Page 82

Clean Enough

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

Our home is tidy. It’s not germ free or cleantastic. I mean, it’s not a biohazard or anything like that, but sometimes I tend to let stuff linger for lack of cleaning supplies that work properly while not making me feel like I want to rip my sinus cavities right out of my head.

At best, I’m a short-cut cleaner. The majority of my cleaning is done on towel washing day. I dust with hand towels I’m taking to the washer as I walk. I give the shower a good once-over with the washcloths I’m gathering to wash, and I usually do the same with the sinks.

I tend to ignore things like this disaster of a back door, though.

Even though Rooster is in a crate now (after the ultimate escape three days in a row) and shouldn’t have the opportunity to act out in his separation anxiety any longer, it’s more time than I want to spend cleaning. Terrible, I know. It was bad, y’all. The mud was caked on, layer after layer. I mop several times a week, and the floor still looks like that at the door.

There’s good news, though. You can be a short-cut cleaner like me and not have a crazy disgusting door. I used Shaklee Scour Off Paste, and it took me about ten minutes to get this clean. I have tried multiple times with other cleaners and quit before I ever got it clean.

The door is still ruined, but it’s clean!

I actually ordered the Scour Off Paste for Baby Gray’s bathtub. It worked wonders in there! I was in the cleaning zone, and I failed to get a before of Baby Gray’s tub, the stove top, our shower, or Mr. Gray’s sink.

I ordered the Basic H2 concentrate as well. I’ve got all those mixed up, and I’ve used them several times. The best part (for me, anyway) is that it doesn’t smell! I wish I had taken a photo of the trashcan with all the half-used cleaning products in it. I’m sold.

You can order through this link for 15% off!

Disclaimer: If you order through my links, I could benefit. However, I am not posting on behalf of Shaklee or their corporation; I did not receive compensation or products for this post.

Baby Gray/bucket/outside/pool/swimming/water

Out Back

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

Since our Snail Tale, we’ve continued to spend tons of time outside. I think he likes it.

We even found another snail–although, this one was much smaller. Baby Gray proceeded to crush it when I handed it to him.

I’m dreading the days when it’s too warm to pass our days in the backyard.

Grammie/love/memories/Papa

Love Simply

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

The Bloggess made an appearance in San Antonio last night. MommaBranam and I joined her (thanks for the invite) for a great time. Unfortunately, I’m super cool and preordered the e-book before I knew we were going, so that’s a Post It in my hand. Better than nothing, yes?

I couldn’t remember ever going to any signings before. As we stood there in line, though, I remembered the time Papa took me to a Pat Green signing. What? Your grandfather took you to a Pat Green signing? Yep.

I was in college. Pat Green used to play an annual gig in Waco, and we would go stay with my grandparents the weekend of the concert. I don’t remember if the signing was the same weekend as the concert or an isolated visit, but as Papa read the newspaper, he saw the signing was taking place when I would be in town and offered to take me. We waited in line, laughed, and talked. It was after Grammie passed away, so it was just he and I. It was such a sweet time.

I love that I got to think of that yesterday. It’s the little things that make me remember he and Grammie. It wasn’t unusual to receive a clipped newspaper article from Grammie in the mail with a note to say I love you. I think that’s what makes me love the story of our trip to see Pat Green the most–the newspaper part. He and Grammie used the newspaper to love us. Something so simple, everyday, ordinary was used in great love. They were always thinking of us. It wasn’t just us, though, it was everyone. They lived their life thinking of others. I want to be that kind of person.

blessings/love/Mr. Gray/story

Pieces to the Puzzle

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 3 Comments

Sometimes when things just fall into place, we forget the little pieces that got us there. We forget that it’s still a story God wrote with a purpose, and that it was carefully penned to bring us to where we are supposed to be. I was brainstorming for a project I saw on Pinterest the other day, and it reminded me of an integral piece of our puzzle as Mr. and Mrs. Gray.

Once upon a time, Mr. Gray was a freshman and I was a sophomore–in high school, that is. We broke up for a stint because I was pretty interested in “us” being for the long haul, and Mr. Gray was pretty interested in being a high school boy. A month from the day we broke up, I knew we were both scheduled to be at the airport, Mr. Gray on his way home from a world series tournament in Tennessee, me on my way out to see my cousin. Because we had been broken up, I didn’t know times, details, etc., I just knew the day was common.

Let me just say, for the record and all, I had been pretty dramatic about the break up; I was more than certain we were supposed to be together. I was sixteen. That doesn’t always go over well. Regardless of what anyone else thought, though, I was convinced. The night before the possible airport encounter (we hadn’t spoken at all in that month span), I prayed very specifically that if we were supposed to talk again we would see each other.

As my mom drove me to the airport, my eyes were fixed on the passing cars (I had decided to take “see each other” very literally; seeing their vehicle would count, too). The key point to the rest of our story was at a stoplight in Lockhart. Mr. Gray and his dad were stopped at the same intersection we were. I hopped on my Nokia (the one with the interchangeable face plates; you know you had one, too) and dialed him up. The rest, as they say, is history.

While that month is pretty insignificant in the big picture, when I told someone that story a few months ago, it was so neat to see how carefully God orchestrated the whole scene. It was the first time I had truly reflected what that prayer meant for me.

Baby Gray/bugs/outside

Snail Tale

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments

Baby Gray loves bubs of all kinds. He follows them around, calls them, shows them to me, and then talks about them for hours after they’ve been stepped on or crawled in the nearest crack.

While we were playing outside yesterday, a snail fell onto the deck from Baby Gray’s chair. I directed his attention to the snail, which he identified as a bub, and then had a totally different reaction from his usual curious self.

A little narration: while the adventure was intermittent with some wonder, it was mostly apprehension about the snail. He threw his chair out of the way to be able to see the bub, tried to smash the bub with the bucket when Annie (via FaceTime) suggested putting it in the bucket, got mad when I put the bub in the bucket, and then finally got a little relief when I threw it into the yard.

Baby Gray/blessings/friends/Mr. Gray/Proverbs 31

Check Your Surroundings

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

Being the baby and an only child has its advantages (if that’s not a confusing statement, I don’t know what is; my dad’s baby; my mom’s only child). It also has its disadvantages if you take the whole birth order psyche into account. I’m a my-way-or-the-highway kind of gal. Or, I was (for more confusion, read: I sometimes still am; I’m working very hard at making it permanently past tense).

You see, if I’m going to lay down my cross and follow Him, I can’t be sitting in the corner pouting when things don’t go my way. If I’m going to strive to be a wife through the model of the Proverbs 31 Woman, I can’t blow a gasket every time Mr. Gray and I don’t see eye to eye. If I want to be a role model for Baby Gray, I can’t be a grown woman acting like the baby and the only child.

While chatting with some old friends at the wedding this weekend, one of the other AGR wives asked me how I kept my cool with things. I was blown away! I kept my cool? Really? Me? On a regular basis? I took a moment to do some self-reflection before I answered. Of course, my primary goal is to be an example of someone who lives a Christian lifestyle. Christ didn’t walk around losing his cool. So I threw that out there.

The more I thought, though, the more I realized that my friends have absolutely held me to a standard of that. We are all striving to be Christ-like in the way we treat our husbands, children, and the people around us. My friends absolutely hold me to that. If I walked in talking trash about Mr. Gray for any reason, I would immediately be called out for not honoring my husband–and for that I am forever grateful. God has truly blessed me with some amazing women. If I lost it with Baby Gray for being an 18 month-old, same thing. These women have helped mold me from the baby-only-child-monster into a woman of Christ.

Am I perfect? Absolutely not. Do I have it all together all the time? Don’t bet on it. Do I try my best? I do. Do I need these women to keep me in check? You bet.

Think back to the Show Me Your Friends, and I’ll Show You Your Future poster that was plastered all over your middle school classrooms. Yep, that’s what I’m talking about here. Who you surround yourself with matters. I try to make sure I’m not always drawing from the friendship ATM, though. I want to pour in as much–or more–as I take out. I want to be the kind of friend that helps shape lives.

Baby Gray/food/lunch/Recipes/vegetables

I’ve Got a Lunch

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

I get asked all the time what Baby Gray and I do for lunch. Usually, I fix him something and then eat what I want during his nap. He usually wants fruit and cheese along with pasta of some sort, and I add vegetables in there somewhere.

The problem with toddler time frames is you don’t always have the time it takes to make pasta when they ask for it. I’ve found a few quick-cook solutions that work for us. HEB makes frozen cheese tortellini and ravioli that both take only three minutes in boiling water. These are always a hit (The bonus? They come in pretty big bags for fairly cheap). I can put anything with those and he loves it. Another favorite around here is ramen noodles. I just throw the seasoning packet away (it’s got more sodium than I really want to give him) and use olive oil, sauce, or cheese to make whatever pasta Baby Gray wants.

I usually break it up before I put it in the boiling water so it’s more manageable for him. He can usually make a couple of meals out of one package.

honeymoon/marriage/wedding

If I Had It To Do All Over

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment

Weddings are a big deal. Not as big as the actual marriage, obviously, but a pretty big deal nonetheless. We love going to weddings and being part of new marriages. We pray many blessings upon the couple and enjoy celebrating with friends.

Anytime we go to a wedding, people ask what, if anything, we would have done differently about our wedding. Our answer is always unanimously the same: we would have waited to leave for our honeymoon until Monday.

What? Why? I can hear the questions now. We still would have headed to the Airport Hilton and hung out in our hotel room together, but we would have slept Sunday away and rested up for Cabo rather than embarking on our honeymoon first thing Sunday morning and sleeping when we got there.

Take it. Leave it. That’s our honeymoon suggestion.

Congratulations to the DeJongs! We had a great time!

Baby Gray/Fashion Friday/growing up/independent

Fashion Friday

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment

No, no, it’s not what you think. I had such a collection of Baby Gray’s outfits this week, though, that I felt the need to jump on the Fashion Friday bandwagon.

Oh, you know, just getting ready for bed.