Dear Abby...............

Okay, I'm sure many of you are wondering what in the world this is a picture of. Instead of what it is, let me tell you what it was. It was a wonderfully, shiny countertop (notice the reflections you can still see in it) that I had worked so hard to clean and shine that is now covered in cookie crumbs.

I tried to clean my house today, but to no avail. I just can't seem to get it. I've had kids for almost 3 years now and still haven't figured it out. Am I just plain dumb? Lazy? Maybe, I just don't have the necessary tools? The situation that led to this disasterous looking countertop went as follows:

I lit a candle, loaded dishwasher, took clothes out of dryer and into bedroom, put washer load into dryer, cleaned countertops with Lysol wipes, dried with towel (can't let the wipes dry or it leaves spots,) shined with Pledge and wiped dry b/c Pleadge will leave funny spots if all the moisture isn't wiped in or off. Then I vacummed the floors where all the little crumbs from earlier were left under stools. Everything was looking great. When I came in to make dinner, I cleaned up as I went along (which is usually difficult for me to do as I usually have tons of things cooking at once.) Everyone had eaten, except my little one b/c he had napped late. So, I got his together and had to feed him b/c he was still so sleepy. Rember the movie "Christmas Story" where the mom has to feed the younger brother b/c he won't eat and she makes these crazy pig noises? That's what I feel like. I have to bribe him to eat. Well, while all this is going on, my other little angel comes in and wants a cookie. Well, like the little perfect mom that I want to be, I get him one of my freshly baked chocolate chip, m&m, pecan cookies. And I wonder why I don't lose weight! As I finish up feeding the little one, I turn to see the HUGE mess of crumbs on the counter. I'm not sure that he even ate any of the cookie!

Well, you can imagine my frustration. Does anyone else experience this? Any realistic tips? We've tried the whole mat thing under his food. He just smears it all over the counter anyway and then I've got to clean the counter and wash the mat.

To my new friend........

Okay, most of my blogs consist of short explanations of pictures b/c by the time I can blog at night, I'm exhausted-not many brain cells left to use. BUT, today I have something to say. A new friend has been blogging about her adoption process and she has several links to other families who have also adopted children from Ethiopia. Watching these video clips of these families has been so inspirational and heart-breaking at the same time. I look at my own children and it absolutely breaks my heart to think that just a flip of circumstances, it could have been MY babies who didn't have enough to eat. It could have been me that had to give up a child that I loved, but couldn't afford. I have feelings of guilt for all that we have and the luxuries we take for granted. While the top ten poorest countries in the world are all in Africa (except one,) there are starving, homeless children everywhere. How do we save the innocent of the world? My support and admiration goes out to all of those who are taking on this challenge. May God bless you.

The local zoo!

It was so nice this weekend that we made a trip to the zoo. The boys love going and it makes everyone nice and sleepy that night. Is that baby Bono on the bottom?