Ok, Mom don't read this. I don't want you getting too big of a head and thinking you were *right*! ;)
I am feeling overwhelmed and just wanting some down-time. But down-time is not to be had in this life I've embraced. Yes, embraced. This stuff didn't all just happen to me. I chose a lot of the things going on in our family's life.
Before we had children our evenings consisted of this: come home from work, make dinner, eat dinner in front of tv (talking also), an occasional game of the card game Uno and then off to bed. I had no computer then either. (Is anyone aware that the computer sucks the time right out of your life!?) Sometimes I feel like the little girl in Poltergeist! Like "it's here" and it won't let me go!
Now, post-children...almost every night of the week is filled with something. We are running like chickens with our heads cut off most of the time. And we are both frantic to fit in some "free time". I'm homeschooling most of the day, running to activities most evenings and mix in the field trips, play-dates and various other meetings and practices.
On top of this I've decided (in case I was bored) to have a Halloween Party. Why? Because I want my children to have something I feel comfortable with them doing on Halloween. I'm totally not "into" Halloween but I have nothing against it either. It's just not my thing. But I do like parties! :)
Don't forget the gardening I'm researching. I must have a garden next year (truthfully it's partly to save $$ on my grocery bill but also because I must conquer this thing in life that I have not tried.
So, that's where I'm at. I'm overscheduled, overwhelmed and over-tired! Would I trade it for my former (boring!?) life? Not on your life!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
My Favorite Moment
I think my favorite moment of this week was last night (Friday). Lindsay and I had the chance to go scrapbooking and we were gone for almost 3 hours (I'm never away from Haley that long). When we got back (at about 9:45 pm) Haley jumped up from the living room floor and came running to me yelling (happily). She hadn't been crying when I got there...but was obviously happy when I got back. Anyways, she just kept patting me on the back and grinning to beat the band! It's awesome to be loved and wanted like that! And it's not just for the milk factor these days! It's just because I'm her MOMMY! :)
Friday, September 26, 2008
If you water it...
Most things need attention so that they will thrive-even just to survive, living things need attention, love, commitment and "food". This is all basic knowledge, right?
In the middle of our life-the Three Ring Circus-we seem to have little time to water our marriage. Thankfully, God has blessed us with an ability to just "be" and we tend to be pretty happy-we don't need a lot of fancy dinners or dancing (ha ha) or romance. We can have fun just going to the grocery store together. I know couples who are more passionate than us, but they also fight more. And passion comes and goes in life (depending on your stage and health and many other things) but Harold and I have a friendship that has survived many "discomforts" and even some bad times. I know we have yet to go through some of the worst ones but I think we've garnered enough experience in the smaller griefs and trials to teach us about each other and how to care for each other. Don't get me wrong, we're not "just friends" but that is the most important part (to me) of our relationship. It gives us the ability to have fun together and relax together without always being "on". I love my marriage. Sorry if this is all a bit smooshy for you, but it's true. In a culture that pits men against women and vice versa I have a pretty darn good hubby! (dont' get me wrong, I still enjoy a good "dumb man" joke-becase I know plenty of men that it could apply to! ;) )
All this comes to mind because in this life we are leading (of gymnastics, scouts, homeschooling and homeschool activities as well as upcoming baseball) we have forgotten about us. The other day we realized that we'd been kind of out of sync lately. Not fighting...just not in touch like we normally are. So, we have both made more of an effort to be available. To each other! He waits for me to get done getting Haley to sleep before he goes to sleep, I try to talk on the phone less when he's here...etc You get the picture. I want my marriage to make it through all of this-the kids, the trials and come out strong in the end!
In the words of "our" song by Shenandoah
I wanna be loved like that, I wanna be loved like that
A promise you can't take back
If you're gonna love me I wanna be loved like that
Daddy never gave mama a diamond ring, mama never wanted for anything
But what he gave her it came from the heart
In a bond that was never torn apart
An old man kneeling all alone, plants his flowers in a garden of stone
For seven years now she's been gone
And his devotion is still going strong
That's what I need and want. Not diamonds...just devotion and forever.
(This picture, with us and our na*ke*d baby, illustrates just how much we need to focus on us...I couldn't find a picture of the two of us without any kids from recent years!)
In the middle of our life-the Three Ring Circus-we seem to have little time to water our marriage. Thankfully, God has blessed us with an ability to just "be" and we tend to be pretty happy-we don't need a lot of fancy dinners or dancing (ha ha) or romance. We can have fun just going to the grocery store together. I know couples who are more passionate than us, but they also fight more. And passion comes and goes in life (depending on your stage and health and many other things) but Harold and I have a friendship that has survived many "discomforts" and even some bad times. I know we have yet to go through some of the worst ones but I think we've garnered enough experience in the smaller griefs and trials to teach us about each other and how to care for each other. Don't get me wrong, we're not "just friends" but that is the most important part (to me) of our relationship. It gives us the ability to have fun together and relax together without always being "on". I love my marriage. Sorry if this is all a bit smooshy for you, but it's true. In a culture that pits men against women and vice versa I have a pretty darn good hubby! (dont' get me wrong, I still enjoy a good "dumb man" joke-becase I know plenty of men that it could apply to! ;) )
All this comes to mind because in this life we are leading (of gymnastics, scouts, homeschooling and homeschool activities as well as upcoming baseball) we have forgotten about us. The other day we realized that we'd been kind of out of sync lately. Not fighting...just not in touch like we normally are. So, we have both made more of an effort to be available. To each other! He waits for me to get done getting Haley to sleep before he goes to sleep, I try to talk on the phone less when he's here...etc You get the picture. I want my marriage to make it through all of this-the kids, the trials and come out strong in the end!
In the words of "our" song by Shenandoah
I wanna be loved like that, I wanna be loved like that
A promise you can't take back
If you're gonna love me I wanna be loved like that
Daddy never gave mama a diamond ring, mama never wanted for anything
But what he gave her it came from the heart
In a bond that was never torn apart
An old man kneeling all alone, plants his flowers in a garden of stone
For seven years now she's been gone
And his devotion is still going strong
That's what I need and want. Not diamonds...just devotion and forever.
(This picture, with us and our na*ke*d baby, illustrates just how much we need to focus on us...I couldn't find a picture of the two of us without any kids from recent years!)
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Cake from August!
Oops. I was trying to post pics of all my cakes in my blog to have a place where they are all at and I forgot one! :)
This one turned out pretty decent. It was supposed to have stars but I could not find a star cookie cutter to make the shapes so I used hearts. It went over really well. I realized when I took the picture (later when I was looking at the pictures-and the cake was long gone) that it looks like a big blob of green icing on one side...but what that is is where the heart is on the edge and around the side (it's supposed to "wrap over" the edge)
Other than that...I think my biggest issues are A) crumbing into the icing and B) Lettering!!!!! I have trouble with eying the space needed.
This one turned out pretty decent. It was supposed to have stars but I could not find a star cookie cutter to make the shapes so I used hearts. It went over really well. I realized when I took the picture (later when I was looking at the pictures-and the cake was long gone) that it looks like a big blob of green icing on one side...but what that is is where the heart is on the edge and around the side (it's supposed to "wrap over" the edge)
Other than that...I think my biggest issues are A) crumbing into the icing and B) Lettering!!!!! I have trouble with eying the space needed.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Vacation
We have been back from our vacation for 1 week now and I just realized that it got totally overshadowed (blog-wise) by Ike. The hurricane that wasn't (here anyways). So, I need to blog about my vacation, right? Well, blessedly there is not much to report. Our vacation was blissfully UNeventful! Just the way we like it.
The only thing that could've been a near-disaster is that Haley disobeyed me and walked right into a current in the river. The river was very low and fortunately I was able to reach her in time. I grabbed her by the back of her bathing suit (her head was already under) and pulled her out. No harm done. Except to my leg. When you might need to chase an errant toddler you should always have your river shoes on and ready to go into the water. Flip-flops do not work in the river (whose bottom is made up of varying sizes of rocks, pebbles and small boulders). But, all is well that ends well. And Haley was a little more careful of the river after this episode. :)
We spent lots of time just being a family and enjoying the outdoors. The kids were so tired every night that we didn't really get to do campfires and s'mores!
The rest can be said in pictures, right?
The only thing that could've been a near-disaster is that Haley disobeyed me and walked right into a current in the river. The river was very low and fortunately I was able to reach her in time. I grabbed her by the back of her bathing suit (her head was already under) and pulled her out. No harm done. Except to my leg. When you might need to chase an errant toddler you should always have your river shoes on and ready to go into the water. Flip-flops do not work in the river (whose bottom is made up of varying sizes of rocks, pebbles and small boulders). But, all is well that ends well. And Haley was a little more careful of the river after this episode. :)
We spent lots of time just being a family and enjoying the outdoors. The kids were so tired every night that we didn't really get to do campfires and s'mores!
The rest can be said in pictures, right?
Sisters
I have a favorite moment for this week. Unfortunately I did not get a picture, so words will have to suffice. For anyone who knows us or reads this blog you know that sleep is at a premium in our home. We have been plagued by sleeplessness for much of 8 1/2 years (that is exactly how long I've been a mother). For some reason or another someone is always up in the night. About 2 1/2 years ago Lindsay started sleeping through the night (yes, at about 6 years old) so we decided what? To have another baby! I have now slept through the night approximately 6 times in 19 months. Ok, there's the history of our sleep...or lack thereof.
Now, my favorite moment was this morning. My husband came to wake me up for the day to start and he asked me if I knew that Haley was in Lindsay's bed. No, I did not. I was up with Haley from 2am until 2:25 and when I went back to bed she was in her own bed. At some point in the early morning hours she decided to climb in bed with her sister rather than wake her mom up. I don't know if that was the best or if it was even better that Lindsay was excited about it! Rather than being annoyed at having her sleep disturbed...she loved having her sister's "warm little body" in her bed next to her. How sweet is that?
By the way, would that not have been an adorable picture??
Now, my favorite moment was this morning. My husband came to wake me up for the day to start and he asked me if I knew that Haley was in Lindsay's bed. No, I did not. I was up with Haley from 2am until 2:25 and when I went back to bed she was in her own bed. At some point in the early morning hours she decided to climb in bed with her sister rather than wake her mom up. I don't know if that was the best or if it was even better that Lindsay was excited about it! Rather than being annoyed at having her sleep disturbed...she loved having her sister's "warm little body" in her bed next to her. How sweet is that?
By the way, would that not have been an adorable picture??
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Hurricane Ike
Well, here is a picture of our direct hit from Hurricane Ike at a Category 4 and the devastation that ensued:
Do you sense the sarcasm? I'm so tired of the hysteria. Every time the authorities start freaking out and boarding up and telling everyone to get out (mandatory evacuation) this is what happens. I'm glad that we were spared and I'm sorry for those that were hit (truly I am)...but it's just ridiculous. We literally could not buy bread or water the other day because of the hysteria of everyone buying up all the "staples" for their pantries. And I must admit I fell into it a little. I have 15 gallons of bottled water, lots of pop-tarts, crackers, tuna/cracker kits and chunky soup...oh and gatorade. Now, what do I do with all of that? We don't eat like that! I could, I'm sure, eat both boxes of pop-tarts except that I'm trying to lose the weight I gained while camping. Anyways, I must go now and help my dear hubby un-board our house since this is over. For now.
Do you sense the sarcasm? I'm so tired of the hysteria. Every time the authorities start freaking out and boarding up and telling everyone to get out (mandatory evacuation) this is what happens. I'm glad that we were spared and I'm sorry for those that were hit (truly I am)...but it's just ridiculous. We literally could not buy bread or water the other day because of the hysteria of everyone buying up all the "staples" for their pantries. And I must admit I fell into it a little. I have 15 gallons of bottled water, lots of pop-tarts, crackers, tuna/cracker kits and chunky soup...oh and gatorade. Now, what do I do with all of that? We don't eat like that! I could, I'm sure, eat both boxes of pop-tarts except that I'm trying to lose the weight I gained while camping. Anyways, I must go now and help my dear hubby un-board our house since this is over. For now.
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