I Love My Girl

February 21, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Ok, I’m gonna do some mommy bragging today. :) I really try not to do too much of that, but I do think I have the coolest girl in the world.

Anyway…

My sweet Mae had a rough week/weekend.

It actually started last Tuesday night/Wednesday with a cough. Things got worse, and by Thursday night she had a high(er) fever going.

Friday she seemed to be ok, but things got bad again at night, and her temp hovered around 102.2 or so.

We decided it was time to take her to the doctor so we headed there on Saturday morning.

He checked her out, said she had an ear infection and RSV, and told us to give it a couple more days but he would write a prescription for her “just in case”.

Just in case?

Ok.

Maybe I’m off here, but isn’t three days of a fever enough? Tylenol obviously wasn’t doing the trick.

We waited it out anyway, and I put her to bed around 8:00.

She woke up crying at 9:45 or so and I went to change her diaper and take her temperature.

103.6

My heart started to pound.

I didn’t even k now

what to do at that point, so I sent a text

to my friend.

We gave her some tylenol and prayed over

her. I took off her clothes and she sat around in her diaper. (We had company…she’ ll be embarrassed someday.

:))

I heard back from my friend and figured that I was doing what I could for now.

Hopefully she’d be better in the morning.

I packed her into her carseat (she sleeps there sometimes) and spent a very fitful night on the couch with her next to me.

She didn’t sleep more than a couple hours at a time, so neither did I.

Poor girl.

But what gets me about the whole thing is that I knew she was feeling awful.

All I had to do is look at her eyes and I could tell she was just not herself.

She was more clingy and cuddly and just wanted to be held, but she wasn’t super whiny or crying…in fact, she was pretty happy (and even laughing!) for having the temperature she did.

I love my girl…and what she teaches me without even trying.

That even on the bad days it’s ok to smile. That we can feel awful and still be a blessing to others around us. That laughter can sometimes truly be the best medicine.

We got the prescription filled yesterday (Thank you, Target Pharmacy, for being open on Sundays.) and gave her a dose of amoxicillin. Which she happily slurped up…and thank you, God, for giving me a girl who will take her medicine. :)

She’s still not quite back to normal…it will probably be another day or so…but she still took some time to laugh with her daddy yesterday afternoon and snuggle with me. And we even got out of the house for a bit today with a friend, and she did great!

Tobin took a few pictures of her this past week that are

too cute not to share. Enjoy them. :)

Love her!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, Maelie

Filterizing

February 20, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Yeah, I know I made up that word

.

Warning: This got really, really long. :) And, oh… it is FULL of my opinions today, so you can take

it or leave it. Seriously…you’ve been warned.

A few years ago I had my students memorize James 3. I let them choose the chapter they memorized, under certain criteria, and I believe it won the class vote because of the length.

Hey, they were 5th graders. :) I memorized it with them, and what I didn’t tell them? How much I learned from it…and how completely convicting it was. (If you’re not familiar with the chapter, go ahead and read it.

I’m not going to post it here…you can look it up.) Basically it deals with controlling your tongue, which was actually a very good topic for us to talk about in 5th grade…it provided some excellent conversations.

And the kids just thought they were getting a short chapter to memorize…haha!

No matter how “old” I get, I have to constantly keep my tongue in check…and keep a filter on my words, whether I’m speaking, facebooking, or blogging.

And that can be hard.

A confession.

Daily…and I do mean Every Single Day…I laugh at the status updates of people on Facebook who seemingly have no filter on the things they share with the world.

Maybe that’s not the nicest thing…very possibly, it’s the writer in me that finds it both funny and absurd.

I’m just that way…I need to make sure that before I send something into public cyberworld that I check over what I’m sharing and that I keep what needs to be private…just that, private.

That’s why I surprised myself yesterday when I completely contradicted every standard I’ve ever held myself to in terms of blogging, and I wrote an article without checking it over.

GASP!

I. always. proofread.

And I almost always take things out because I feel like I’m sharing either too much or unnecessary information.

Or too much unnecessary information? :)

Thankfully, there were no grammar errors, which is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. That’s pretty uncommon for me, though, because I tend to read over each sentence before moving on to the next one. However…

I did use the word, fart.

Really, Mel, did you want to use that word?

I am fully aware that in some circles, that word is not entirely appropriate. That, and it’s just not professional, which…well, I walk a fine line between professionalism and having a good time when I write, anyway. So it wasn’t that I was worried about what people would think of me.

Other than the fact that I used the word, fart.

I find it slightly comical now, and truthfully, I could go back and change it.

I could, but I won’t.

At the time, I w as in

a silly mood. (I would have had to be to write an entire post about Whoopie Pies.

:)) The word fit my mood at the time, even if it caused me to shake my head and roll my eyes today.

Whatever…it’s me.

And when I put my thoughts and emotions out there every single day, there are bound to be days that I wish I had not said something or used a certain word. We all wish we could take back things

we say.

But no matter what, I am bound and determined to use a filter on my words as much as possible, even though I will slip up now

and then.

So back to why I think so many Facebook status updates are completely ridiculous.

If I’m so dying to share that I just had a bagel or that my dog stepped on my foot, I’ll sms a friend. Or call my husband…I’m sure he’ll totally appreciate the distraction in his day just to know that Sammy has possibly dislocated my little toe.

I just don’t understand when I open up my home page and see six posts in a row from someone…just had breakfast; new post (2 minutes later)…leaving for my job; 3 minutes later…stuck in traffic…

And don’t even GET me going on people who update their status while they’re driving. That’s another post for

another day.

The point is…filter, my friends. Share once in awhile…even a few times a day is good…but I don’t need every detail of your lives. If you want to share that much, get a blog or something. :)

I read an article recently on the ten things you should never do on Facebook…and a lot of them have to do with status updates and how the things you are sharing now could hurt your future. (I’m not going to link to it because I don’t endorse some of the language used.

However…if you want to read it, google it. It’ll come up.)

It made me think twice, and I’m pretty sure you will, too.

So if anyone was offended by my use of a certain word yesterday, I am truly sorry.

It wasn’t meant to be that way, and the purpose of my blog is not

to step on toes.

Filterize my mouth…and my life. That’s my new goal.

Want to make it yours, too

?

Sig

Filed Under: goals, what I'm learning, writing

Whoopie Pies

February 19, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Seriously, I can’t even type that title without laughing outloud.

Who the heck named these things?

Makes me think of a fart or something.

Sorry if that’s TMI. šŸ˜€

So we had some friends over for dinner tonight, and I speculated…based on some things I’d seen on Facebook…that they had a slight (or not so slight?) obsession with whoo pie

pies.

So I decided to make them.

I went with the Red Velvet recipe that my blogging friend posted on her site a few weeks ago.

Holy cow, were they good.

For my first attempt, they turned out ok. (Meaning how they looked.) I made the cookie parts Way.

Too. Big. But that’s ok. :) And the cream filling would have been better (and probably thicker) if I’d had a mixer… but we are mixer-less in the Schroeder house.

So it kind of ran everywhere, but

it tasted good anyway.

And there was some left over…hello me + spoon when no one is looking!

šŸ˜€

It will probably take a few more attempts before I can get it right.

But here ya go…a whoopie pie. (HaHaHaHaHa!!!!!)

Big laughs.

Sig

Filed Under: food, friends

Friday Coffee: Cafe Firefly

February 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

So a couple weeks ago I said that some friends and I were going to try out different coffee shops and let you know what we find.

I realize this is (pretty much) useless information for anyone who doesn’t live in the Chicago area…but maybe you’ll be passing through someday. (And if you do, please let me know so I can meet you for coffee!)

And if you are from the area, consider it your own personal guide on where to find the best java by someone who loves the stuff.

:)

So I need to set some criteria, otherwise my coffee house reviews will have no rhyme or reason…although I do tend to have a random brain, so maybe I should just fly by the seat of my pants on these reviews.

We’ll see.

So a little background before I get going on my first “official” coffee house review.

Every other Friday afternoon Maelie and I go to coffee with our friends Alison and Kirsten.

It’s more just social time than anything, but I always come away from our time feeling encouraged in some way, so it’s definitely good for us. And Maelie really likes coffee dates, even if she’s too young to k now it right

now. Haha :)

A couple weeks ago, Kirsten mentioned something about me blogging about the different places we have coffee…and I figured, hmmm…that could be fun. So let’s give it a try! I mean, I live in (or close to) the suburbs of Chicago…we definitely aren’t going to run out of places to have coffee!

So here we go… (and I apologize for not having pictures with this one…next time I will take my camera!)

Today was Cafe Firefly in Algonquin, which is just about a ten minute drive from my house in Carpentersville.

Atmosphere: We fell in love with the atmosphere of the place immediately.

It’s small…but cozy, and we were lucky enough to grab the two big couches in the back.

Coffee: I’d give it a 9 out of 10…and I’m a coffee snob, so that says something. I had a Mexican Mocha (made with spicy chocolate), decaf (of course…I want my daughter to sleep!), skim. I left the whip on it because it’s Friday. I don’t usually let myself have it, though, because so much of the bad-for-you fat comes from the whip.

It was really, really good…I think I will have a hard time going back to Cafe Firefly and NOT ordering that drink.

Food: I don’t always order food when we go for our Friday coffee, but I hadn’t had lunch today, so I had the chicken salad, and my two friends had the tuna. I think if I order food there again, I would go with

the tuna. It was good… but the drinks were better.

(But that IS why it’s a coffee shop. :))

Prices: About average for a coffee shop. For a sandwich and coffee I paid around $10, which is not extremely cheap, but not on the outrageous side, either. Since I have a (pretty) strict coffee budget, I probably won’t be eating lunch very often when we go for our Friday coffee, but it was okay today.

Extras: The owner is really friendly. I love small coffee shops for that reason…it’s more like a f

amily atmosphere. They have a lot of board games if you like that kind

of thing. Tonight they also had Open Mic…which was really tempting–I’ m hoping they have it again.

Now I just need a friend to go with me… :)

Recommended: Definitely. I’ll go back for the Mexican Mocha if

for nothing else. And if they have another Open Mic night

? I’m totally there.

So for our first “official” Friday Coffee, Cafe Firefly was a good choice.

Give it a try if you’re ever in the area!

Sig

Filed Under: coffee, food, friends

And the Winner is…

February 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Drumroll, please…

Sarah Sobbing!


Sarah, I’ll be sending you an e-mail to get

your mailing address.

Congrats! :)

So I seriously loved doing a giveaway just to hear the blessings going on in your lives.

So cool.

I would do one every day if

I could afford the postage. :)

Thanks for reading and entering my very first giveaway.

And from looking at my purse closet again today, I can almost assure you that there will be more giveaways in the future!

Blessings and have a great weekend!

Sig

Filed Under: giveaway

His

February 17, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Ever have one of those weeks?

Yeah, I’m in the middle of one.

It’s just been off…nothing completely horrible, just nothing really going right.

Maelie is sick…it’s just a cold, but I know she doesn’t feel well, and it hurts my heart that I can’t make it better.

The snow is melting.

Yay for warmer temperatures…but with everything so soggy and disgusting AND with no sun, the whole day just feels kind of blah.

Gray, gray, go away!

I feel like I haven’t been the best wife possible this week. I’m learning a lot about humility and extending mercy to my husband, leaving some room for him to be human. (I’m also thinking I need to revisit Micah 6:8 very soon…)

My dogs are driving me crazy. I love them…but sometimes their exuberance at ALL the wrong times (aka: Maelie’s naptime) makes me want to lock them in the bedroom. And Sammy fell through the ice on the river this morning…maybe Tobin can tell that story sometime.

:) Don’t worry, he’s fine. He just came home very, very WET!

And very, very happy…which is not exactly what we want…that dog has no fear.

Tobin and I are in the process of waiting on something huge. It’s something I want SO badly, and the reality is that there is nothing I can do about it right now. I need to just open up my hands… so please pray for us.

If He wants it for us, it will happen.

God is doing a lot in my heart right now, but I’m having a hard time finding the words to share that…and that scares me.

I’m a writer…and when I can’t find words, it just feels wrong.

I’m also a feeler and it’s easy for the drama queen tendencies to come out more often when my days aren’t bursting with joy.

I also think that feelers have more discouraging days because we have such high expectations for life…so really, there’s nothing wrong with life right now. (Although I could definitely use some more sun!)

A sweet blogger friend posted this passage a few days ago.

It’s one of my favorites, and reading it makes me feel like my Father wrote it just for me.

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.'”

Isaiah 43:1-4a (ESV)

So cool…I love His promises.

I. Am. His.

No matter what.

Sig

Filed Under: encouragement, what I'm learning

My First Giveaway!

February 16, 2011 by · 13 Comments

I am so excited to do a giveaway!

So, here’s the little story behind this first one.

I sort of came home from

Indonesia with A LOT of bags and purses. I didn’t know how many I actually had until I unpacked and hung them all in my purse closet.

Yes, I have a purse closet.

(You should come over and see it…it’ s very cool.

And very…ahem…full.)

Most of them I’ve never used…I just picked them up here and there whenever we went on

a trip or I found a cute one.

So, in an effort to help myself get rid of some things and to spread some Indo-love, I am giving away one of my bags.

Th is one

is a be

ach bag from Bali.

I love it…but don’t worry, I have more. :)

You can fit just about anything in it…I even have one like it that I’ve used for a diaper bag, and it actually holds everything I need!

(I’ve never found an actual diaper bag that can accomplish that feat.)

So, here’s how to enter…it’s simple.

Leave me a comment on this blog and tell me a blessing God has given you recently.

Big or small, just share a blessing!

(Oh, and for those of you commenting for the first time…don’t worry if your comment doesn’ t show up righ

t away. I have to approve it first…then, once you’ve been approved, you can comment anytime.)

On Friday I’ll randomly choose a winner!

Please enter! And selfishly, I’m curious how many people actually read my blog…so this might help give me an idea. :)

Happy commenting…and good luck!

Sig

Filed Under: giveaway

Taking Myself Out of the Box

February 15, 2011 by · 2 Comments

I accepted the realization the other day that I have a little rebellious streak.

(That’s why I said accepted…I’ve known it for awhile.

:))

I think

the whole idea behind that rebellion is that I don’t like to be put in a box.

I don’t mean that I think it’s wrong to have boundaries…in fact, life without boundaries isn’ t very heal

thy.

I’m referring to being put into a box based on other’s expectations…or even my own, in this case.

A few weeks ago I set a goal to write here every single day for a year.

It is: 1) going ok…I’m not running out of ideas yet; 2) providing some good reflection and processing time that I believe is necessary in transition; 3) teaching me to evaluate the tone of things that I write; 4) giving me an outlet to be myself; and 5) giving me a pl

ace to share the things I am passionate about.

Overall, it’s good…and I get to write, which

I love.

But I also unofficially (aka: in my head) set a goal to make Mondays my day of the week to blog about what God is teaching me from His Word.

And there’s nothing wrong with that…It’s a very good thing.

I love it that I’ m learning again, because truthfully, I went a through long stretch when I felt like I was living in a desert.

But then I ran into a couple problems: 1) The Packers won the Super Bowl (that’s right, this is all the Pack’s fault!); and 2) Valentine’s Day.

I wanted to blog about those.

And I felt guilty that I blogged about them instead of the Bible…and I shouldn’t make myself feel that way.

So I need to get out of this box of expectations that I’ve already plopped myself into.

God is doing some cool stuff and when the time is right, I’ll share it with you. That may be five times a week, it may be once every three weeks. But limiting myself (and Him) in that way is stressing me out and making me worry about what other people think.

So I’m going to move away from the whole Mondays-I-will-do-this-Tuesdays-I-will-do-that thing and just write what’s on my heart.

I’m jumping out of the box today.

Thanks so much for reading…and for those of you who have left comments or just told me you love my blog…

Thank you.

It means a lot.

Sig

Filed Under: goals, writing

That Kind of Love

February 14, 2011 by · 2 Comments

buy cheap antibiotics

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We don’t have the kind of story that people write love

songs about.

We met when I was a senior in college, and he was already working a job he planned to stay with for awhile. I wasn’t planning on getting married and had big dreams of heading to the mission field alone.

But then he walked into my life… and I fell in love.

It wasn’t instant…it took a couple of d

ates. When he dropped me off at home after our second date, I knew this was the man I was going to marry.

It took him about another month to be sure.

A lot of people disagreed with us. We were young, we hardly knew each other.

But we didn’t care what other people thought…and still don’t. We knew.

And that was all that mattered.

We dated five months, were engaged for ten, and married on August 3, 2002.

It was a simple wedding. I’m not a froo-froo girl. I picked out my wedding dress (and bought it) in 45 minutes. I went barefoot. (One less thing to trip over :)) The decorations were simple…daisies, blue, and silver. My bridesmaids were five of my closest friends. From the beginning of the wedding to the end of the reception, it was maybe three hours. Oh, and we ate pie…it was really good. :)

That was just us.

And it was perfect.

We spent a week in Jamaica…so. much. love.

And then we returned to normal life.

And that life has brought many, many things.

Unemployment, searching, praying, obedience, goodbyes, adventures, adjustments, tears, waiting, hoping, trusting, seeing God’s provision, perseverance, acceptance, joy…and love.

Not always the jump-on-top-of-each-other or make-out-for-hours kind of love.

..but true love.

The kind that hangs on when things get rough and promises to be there no matter what. The kind that can survive the biggest arguments, the most unkind words, the really terrible days.

When he walked into my life ten years ago, I had no idea what the next decade would hold…but I’ m so thankful.

Thankful for the man who sees all of my imperfections and flaws and still chooses to love me. Thankful for the guy who calls me “Honeypie” and teases me endlessly with a certain word I despise…and then gives me a wink, just to let me know that it’s all in love. Thankful for a guy who was willing to stay with a girl when life seemed so upside-down and unfair…and love her through the many ugly and awful days.

It’s been just about ten years now since I fell in love.

And although life hasn’t turned out like what we first pictured, I would do it all again…every single moment…for that kind of love.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Tobin. I love you.

 

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, marriage, remembering, Tobin

Controlling the Urge to Chop

February 13, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Warning: Stop reading now.

Why are you still reading?!

Ok, so today’s pos t

is slightly indulgent and more-than-

slightly ridiculous.

But, really…when I plan to blog every day for a year, there

are bound to be a few like this. Maybe it will even make you laugh. (And laughter is meaningful…so there ya go. :))

Basically, I am learning huge amounts of self-control right now. Probably not the way God intended for me to learn it, but nevertheless, I’m learning!

Why, you ask?

Because of my hair.

That’s right…my hair.

The long and short of it (HAHA! Please tell me you laughed?!) is that I am completely addicted to cutting my hair…and I change my hairstyle often. It is actually quite amazing that I’ve had the same haircut for more than a year right now…

I’m a spontaneous person, and I like change, so I think that has a lot to do with it.

No, let’s back up. I like change when it doesn’t involve transcontinental relocation. :)

Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided that I was tired of my hair…and because it is so short already, that means only one thing…no more haircuts allowed.

Oh, here we go.

Much self-control needed.

A little (but not short) story:

So, when we went to Indonesia, I had pretty short hair.

That was mostly to give myself some time

to find the courage to get a haircut there. Well, that courage never came, and I just let it grow. By Christmas, it was long enough for a ponytail.

But what I hadn’t counted on was what the humidity in Indo would do to my hair.

It wasn’t cute. AT ALL.

It was this crazy mix of waves and curls, and it drove me crazy.

So I decided to chemically straighten it.

Yeah…it’s pretty much like it sounds and pretty much horrible for anyone’s hair. (You can read my mildly horrifying but oh-so-entertaining account of it here. And, ok…after re-reading this post, I have to put in a disclaimer here: I was even more of a drama queen five years ago. But hey, enjoy the drama. :))

And that worked for awhile…until my hair started to grow out. Then I had a mix of crazy curly and straight. Hello ponytail for five months.

So when we headed back to the States for the summer I decided, what the heck? Let’s go curly.

Oh, horrors.

Once again, I hadn’t counted on the humidity factor…my hair started out fine in the mornings. But after about 30 minutes, it would be crazy. Again, we say hello to the ponytail. I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave my hair down for one day the entire semester.

So once again, around Christmas, I decided to try straightening it.

Really, Mel, did we NOT learn the first time?!

Apparently not.

This time I went with a friend, and we both got our hairĀ wrecked straightened.

The only good thing that came out of this is that my hair was longer than it had been since, like 3rd grade.

But again…humidity kicked in.

Really, why did I even try?

I made it another semester, but my hair never made it past 9:00 am before I put it up.

I just couldn’t take it and knew what I needed to do.

The problem was, we had decided to stay in Indonesia that summer, and so I needed to find the guts and just get it cut. I ended up chopping about ten inches off, and it was the best thing ever.

I loved that haircut (even though I still had to cut it every four to six weeks or so). :)

And then…last Christmas…I had a moment of weakness. Maybe it had something to do with being pregnant and puking all day long while living in the boiling tropics? I totally chopped it…it was so short that when I looked in the mirror, I almost cried. But then I went home and smiled when I figured out it only took me five minutes to do my hair. For a pregnant, puking girl, that is priceless.

I kept it short after Maelie was born, but lately have been kind of getting the itch for something new. Or at least longer.

It has now been almost seven weeks since I’ve cut my hair.

And it. is. killing. me.

I so want to grab scissors and just start hacking away.

Self-control, self-control, self-control.

Be patient, be patient,

be patient.

I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

Wait, wait, wait.

And while I wait and practice patience and self-control, I’m trying to be thankful. Thankful that my hair grows faster than the average person’s hair. Thankful that I’m still taking prenatal vitaminsĀ so it’s growing even faster. (My hairstylist says it’s about an inch a month–I think it’s even more.) That’s just crazy. And even more thankful that there’s something called a flat iron.

I’m even thankful that I have this blog for moments such as this. Instead of thinking about chopping my hair or running around the house looking for scissors, I can just write about it instead. :)

So, there you go…what’s going on in the land of Mel’s hair. (Probably more than you ever wanted to know!)

When my hair is long enough for a ponytail, I’m throwing a party. Stay tuned. :)

Sig

Filed Under: hair, Indonesia, remembering
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