Candy Corn Obsession

My daughter has a problem.

 I guess it's more of an obsession, really.  She's obsessed with....(wait for it)...candy corn.  I began to realize the symptoms of her problem when I literally jumped out of the bed at 5:42am this morning.  See, I have had a cold the past couple of days so I had taken Nyquil before I went to bed.  I normally sleep pretty hard, but the Nyquil took it to a different level.  Because I was sleeping so hard, when I heard Ella yelling "Mama!" at the top of her lungs, I didn't think...I just jumped out of the bed and ran into the kids' room.  After I stood there for a minute, staring at Ella, who was staring back at me, my brain woke up a little and I realized I was out of the bed for a reason and I should probably find out why. 

Me: "What's the matter?"

Ella: (awake, but her brain must've been in a similar condition):  "fdsjklfsdfhcueiowrycbnjo"

Me:  "Huh?"  (Did I really just jump out of the bed and risk my life running in here, while my eyes were
         probably still closed and my brain wasn't functioning, for no good reason?)  

(no response)

Me: "Ella! What.  Do.  You.  Want?"

Ella:  "Candy Corn"

Me:  "WHAT?"

Ella:  "I want candy corn."

Me:  (Is she serious?  Is she awake?  What is wrong with my child??)
Me:  "No, Ella, you cannot have candy corn.  Go back to sleep."

Ella:  (begins to cry and scream because she wants candy corn...which is what everyone wants at 5:42 in the morning, right?)

She finally goes back to sleep with dreams of candy corn dancing in her head.  It was no surprise that when she woke up (at a reasonable time) she wanted candy corn.  I didn't give her any of course.  What kind of mother would I be to give my child candy corn in the morning?          Ok, I gave her a few.
                  
                                       FAST FORWARD 12 HOURS.........

I am driving home with the kids in the back, and like a good mom, and I trying to have a conversation with the kids (ok, just Ella, since Noah doesn't really do conversations yet.) 

Me:  "What did you do today?"

Ella:  "Nothing"

Me:  "Did you play with anyone?"

Ella:  (no response)

Me:  "Did you make something pretty today?"

Ella:  (no response)

Me:  "Ella"

Ella:  "I want candy corn."

Me:  (I'm thinking we have a real problem here, and wondering how much candy corn counseling is going to
        cost.  Do you pay a copay for that?)
Me:  "After you eat your dinner you can have some candy corn."

Ella:  "I don't wanna eat dinner. I want candy corn."

Me:  "Well, if you want candy corn you have to eat your dinner first.  Now tell me about your day.  Did you 
          get to play with any of your friends?"

Ella:  (no response)

I decided to abandon this one-sided conversation that got hijacked by candy corn and I spent the next 5 minutes wrapped up in my own thoughts about dinner and my to-do list when we got home.

Ella:  "Can I have candy corn on a plate?"

Me:  "On a plate?"  (Yep, definitely need to get her an appointment.) 


Me:  (I decided maybe I shouldn't fight it, and just go with it.  If you can't beat 'em, you 're supposed to join 'em right?) "What about in a bowl?"

Ella:  (giggling) "Yeah, in a bowl."

Me:  "How much do you like candy corn? A little or a lot?"

Ella:  (thinks for a minute)  "It's A LOT good."

I don't know where she got this addiction from, but she's hooked.  She's right too though, you know.  Candy corn is A LOT good.  She figured it out because at some point, still not sure when, she gave candy corn a try and realized all the sweet goodness she had been missing.  Evidently it was so good that she is  dreaming about it at night and woke up wanting more. 

God is like that you know...Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."  When you get that first taste of God and all the peace, forgiveness, mercy, grace, power, love, faithfulness (I could go on for a while) comes flooding in, it's all you can think about...just like Ella and her candy corn.  Taste and see that the LORD is [A LOT] good!

Brown Paper Plate Thing

Today my multi-tasker made a miraculous recovery. 

I was at Wal-Mart by 7:45, at a meeting at 9:30, at Mighty Dollar at 11:15, meeting at 12, Hobby Lobby at 2, office at 2:45, getting kids by 4:45, off to Wed. night program by 5:30 (although I had to turn around and go back to the office because I forgot something...ok the multi-tasker may not have FULLY recovered), off (again) to Wed night program by 5:45, and, finally, headed home at 8:15.

You'd think I got a lot done, but it sure didn't feel like it.  While I didn't have time to get much done, somehow I found the time to complain a lot about my busy life and how I constantly feel behind.  Hmmm.

My complaining is not a rare thing, and I hate that.  I wish it were a very rare occurence.  I do it, and then don't even really realize it until afterwards.  I was thinking about how God says we (his followers) are to be the salt and light of the earth.  I don't know about you but I can't get enough of those two things: salt and light.  I use salt on practically everything (except for watermelon - ugh!) and when I get home I love to turn on most of the lights in the house.  With the way I was acting when I was complaining today, I don't think anyone would want more of that.  It kind of makes me think of this...thing(?) Ella brought home the other day.  It is a paper plate, stapled to another paper plate, with a bunch of brown....stuff(??) smeared on it.  (Now, let me clarify that I'm not knocking kids' crafts, being the children's ministry person that I am, and neither am I knocking Ella's preschool teachers - we absolutely LOVE them.  This is just a weird piece of "art.")  I have hung up the pretty butterflies, the beautiful abstract crayon scribblings, and even the faces on popsicle sticks that she has brought home previously, but I don't think I would request another paper plate brown smear thingy.  (Pic will be included, you just have to see what I'm talking about.)

  I'm pretty sure I was like that paper plate while I was complaining.  If you were listening to me you would've been as confused as the paper plate is.  Just as I asked myself, 'What IS that?' about the paper plate, you might've asked that about me.  Am I really a follower of God or not?  I say I am, but I sure didn't sound like it when I was complaining.  In the future, I pray I can be like the pretty tissue paper butterflies Ella has made - something that brings joy.  I'd rather not be something that is confused and ugly...like the brown paper plate...thing.

  Brown paper plate thingy, meet trashcan.

Walmart & My Multi-tasker

I think my multi-tasker in my brain is broken.  And if you know me, you know this is a BIG problem.  I was in Walmart today, and I was having this realization that my multi-tasker was slowly sputtering...and dying.  (I'm not sure if Walmart is a good place to have these realizations?)  This was the script of my thoughts:
"What time is it?"
"4:15"
"What time is Chip getting the kids?"
"What time do I need to leave here?"
"What am I doing here?"
"Am I getting stuff for October's J-Train?"
"Maybe I am getting stuff for the Wednesday night classes we have going on?"
"Am I getting things for home? I think we need toilet paper."
"So what am I doing here?"
"What time is it?"
"4:25"
"Oh man, I don't have time to be here.  Life group starts at 6:30, we have the kids unexpectedly, I have no clue what I am fixing for dinner, and there is a yard sale in my dining room."

My thoughts continued like this for a little while, but I will spare you the crazy circles my mind wandered in since it had no leadership from my multi-tasker that had died a painful death.  I did end up forcing myself to put some things in my cart which included 3 totes (??), chicken lasagna, toilet paper (whew! glad I remembered that one), and Greek yogurt (thanks Allison!)  I headed home where I took a minute to sit and think (no multi-tasking involved.)  I quickly realized two things: 1.  I had forgotten pull-ups (doh!) and 2. that I would have to be back at Walmart at 7am in the morning to get all the items that I couldn't force my brain to process and list for me. 

Oh well.  The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on earth."  The right time for me to go to Walmart was NOT this afternoon.  Better luck tomorrow.

The Bucket

Beginning last Wednesday night there has been a stomach bug running rampant in my home.  In fact, yesterday was the first day that no one was labeled "sick" (notice I didn't say the first day no one threw up.)  Using my great wisdom, I decided to get our mop bucket and use it as a puke-catcher.  It caught most of Noah's, a little of Ella's, none of Chip's...and I am praying it won't be fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to catch mine.  In the course of those 4 to 5 days, I found myself on my knees cleaning my floor 20, maybe even 25 times.  I got SO tired of it that I was ready to scream at the next person who DARED to throw up on MY floor.  Ok, ok...so this wasn't the godly attitude that I am supposed to have, but I did learn something.  As repulsed as I was to be cleaning that floor yet again...Christ had to be even more repulsed to have face our sins, being the sinless and holy being that He was and is.  And He did not do it just for a family of four, like I did, but for the whole world.  Wow.