiving myself.

29. I do not like to cook.

30. I am an indoor chic.

31. I dislike speaking in front of crowds. Even a bunch of little kids.

32. I wish I could remember to shave my legs.

33. I would never cheat.

34. I love new school/office supplies.

35. I am a compulsive list maker.

36. Even though I never win, my favorite board game is Scrabble.

37. I have a favorite cuss word.

38. I am a worrier & analyze everything to death.

39. I am a very impatient person.

40. I hate watching or listenting to sports.