I have become much like a hobbit in this pregnancy. And no, it’s not because my feet have swelled to the size of hobbit feet (well, that may be true, but I’m trying not to think about it). No, it has more to do with my eating habits.

My sister-in-law asked if I wanted to meet for breakfast this morning and of course I agreed. I asked her when and where and she responded, “How about 10:00 at Panera?” I said that would be fine. However, I knew full well that a meal at 10:00 a.m. would most definitely not be my first meal of the day, regardless of what the phrase “meeting for breakfast” might imply.

If you saw The Fellowship of the Ring, you may remember the hobbits (Merry & Pippin) listing some of the meals that they eat each day: Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, etc. Yep, that sounds about right for me too. At 8 ½ months pregnant, I find myself hungry for several meals between when I awake and noon. So, I thoroughly enjoyed a Cheese Danish at 10:00 this morning and counted that as my Second Breakfast.

I can only hope that I don’t end up with hairy hobbit feet before this little guy makes his entrance into the world.
————-
P.S. I read something this week that amused me: “Too many blogs are simply pretentious naval-gazing.” Although I’ve never claimed that my blog would be “deep,” I do try to write about some issues that take a teeny bit of thought (at least on my part as I try to make them coherent). But I’d say this particular post is fairly shallow and can count as my naval-gazing for the day!

Believe it or not, I was a cheerleader in high school. Stop laughing, please. I went to a prep school, so social structures were a little skewed, and “cheerleader” was not necessarily synonymous with “cool.” But I wasn’t doing it to be cool; I genuinely enjoyed it. It was a small school, so we only cheered for one team – the basketball team. But we put our hearts and souls into every game. When they were doing well, we shouted out our pride and excitement. And when they were up against a tough team or struggling through their own mistakes, we called out all the encouragement we could muster: “It’s okay, you can do it! Keep going, don’t give up!”

Some of the players could have cared less whether we showed up at games or not. But others appreciated knowing (especially at away games) that there was always a group of fans there to support them, people who wanted to see them succeed almost as much as they did.

Couldn’t we all use some cheerleaders in our lives? I know I can. I need friends who are excited for me when I’m on track, and who help me keep going when I’m struggling. Here are just a few areas of my where I am grateful to have a couple people on the sidelines, cheering me on:

My walk of faith. There is a pastor at our church who often says, “The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.” We are made for connection and community, to live interdependently with others. I am so thankful for a number of friends who encourage me as I try each day to follow Christ. My accountability partner is priceless to me, and there are several other dear friends who check in on me “just to see how it’s going,” and who offer their prayers and encouragement to help me along the way.

Marriage. Marriage takes work, and it is often helpful to share struggles and insights with other wives. It is critical to not “over-share” in these discussions, because protecting my husband’s and my marriage’s privacy is a top priority. But through conversations with other women, I’ve learned: the value of truly studying and knowing my husband, the “shut up and pray” method of dealing with conflict, and the importance of taking my moods and emotions to God first, instead of taking them out on Chad.

Parenting. I remember a few years ago when it really struck me that I’m just winging it when it comes to being a mom. And the fact that all parents are really winging it. Sure, we read books, set goals and strategies, decide on discipline methods. But when it comes down to it, we do our best and hope it works out. So it is wonderful to talk about mom-stuff with other women who are winging it alongside me. I love to hear that other moms have “been there, done that,” and to reap the benefits of their encouragement and advice. And when things get tough, there’s nothing better than hearing another mom tell me to not give up, to keep going…things will become better and clearer with time.

Writing. You’d think that once you have a couple articles published, you feel confident and “established” in your writing career. Not me. I still agonize over whether or not I’m a “real writer.” I still beat myself up over typos in this blog. So I’m grateful for my writing cheerleaders — those who occasionally tell me, “Hey, what you wrote made me laugh” or “That was a well-written article” or “You were spot-on with that article.” Those little affirmations often keep me going. I think all writers have a little reservoir of insecurity inside them. So I hope I am also a good cheerleader the ladies I know who share my love of the written word.

How about you? Do you have cheerleaders in your life? I hope so!

I don’t collect shoes. Or knick-knacks. Or stamps. But there are a few things that I honestly believe you cannot have too many of.

Books. Anyone who has taken a stroll through our home has noticed that there are books in every room of the house. Every room. Many are on bookshelves. There’s a good-sized pile next to my bed. A row of reading material along the wall next to the tub. And random other books scattered about wherever they were last perused. It’s a good thing that Chad likes books as much as I do. Rather than complain that my book piles are getting too high, he suggests that we fill our front room with built-in bookshelves!

Coffee mugs. When it comes to books, I can make a good argument for why it’s okay to keep buying more. Not so much when it comes to coffee mugs, but I love them just the same. If I’m in Starbucks, I find myself wandering over to their display racks to see the newest mugs. On a recent trip to Disney, I stopped in every shop, just to see if they might have a unique Eyeore mug. And coffee mugs are commonly given as gifts in our home; in fact, Chad picked one up for me for Mother’s Day. C. got each of us a mug at his school’s “Christmas Shop” – you know, where you send $15 in with them and they buy things like “World’s Greatest Grandma” pins. Once again, Chad and I are in agreement on this issue. If you see a coffee mug with an intriguing shape, size, color, or design, it’s fair game – put it on your wish list. Even though the mug cupboard is full. We just have to make sure we purge our mugs every year or so to make room for the new ones.

So, what about you? What can you never have too many of?

Today I’m listing eight (of many!) things that I love/appreciate about each of my guys.

Eight things I love/appreciate about Chad:

1. He is committed to excellence in all he does.
2. He works hard to protect our marriage and keep it on the right track.
3. He loves to read…almost as much as I do.
4. He’s a great dad.
5. He puts up with my “issues.”
6. He encourages me to pursue my dreams.
7. He loves God.
8. He doesn’t give up. Ever.

Eight things I love/appreciate about C.:

1. He loves to learn.
2. He has an awesome vocabulary.
3. He is analytical.
4. He works hard at all he sets out to do.
5. He is highly creative.
6. He loves Jesus.
7. He dives into his interests and passions whole-heartedly.
8. He still likes to snuggle sometimes and doesn’t mind me kissing him in public…yet.

If you’ve never played Cranium with a group of wacky friends, let me strongly encourage you to do so. We’ve hosted Cranium parties several times and we always have a blast. It’s a group game that has you doing things you might never have otherwise agreed to do and it reminds me of a big mish-mash of Pictionary, charades, a spelling bee, and playing with Play-doh, all with a little Trivial Pursuit thrown in.

As a family, we own numerous games from the Cranium guys, and we’ve particularly appreciated the kid games like Cariboo (for young ones), Hulabaloo (kids have a little extra energy to burn off?) and Cadoo (for those who are reading). So given my appreciation for all things Cranium, I was glad to come across an article in Monday’s USA Today about the company’s founders. It would seem they are as wacky and fun as the games they create.

Now, as an aside, I don’t envision myself ever working full-time in the “corporate world” again. When my kids are older, I’d love to devote more time to writing and volunteering, but the thought of a 9-to-5 obligation makes me cringe. However…if I lived in Seattle, I might be persuaded to work at Cranium. It sounds like a creative, positive, and fun place to be if you have to be somewhere every Monday morning.

But the thing I most enjoyed learning about the Cranium guys is that everyone who works at Cranium can create their own job title…as long as that title bears some relevance to what they actually do. And the best part of all: the two founders have adopted the titles of Grand Poo Bah and Chief Noodler. Seriously, those are their titles. Love it! Anyone who owns a multimillion dollar company and runs it successfully, but doesn’t take their own job title too seriously is the kind of person I’d like to work for.

So though I’ll probably never move to Seattle and work for my favorite game company, I think I’ll adopt a little of the Cranium culture here at home and start inventing my own job titles. I’m already Chief Cook and Bottle-Washer, but on top of that, I’m designating myself as Head Tickler for the week. And maybe Director of Laundry Flow or Resident Corny-Joke Teller or even Vice President of Chocolate Consumption.

What’s your title, at least for today?