My fierce Amazon warriors...

Some of you know that my mom is a breast cancer survivor. 3 years now! She underwent a bilateral mastectomy in 2004 in order to rid her body of what she came to think of as her enemy: the cancer.

Shortly after her surgery, I was reading an article that compared breast cancer fighters and survivors to Amazon warriors, those fierce legendary women who cut off their right breasts in order to use bows and spears unencumbered. There's actually no historical proof of women who did any such thing, and if you read about the actual women who inspired the legend, it's kinda scary....

But I was struck by the comparison. Both fierce, both warriors, both fighting for survival, both willing to part with something precious in order to fight battles and fight for survival, unhindered, unencumbered.

I found out this week that my cousin Terra, who is my age, has breast cancer. Terra has two little ones really close in age to my girls. She's a wife. She's a momma. She's a passionate, creative woman. And she's starting the fight of her life.

But she, like my mom, is like those legendary Amazon women, and she is FIERCE. She will fight passionately, and I believe with all my heart that she will prevail, as the Father leads her, and undoubtedly sometimes carries her, through the jungle that is breast cancer. Father, be with Terra, and with her precious family. Protect their hearts as they walk down this path, and please bring healing to her body. Help them all to walk with hope, and to constantly look to You. We don't understand why these things happen; help us to trust you wholeheartedly nevertheless.

things that make ya go hmmm....

So did you guys see this story last week? I didn't. But Sandi did, so here I am, totally getting a post out of something she already posted about....

But I'm genuinely interested in what you girls think about this. Here's a big quote from the article:

"Southwestern Baptist, one of the nation's largest Southern Baptist seminaries, is introducing a new academic program in homemaking as part of an effort to establish what its president calls biblical family and gender roles.

"It will offer a bachelor of arts in humanities degree with a 23-hour concentration in homemaking. The program is only open to women.

"Coursework will include seven hours of nutrition and meal preparation, seven hours of textile design and 'clothing construction,' three hours of general homemaking, three hours on 'the value of a child,' and three hours on the 'biblical model for the home and family.'

"Seminary officials say the main focus of the courses is on hospitality in the home – teaching women interior design as well as how to sew and cook. Women also study children's spiritual, physical and emotional development."

Wow. None of this stuff is bad. In fact, it sums up a lot of what I do every day, what I LOVE to do every day. But as somebody who got a general studies degree, who still regrets the fact that she didn't get a degree that would lead to part-time work options that a stay-at-home mom could do and still make a decent salary (think nurse or architect vs. working at the gym), it kinda burns me up. And as a former pastor's wife, it doesn't make sense to me. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Let's talk about this....

finds & treats

Don't know if anybody else has seen this, but with two little girls who LOVE to color and craft, Disney's Magic Artist Online has been a big favorite lately... There are activities you can do with all of your favorite characters, from coloring pages to greeting cards to bookmarks. It's pretty fun, and I've not had too much trouble navigating! Needless to say, I think that we're going to have a lot more princess coloring pages on the fridge...

Am experimenting for Miss K's 4th birthday party, a princess tea party, and made a yummy and easy treat: Napoleons. Buy a roll of puff pastry, follow directions for thawing, and cut one sheet of it into 12 rectangles. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes (or until golden - took mine about 12), and then let cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, using 2 small packets of french vanilla instant pudding, mix with 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy whipping cream for about 4 minutes, until fluffy. Pull apart each puff pastry into 2 sections (top and bottom), and then layer: one puff pastry piece, a blob of pudding, another puff pastry, more pudding, and finally top off with another puff pastry piece. Put together all the pieces and pudding (you'll have 8 Napoleons), and dust with powdered sugar. Pretty, and easy! And YUMMY!

two fads...

One I love, one I hate...

We start with the unloved fad first. Heelys. I call them rolley shoes. Whatever. Every time a little kid glides by, it scares the stuffin' out of me. There's just something unnatural about kids gliding. Kids run, they stomp, they jump, but they don't glide. At least not without some help. So I was very relieved to read in the paper that the heelys fad is on the way out. Not a minute too soon!

On to the beloved... Call me a complete dork, but I am a grown woman who has a huge crush on High School Musical. Yes, I'm one of them. Jenny and I saw Hairspray last week (so fun!), and thought Zac Efron was absolutely adorable. That night Jenny picked up High School Musical (which he stars in), and now we want to have a High School Musical II movie-watching party next Friday....except that we don't have cable here at my house, so we're trying to figure that one out! Maybe it's the tweenager still alive & well in me, but BOY is the dancing & singing fun in both of those movies. Made me wish for a class at the gym that was just dancing. You know, so it doesn't feel like exercise...

help wanted

My poor baby MA is having going to sleep issues, and I don't know how to help her. She and K share a room, and used to go to bed at the same time. Prior to her bottle being taken away (about a month ago), she didn't have any trouble getting to sleep, but nowadays not so much. I tried giving her a sippy cup with water (no help). We're trying putting her down before K, so that she can cry herself to sleep before K goes in there (when we put them both in at the same time, they both wind up crying hysterically. It happened several nights in a row, and that I just can't handle).

Now she just cries and cries and cries (we don't check on her; we just let her cry). Tonight we put her down at 8, and she cried until 9:30. It's at least 30 minutes EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I really am on the edge of crazy with this... Do I put her in another room? Stock up on tequila and earplugs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.