Five Fact Friday: (also know as Season 3, Episode 8)

1. I know. I'm a day late. But I can explain! It has been one of those weeks. You know...the kind where you've only made it to the point of adding a touch of make-up and styling your hair maybe once or twice. And one of those times was a mere fifteen minutes before Mark got home. No, I'm not still sick with my cold I had last week. It's been the urchins again. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that it's gone from one sickness to another for the last several months. It seriously seems like someone is constantly sick here! We'll be better for a day or two and then right back at it. And lately it's been with these can't-quite-put-a-finger-on-what-the-problem-is type things. The good thing is, when the older boys are "sick," they may be running a fever but are still running around and playing like normal. Sure, it's frustrating that we're stuck at home, but at least they're not acting like they're on their death bed or anything. The baby is another story. He woke up with a fever yesterday (Thursday) and still has it today. If I even attempt to put him down, it's the end of the world as we know it. Complete devastation. Yes, I do feel sorry for the poor little fella. Especially since he really has no other symptoms (at least ones that are obvious) than the fever. But, man, my back and arms are sore! He's no featherweight, let me tell you. My Ergo Baby has been a lifesaver, and at times I've resorted to just laying on the ground and letting him lay on top of me. So that's my excuse for being late. Really, I thought about it. It just never happened. Can't wait till we are all well. For more than three days!

2. Last weekend we finally bit the bullet and got rid of Mark's car. You've heard me rant on here many times about the ol' piece of junk. And the thousands we've sunk in to  repairing it. After driving around with an expired inspection for months, getting a recent estimate for another $1,200 in repairs, and then discovering the driver's side door's inability to open from the inside (yes, he had to roll down the window to open his door.), we finally decided to just take it to the dealership and see what we could get for it. We were expecting next to nothing, but they foolishly gave us well over the blue book value for it. Whatever. We'll take it. And with a nice tax return sitting in the checking account and other money set aside, we were able to walk away with a nearly new Camry and no car payment for Mark. Considering his job requires him to travel around Houston quite a bit, he needed a reliable vehicle. So between the two of us, we shouldn't have any car complaints for a long time. Lord willing!

3. The season of Lent is upon us! Yay! One of my favorites as an adult. I'll admit, as a child I always cringed. It meant giving up something I loved and not fully appreciating why. And fine delicacies like fish sticks on Fridays. But now, I feel like it has become a time to grow. To polish things off on the inside and make sure all of my connections with the one who gave all for me are right. A designated time really work on teaching my boys who Jesus is and what he did for us. Not to mention the fact that it falls right during spring. When the whole rest of the world around me is new and fresh and green, too. (Not like it ever really got cold here. My first daffodils have already bloomed. In February.) I've used this season in the past for many different things, but this year I'm really trying to build up my prayer life. It feels like the more pups we add to our litter, the less time I have to really pray. At least the kind of focused prayer I was used to doing before kids. I guess I'm finally coming to the realization that God sees any kind of prayer that I give to him. It all "counts." It doesn't have to be the totally engulfed, eyes closed ('cause Lord knows, I will fall asleep), head bowed type thing. Talking with my God while my hands and feet are still moving is still talking with my God. Capisce?

4. That being said, no, I didn't go all out and give up caffeine for Lent. One of these years, my friends. One of these years. I figured it would be more damaging to my children than beneficial to my spiritual life! Instead, I decided to give up Facebook and add a daily rosary during nap/work time. Considering both of these things are on my 2012 bucket list, I'm pretty pumped to do this, and thus far it's going really well. I was never much of a facebooker until my iPhone came along. Really, I rarely get on facebook on the computer. It's just that darn iPhone app tempting me every time I sit down to feed the baby, watch the boys play, etc. It had come to the point where it felt like every thirty minutes I was wanting to see if anyone had "updated their status." Really? Sure, it's fun to see what everyone else is doing. Especially for someone like me whose whole world is within this house. But in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. Not when there are three little souls here trying to vie for my attention and care. Don't get me wrong- I think Facebook is a great tool. I just don't want it to be such a factor in my life. And replacing it with the rosary has been fantastic. I'll still be popping in to post my blog links...just in case anyone cares!

5. Mark has a few days off at the beginning of next week, so I'm finally going to get a haircut! I wish I was lying when I say that I haven't gone to get my haircut in a full year. I went to my hairdresser in Lubbock before moving, and shortly before Grant was born I attempted to trim my ends and ended up having to have my mom even them out because my hair was too long to accurately reach it. Since then, it's just grown and grown and grown. It's the longest it's ever been. Past my bra buckle. (yes, mine buckles.) I've enjoyed the long hair because it's easy to pull up and has even gotten to the point where I can let it air dry and it looks just fine. But the ends look hideous and I'm totally rocking the poor-lady-with-too-many-kids-who-can't-care-for-herself look. Yikes. I'm not planning anything drastic. A good trim with some nice, long layers. And, of course, a good shampooing and scalp massage. That's the best part!

My fabric for my business always comes in big cardboard boxes. The UPS guy comes around dinner time and it always makes for a super fun evening for the boys. Nothing beats a good cardboard box!

Last Friday night Mark scoped out a "fun zone" of sorts up in Conroe. You know, the kind with horrible pizza and tons of overpriced rides and games. We had a blast, though. It's so fun to see the boys get over-the-top excited about the smallest things.

We had a blast our Bible study group's Fat Tuesday party. The boys got to decorate Mardi Gras masks, have a little parade, and eat king cake.

Despite the last two days of Mr. Fever, this guy has been such a hoot lately. He is ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE! And, of course, now that he pulls up on everything, we've lowered the crib, rearranged a few things...all that "baby proofing" stuff to make sure he doesn't wound himself when I'm not looking.

Yep. We've got a problem. These two stairs don't have a wall on the other end, so the lowest we can install a baby gate is on the third stair. Guess he'll just have to learn!

Please forgive any errors this week! Usually I like to read through everything and make sure I don't sound like an idiot. But A)I'm already late, and B) the aforementioned crawling, climbing, feverish babe will be waking soon and demand to be held!