I learned something new this weekend about Mr. Serious.

He doesn't like cookie dough (or brownie batter for that matter). This is odd, no?

And, remember, he isn't "Mr. Serious" because he is serious... he is Mr. Serious because Mr. Really, Are You Serious? is just too dang long.

So, since I am still learning new things about him (even after 11 years), I'm starting to wonder, is there anything you want to know about him, directly from him? It could be fun, right?

So, a couple things, though. You know, rule like things. Our families read this, so please keep that in mind. And, of course, when I asked him about doing this (he really didn't say "yes") he said "I only answer what I want!" Fair enough I say.

So, ask away. I'll leave it open for a while and we'll see what we can all learn about Mr. Serious together.

Write a quick comment

Earlier this week, I went out with some girl friends to hang out and have a glass of wine.

We were chatting about the usual; kids, vacations, husbands, cleaning, etc. Your typical night out.

Except, I learned something. Something that I'm quite baffled and surprised by.

Some of them mentioned that they hide things from their husbands; things like clothes, shoe and purse purchases. Literally, they hide them. Not just not tell them, but they have hiding places so their husbands don't find out.

And, on the rare chance they do find out, they admitted to lying to their spouses/significant others.

I'm not judging. I just don't get it.

I didn't understand this idea.

I still don't understand this idea.

I said this to my friends. I told them I have never had to lie about a purchase. They told me I am lucky because Mr. Serious doesn't get upset at me for buying things. They said their husbands get upset with them and give them a hard time.

I countered that I am a very frugal person and he knows if I buy something that I think it was a good deal and he usually tells me how proud he is of me for getting such a good deal.

Maybe it's because I'm not an impulse buyer, so I think about my purchases before I make them. Most of the time actually doing research to find the best deal.

Maybe I am lucky that Mr. Serious does not care about a shoe purchase or a pair of jeans. Maybe he's lucky that I wouldn't lie about it.

Honesty is one of the rocks of our relationship and I like it that way.

So, I put this out to you: Do you lie to your husband? About clothing purchases or shoes? About your kids? About what you had for lunch?

Feel free to go anonymous if you are truly worried about it. But, I'd really like to know; are Mr. Serious and I a rarity or the norm?

Write a quick comment

This year for Father's Day, Mr. Serious got some very special artwork. Two years ago, I did some artwork for Mr. Serious for Father's Day and he loved it.

I painted this canvas, and put some cute Izzy foot prints and pictures on it for him to take to work. It was also framed, but I don't have a picture of that. I also did a collage for the house.

So, this year, I had to do the same thing. And, one easy thing about having your kids' birthdays one day apart? They are the same age on holidays (roughly).

But, there was a twist. This year, Isabelle got to paint the canvas. And while it doesn't look like it, they are the same colors. It also has Natalie's cute footprints this time and pictures. And, of course, there is now a collage wall hanging for the house.

Of course, Mr. Serious loved them. Izzy presented the canvas to him saying "here daddy, I painted this for you!" She has been wanting to paint non-stop ever since.

At his request, after church and nap time, we headed up to the pool for a swim in what felt like bath water.
He and Izzy had a great time. She kept jumping in the water and was even trying to swim to us. I never would have guessed my water fearing baby from last year would be such a fish this year.

Happy Father's Day, babe. You are the best father the girls could ever ask for.

Write a quick comment

Mr. Serious was joking with me the other night, and called himself "Mr. Serious."

He wanted to make sure that my readers knew that he wasn't all that serious most of the time.

I then, paused to digest it, laughed out loud and explained.

"Honey, it is not because you are serious all the time, I just didn't want to write out 'Mr. Really, Are You Serious?' or "Mr. RAYS" every time I blogged about you."

And, then I realized, you all might think the same thing.

So, just to let you know, Mr. Serious...he isn't so serious.
See? Definitely not serious!

And, now, even though he knew I was going to put this picture up on the blog...I bet he had no idea I was going to use it here!

So, here's me redeeming myself to show you how handsome he is!

Write a quick comment

(I know this is a longer post for me, but please read it!! I think you'll thank me!!)

Last night was probably one of the best mommy moments I've had in a long time, if not ever.

Isabelle played with me. I mean really played with me.

After dinner, Isabelle wanted to play. She was sitting on the floor with her Leapfrog alphabet fridge toy. All of the letters were lined up on the floor. She was telling me the letters and the ones she didn't know.

Then, she decided she needed something. So she told "I go in the living room. I be right back."

She went to the toys and brought one back. A little toy car.

She pushed it to me. I pushed it back to her. We did this for at least 15 minutes. Back and forth. If I did it well, she said "good job, mommy." Other times, she would crawl to go get it.

Apparently, pushing the car backwards is not acceptable, either. "No, mommy, like this. No backwards" and she pushed the car back to me the right way.

Did I mention it was fun, because it really was.

After the day was over and the kids were in bed, Mr. Serious handed me our reading for Sunday school class. It is from The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg. He told me I had to read one paragraph. And it was so good, I'm going to type it out here for you.

"I look in on them as they sleep at night, and I remember how the day really went: I remember how they were trapped in a fight over checkers and I walked out of the room because I didn't want to spend the energy needed to teach them how to resolve conflict. I remember how my daughter spilled cherry punch at dinner and I yelled at her about being careful as if she's revealed some deep character flaw; I yelled at her even though I spill things all the time and no one yells at me; I yelled at her-to tell the truth-simply because I'm big and she's little and I can get away with it. And then I saw that look of hurt and confusion in her eyes, and I knew there was a tiny wound on her heart that I had put there, and I wished I could have taken those sixty seconds back. I remember how at night I didn't have slow, sweet talks, but merely rushed the children to bed so I could have more time to myself. I'm disappointed."

At that moment, all of the times I yelled at her or got on her during that short morning and afternoon time I get to spend with her were amplified. She was whining, fussing, crying, and I got on her. She spilled her cereal, and I got on her. She didn't want to go potty when I took her, and I got on her.

So, my hope for the day/week/month, even hour, is that we won't get quite as disappointed with ourselves today as we did yesterday.

We will take that extra moment to teach a lesson, get a cuddle, or read a book. We shouldn't be disappointed at the end of a long, hard day. We should be satisfied. We should demand more, not of our kids or our spouses, but of ourselves.

Write a quick comment

In a land far, far away, a boy and a girl got married and went on a fabulous honeymoon to the Mayan Riviera.

Drinks were aplenty as well as the food.

The scenery was gorgeous and the water was blue (hey, I really didn't mean to rhyme there).

We had the most wonderful time. We saw the Mayan Ruins. We took naps everyday. And we ate at least 4 meals. We even had room service; everyday.

It was fantastic.

These are two of the scrapbook pages I did from our engagement/wedding/honeymoon. I was silly and didn't bring my digital camera; and now my scanner isn't working so you get pictures of pictures. I think you get the idea, though.

And of course, we haven't done anything like this again. And, I wish we would. And, I'm sure it will happen again (hey, a girl can push for a summer vacation at an all-inclusive pro-kids resort, right? OHmommy did it and I'm feeling inspired)!

In the mean time, I've got some pretty cute kids (and a pretty awesome hubby) to enjoy!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Write a quick comment

Happy Valentine's Day!

What is the favorite thing about your hubby? What attracted you to him?

For me, it's definitely his smile! It just works for me. It sends my heart all a flutter!

(Stay with me...there's a funny story coming.) And, I was contacted by a PR company to try out some Rembrandt whitening supplies. Perfect for the smile that's been slightly stained by coffee and soda (or pop for you midwesterners).

We both tried out the Intense Stain and the Wintergreen Whitening. I liked the taste of the stain better, he liked the wintergreen (and usually I love the wintergreen). At this point, I can't tell if the whitening has done anything yet, but we are still trying it. And, is it bad that I will ask hubby to try out the whitening strips for Valentine's day, because that's probably going to happen?

So, apparently, Rembrandt also makes K-Y. Yep, didn't know that. So, I also got some K-Y Yours + Mine to try out. But, I'm not going to tell you about that here! Remember my no sex rule for blogging? I am going to tell you a funny (well, sort of funny story).

Last weekend, I went out with some blogger friends for Mexican. We were talking about the world of blogging. I had mentioned my sample pack that I received from the lovely people at Rembrandt; including K-Y yours+ mine. Well, you can imagine with 6 women at the table, this might not have been the best thing to bring up. We got a little rowdy (and, yes it was past 8pm). Well, we got in trouble. Apparently the people sitting behind us had a little boy with them, and maybe we were too loud. So, the dad came over after their meal, while they were leaving to reprimand us (and the boy was 9 he told us).

We felt bad. He told us he heard everything. And, almost all of us were moms, so we understood. But, then we got to thinking. What would we have done? We all said that we likely would not have had our kid out that late (if you do, don't take offense, that's just what we all said), and we also said we would have gone over immediately to tell the women that we could hear them (we honestly didn't know they could hear us, or that they had a kid with them).

So, take home message? Rembrandt whitening and stain removing toothpaste taste yummy and they are long lasting. And, you shouldn't talk about K-Y when you are out to dinner...no matter what:)

Write a quick comment

I've previously written what my hubby thinks of blogging. So, we all know where we stand with that.

Yesterday, I sent him the link to my letter to our girls. I thought he would appreciate it. I thought he would tell me how witty I am. I thought he would tell me he was amused and impressed by my writing.

Did he do any of that?

Nope.

He told me my profile was incomplete.

He said there was no mention of him.

No mention of the fabulous husband in the Serious household.

So, I'm mentioning him now. He's wonderful. He's fabulous. He's the best husband

and father to our children that I could ever dream of.
And, I love him with all my heart. And, no, that's not me being sarcastic.

So, there you go, honey. Hope that's what you were looking for.

And, yes, I updated my "about me" section!

Write a quick comment

My wonderful, sweet, darling husband had Bible Study at our house last night. And, they were talking about me. And, Mr. Serious was teasing me about my blog. Thinking it was funny that I typed the letters "IRL," used Rachel's word tonguegasmic, and had a blogoversary.

But, really, he's just jealous, right? Jealous of me having all of my lovely friends out there? And, he just wishes that he could say good morning/good afternoon to so many people? Right? I think of many of the people that I "know" from my blog as friends and if we lived near each other, we would meet up frequently. I mean, we know each others kids, jobs, hobbies, etc.

So that got me thinking. What do your spouses/significant others/parents thing about your blog/blogging? Do they encourage you? Do they read your blog?

Write a quick comment

It's sort of like "I've never..." but not really.

I'm totally making this up as I go, but I thought it would be fun.

Please join me.

If you like the idea...I'll figure out that dang Mr. Linky and you can do the same. If not, just put it in the comments.

So, I'm going to write something silly that my hubby does and wonder if he's the only one (yes, of course, he's original), or if yours do it, too.

Here goes:

(Mrs. Newlywed...don't hate me...I use the word hubby A LOT)!!!

Does your hubby insist that you feel his muscles after he's been working out?
Does your hubby like to flex his pectoral muscles interchangeably after working out (so they bounce back and forth?)
Does he do it at the dinner table and not even realize it?
Does your hubby call it a "scavenger hunt" at the grocery store when they have a deal going on (say, buy 10 of these certain items and get $5) and then get really excited when he "wins"?
Does your hubby think you are crazy when you tell him you are drinking and driving (on Mario Kart, of course)?

Okay, that's all I've got for now. I don't want this to turn into a venting about your hubby or significant other..just funny/silly things they do!

Let's have fun!

And, here's one last one.
Does you hubby look at your kids like this (and your kids look at him like this) and it totally melts your heart?

Write a quick comment