When You Put it THAT Way

Noah: Mommy, what is the party you are going to for?

Me: Well, it is for a bunch of women to get together before most of them go see a movie.

Noah: You’re going to go see a movie?

Me: No, but I’ll probably watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Noah: What’s the movie about?

Me: Well, there is a girl who falls in love with a vampire (no, son, he’s a GOOD vampire). But the vampire is afraid he or one of the other good vampires might accidentally hurt her, so he leaves. But then bad vampires come who do want to hurt her and he isn’t there to protect her. So her best friend has to turn into a werewolf to keep her safe. But then, the good vampire thinks she’s dead, so he tries to get other vampires to kill him because he doesn’t want to live without her. So she has to go to Italy and save HIM.

Sean: You just managed to make it sounds even LAMER.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Friends with the energy and creativity to invite everyone over to talk and laugh and eat and enjoy getting away from it all.
2. The way the sun, moon, and stars all aligned to allow me to finish today’s school work, cook dinner for my family, and make party food and still get where I needed to be when I needed to be there.
3. That we finally had a buyer come through on our stove! Woo Hoo!
4. My DVR. I missed the Project Runway finale to go to a party tonight and I’m dying to see if my hometown girl wins. Of course, I’m not telling you which one that would be. 
5. The prolonged periods of sleep that Violet had today that didn’t involve laying on me. Unless that means she’s not feeling well. But, assuming she’s fine…SO grateful to actually be able to do some stuff without trying to balance a baby on my hip or have her screaming at me when I put her down.

Unintended Consequences

A little under a year ago, my family and I were in a bad car accident. You are, of course, shocked by this revelation since I NEVER mention it here. And I haven’t changed my reckoning of time into BCA (before car accident) and ACA (after car accident. Nope. Hasn’t effected my life at all. (Holy crap, only six more weeks until I have to make that drive to Florida again. This may be a GREAT time to take up alcoholism as a hobby.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. We were in a car accident.

For those who don’t remember, I was the only one in my family who was really noticeably injured in that accident. I still have a large scar on my chest and a smaller scar between my eyebrows. It’s that smaller scar that I have been self-conscious about. Mainly because it had a raised lump on it. And who wants a lumpy face? My doctor said the lump came from a less than stellar stitch-up job by the ER doctors (have I mentioned that I’m not overly trusting or fond of doctors?).

So, you know how I said that I’m on an antibiotic right now? Interesting thing—since I started taking it, the lump on my scar has shrunk. It isn’t entirely gone, but it is almost flat now.

Basically,  it would appear that my doctor was wrong (which still leaves me distrustful and not fond of doctors). I’m guessing that the lump wasn’t from a bad stitch job. I’m guessing (and by “guessing” I mean it seems pretty darn obvious at this point) that the lump was a spot of infection. Which would go along with the fact that there was originally another little lump that I knew was infection because it came out early on.

So today, I am thankful for the UTI that fixed the lumpy scar on my face. Because that isn’t at all an awkward concept.

 

Today, I’m thankful for:

1. See above.
2. The fact that Sean got a great deal on a salt spreader. We now have a truck with a snow plow and a spreader that holds 700 lbs of salt at a time. He and his brother are already quoting businesses and getting residential business. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
3. The guardian angels that obviously must do overtime on my children. Because the crazy things my kids come up with? There is definitely some divine intervention going on there.
4. The fact that I get to go to my friend’s Twilight party tomorrow night. Not that I plan on going to the movie. But after the day I had today? Running away for the evening and hanging out with other women? Bring. It. On.
5. Having my mother next door and her willingness to watch the kids for a bit so I can do things like taking the cat to the vet without them.

Because I’m SO Good at Taking Care of Myself

So my mother decided awhile back that the cause of all that ails her is found in diet soda. Specifically, she has come to the conclusion that aspartame is the root of all evil.

I’m not going to mock her. I’m not even going to say that she is imagining the changes that she’s felt since she stopped drinking diet soda. Actually, I’m going to make a confession.

I decided to cut it out, too.

Well, actually, I decided after a suspiciously timed headache that it was time I abandon my one true love—Diet Mt. Dew. Yes, pathetic, I know. But I love how that stuff tastes. But when I thought that I might be becoming addicted to certain aspects of it, I decided it was time to knock it off. And while I was at it, what the heck, I may as well just cut out the aspartame as well.

That was maybe two weeks ago. Sunday, I realized that I was sick. And that I probably had been since shortly after cutting out the soda.

So much for all that ails ya’.

The really pathetic thing is that I had gone over a week without realizing that I was sick. That pain in my back? Probably just from carrying the baby. And the exhaustion (the reason I have missed the past couple of days of writing, since I just fell asleep when the kids did)? Well, that happens when you have five kids.

Then, other symptoms showed up on Sunday and I couldn’t deny that I was sick. So now I’m on antibiotics and hopefully on the road to recovery. But the fact that it took me over a week to even realize I was sick? Just plain sad.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Modern medicine. I’m still not fond of doctors, but I’m grateful that they are there when I truly need them.
2. Kids who are old enough to play Twister together on their own and the humor involved when they do.
3. Eli’s ever increasing vocabulary. I love being able to understand what has been going on in that mind of his. He’s just an awesome kid.
4. On that note, Eli’s helpful spirit. He likes to fold laundry, loves to vacuum, and I’ve been told that he’s good about cleaning up in the nursery on Sunday when it’s time. Let’s hope that sticks with him as he grows.
5. The questions game that the kids got at church Sunday. It was fun to sit together last night and ask each other questions. And it was awesome to hear the kids’ answers.
6. The knowledge that my hair will grow back. After every pregnancy, I lose a lot of hair. A LOT OF HAIR. To the point where I get a receding hairline. Which is pretty creepy to experience. But I’ve been through it enough times to know that it will grow back. And I’m grateful for that.
7. The smile on Caleb’s face when he put together a puzzle today. It is so fun to see that excitement.
8. The fact that I am starting to feel better.
9. The fact that Violet seems to be tolerating the fact that I’m on medicine right now. The doctor said that the antibiotics might upset her stomach. She’s maybe a bit grumpy, but overall she’s been ok.
10. Sweet rolls. And the woman who willingly helped her great-grandsons to make them this morning. Then she gave them flashcards (for the older boys) and flashlights (for the younger boys) for doing chores. Lucky kids!

Even the Bad Days Give You Things to Be Grateful For

Yesterday was a challenging day. Well, actually, most of yesterday went just fine. But those last two hours before Sean came home from work? Life pretty much went to Hell in a hand basket (side note: I used to think the expression was “To Hell in a handcart” which, ironically, I blame on my Mormon upbringing).

So, anyhow, I made it through dinner with the family. But after dinner, I went back to the bedroom to “feed the baby” and decided not to come out. Well, I came out long enough to give the baby back to Sean after I was done feeding her. Then I went back, closed the door, and watched TV in solitude. Or tried to. During the first two hours, while the kids were still awake, the door was opened by one little person or another, oh, maybe fifteen times. But once that stopped? I gave into the mental exhaustion and fell asleep until Sean woke me up to read scriptures together. Then I went back to bed.

All this to say, I missed writing the five things I was grateful for yesterday. So, once again, you get ten today.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The fact that my husband recognized how badly I needed space and let me shut myself in the bedroom all evening without complaining.
2. The extra sleep that put a little dent in that huge deficit that I’m constantly functioning on.
3. A sweet little five year old who apologized for giving me a rough day, even though he only contributed to it slightly.
4. An evening together with my parents and brothers and our families.
5. The work that my husband puts into taking care of our yard. It’s almost and acre and a half and probably has over 100 trees, so it takes a huge effort. And he does it without complaining.
6. The work ethic my kids are learning from their father (have I already said that one?). There is nothing more awesome than watching your kids work together, especially when even the one and a half year old is pitching in.
7. The focus that my husband (and I ) have on building memories with the kids. Even simple things like him taking them to pick out donuts for breakfast this morning. I hope that when my kids are adults, they will have fond memories of the little things that Mom and Dad did with them and know how special they have always been to us.
8. I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a parent. Anyone who has known me for awhile knows what a miracle each of my children has been. We were told we would never have kids on our own. Each of my pregnancies has been a miracle. And I truly believe that the timing that brought Noah into our lives through adoption was a miracle, too.
9. The fact that Sean and I can tease each other and laugh at ourselves. I grew up in a family that teased, so that is part of my personality. Sometimes, that gets me in trouble with people who don’t realize when I am kidding. Sean gets me, though. And it really is a fun and loving interaction between us that frequently leaves us laughing to the point of tears.
10. Having the kind of day that left the kids happy and worn out to the point of collapse on the car ride home from my brother’s house.

Finding My Happy Place

It’s time to get a little personal. I want to talk about the bedroom.

OK, not THAT personal.

Am I the only one with a complete pit for a bedroom?

It is no secret that, with five kids, housework is a constant challenge for me. I feel like it takes all I have to just keep things sanitary sometimes, let alone tidy. I think that it is only natural that I focus my efforts on the public areas.

Yes, that’s right, I’m admitting it for everyone to read: if you come to my house, I want you to operate under the impression that I’m better at housework than I really am. Therefore, I put the majority of my efforts into the parts of the house you are most likely to see.

I am a fraud. Therefore, my bedroom is a pit.

The thing is, I need someplace to get away. My entire house is overtaken by the small people who run and shout their way through my life. And I am grateful for them. But that doesn’t change the fact that they frequently overwhelm me. And I need someplace to get away from them other than the bathroom.

And it should be someplace that isn’t a pit.

So, tonight, I began work on reclaiming my bedroom. It isn’t going to be a one evening endeavor. I have craft materials to sort through and find homes for. I have a closet floor to excavate. And I’m banishing the kids’ stuff to other areas of the house.

And, heaven forbid, I might hang a picture or two. Maybe I’ll finally put up the wall sconces I bought about a year ago.

I’ll build my retreat if it kills me. Then, I may never come out again.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. A six year old who is becoming mature enough to fold some laundry on his own WITHOUT BEING ASKED. Or maybe I’m just grateful for the aliens that obviously took over his body.
2. Homemade butternut squash soup. Can anything possibly be more “Autumn” than that?
3. Finishing school before lunchtime today. It was so nice to know that the rest of my day could just be what it was without having to worry about fitting in the rest of the day’s lessons.
4. Being able to actually see the slow and steady progress that is being made as I work to organize our house.
5. My kids getting to play with their cousins today. It may mean more noise to overwhelm me, but they love hanging out with their cousins and I love for them to be happy.

Let’s Just Call it 9 1/2 Things I’m Thankful For

Yes, I failed to post five things that I was grateful for last night. Not that I hadn’t thought about them. It was just a side effect of several nights of a baby not wanting to sleep worth a darn. Truth be told, I almost skipped tonight, too, for the same reason. I lay down with Violet to get her to sleep, then my brain turns to goo and I’m worthless for the rest of the night. Blah.

To be fair, I will give you ten tonight.

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The brave men and women (past and present) who fight to preserve our country’s freedom (including my father who served in Vietnam and my father-in-law who served in the Persian Gulf).
2. The husbands and wives who stay behind while their spouses serve. I have a lot of friends in the military, and it never fails to amaze me the strength and patience of those spouses as they move from base to base and worry for the safety of their deployed loved ones. They are heroes, too.
3. A night off from my normal Wednesday night scouts. Not that the boys aren’t fun. It’s just nice to get a night off.
4. My husband’s creativity in supplementing our income.
   
   It may not be pretty, but it seems to have one heck of a plow there on the front. This may be the first time ever that I’m hoping for a snowy winter.
5. An opportunity to curl up with Wyatt and read a book. It is hard for me to get one on one time with my kids outside of their school time (which isn’t the same). Wyatt especially seems to crave it and really reacts to even a bit of time with just him. I’m glad we got some tonight.
6. The fact that my little boys like watching Mythbusters with me. There is joy in sharing the geekdom. Now, I just have to hope that they don’t have nightmares about shattering frozen heads.
7. Chocolate chip cookies (even if they do nothing for my desire to lose the baby weight).
8. The sweet prayers that my little boys offer. It is so amazing how thoughtful and (sometimes) even profound such young children can be.
9. Getting to sleep in a bit later than usual (especially when the baby woke me up every hour or so throughout the night).
10. The fact that this is the last thing I need to think of to be thankful for. I know…lame copout. But I’m tired. And my brain is mush. And now the baby is crying. Goodnight!

And His Imaginary Friend Complains that He Doesn’t Call Anymore

This weekend, Noah and Wyatt decided to write letters to Santa Claus. These were given to Sean with the instruction to mail them to the North Pole today (and then my instruction to save them since I could see him not necessarily thinking about the fact that THEY MADE LISTS since he isn’t the one who agonizes over the Christmas shopping).

Right before bedtime tonight, Wyatt came up the stairs.

“Dad, did you remember to send the letters to the North Pole?”

Sean stammered a bit.

“Um, uh, I forgot to today. I’ll mail them tomorrow.”

“OK,” Wyatt answered. “But don’t forget. The North Pole.” Then he headed down to bed.

I looked at my husband.

“You were too busy to remember to PRETEND to mail a letter?”

That, folks, takes talent.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Someone who wants to buy our old stove. That’s one less large thing taking up space in my house and a decent bit of cash to add to the Christmas budget. Double score.
2. A hubby who sweetly cleaned up after dinner while I laid on the couch with a sleeping baby. And is now going to fold laundry while I’m writing.
3. My mother doing math with Noah today. It is always so nice to have a day with a little less school work to do.
4. One last beautiful day in the high sixties before the weather turns crummy again for the rest of the week.
5. The ever-present laughter in our home. Sure, we’re usually laughing at the ridiculousness of one situation or another, but it’s still laughter. It is a good thing when you still possess the ability to laugh at yourself.

Children Are Angels Who Sing Off Key

Once a year, all of the children from three to eleven years old in our church do a presentation during the main part of our Sunday meeting. All year long, the kids practice the songs they will sing. For the last month or so before the presentation, they practice reciting parts that they are each assigned.

Today was the big day. Noah and Wyatt had both been practicing multiple times a day over the past couple  of weeks. Wyatt was to say, “My family and I can serve others.” Noah’s was significantly harder: “The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children,” They both told me they thought they would be nervous saying their parts in front of all of the adults.

They both nailed it.

And me, being the proud mommy, sat in my seat grinning so big that my face hurt and holding back the tears. This mommy gig is pretty darn rewarding sometimes.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. How seriously my little boys took preparing for their parts today.
2. The amazing primary presidency and teachers that put forth so much effort in preparing the program today.
3. The special spirit of little kids. A member of our bishopric commented that children are angels that sing off key. Perfect description (even though they weren’t really off key as a whole ).
4. The Heavenly intervention that somehow kept my three younger children relatively quiet and well-behaved while Sean was up front helping with the primary presentation. I was really worried that I would have to miss seeing most of it to keep the little ones out in the hall since I was sure they would be too energetic for me to wrangle on my own. But we made it. And I wasn’t even grumpy by the end.
5. Reconnecting with an old friend. Recently, I had been thinking some about a couple we knew early in our marriage and wondering how she was. Today, she found me on Facebook. Just like that, after absolutely no contact for probably six years. How cool is that?

Wherein I Go Shopping for Men’s Clothing and Fall Over Dead from Sticker Shock*

I got an earlier than usual start to my day today. This is thanks to the fact that Noah decided not to ride along with Sean and the other boys when Sean went to get donuts for a special treat this morning, then got bored/lonely when his visiting grandma went down to take a shower. So he came into my room and told me that Daddy said it was time to get up. Even though Daddy had already left and said no such thing before going. But I didn’t know that until I was already out of bed.

Of course, the baby decided that today was the perfect day for HER to sleep in, so I could have gotten some quality rest. Sigh.

I made sure to take advantage of that early start today, though, since I knew that I had additional errands to run. Namely, I needed to go buy Sean new suit pants before church tomorrow, since the seam in his other pair ripped out along the butt right before church last week.

Side note: I am utterly baffled by the fact that a man who is so completely butt-less seems to kill most of his pants by tearing that seam. I couldn’t tell you how many pairs of pants have met that fate in the fifteen years that I have known him. I swear, I think he does squats in them when I’m not looking.

So, my first stop today was JC Penny’s to replace the pants. And OH BOY is it a good thing that it was my first stop. Because the pants? They were a door buster sale this morning. Plus, there was a $10 coupon. Which means that the pants were ONLY forty-two dollars. As opposed to the ONE-HUNDRED FORTY DOLLAR price on the tag.

Excuse me???

It is just a freakin’ pair of pants! And let’s be honest, suit material is rather thin. There aren’t even any tummy support panels or butt boosters built in. And, quite frankly, if I spend $140 on a single pair of pants, they’d better do something special. Like the dishes. Or tucking my kids in bed at night.

Maybe I should focus my sewing skills on men’s clothing. Because, obviously, it’s a racket.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The enjoyable time that we had with my mother-in-law while she was here and her safe arrival back home.
2. My father used to tell me that you could form calluses on your hands or on your butt. I’m thankful that my husband is the kind of man who has them on his hands. And I’m thankful this means that my compost bin got built today and our last two pine trees got cut down.
3. Little boys who are learning their father’s work ethic. They should sleep well tonight after dragging so many pine branches to our fire pit.
4. The two big pots of mums that my mom gave to me. And the fact that she even planted them for me.
5. Finally finding the time (and having a beautiful day) to clean up the remainder of my garden. My side yard no longer looks like it suffered an apocalyptic event.
6. (A bonus one!) I’m grateful that I noticed the dog in my car right before I closed the door so I didn’t have to go through another night of worrying what happened to him. Or wake up to a car that smells like nervous dog in the morning. What a pinhead.

*I think, from now on, whenever I can’t think of a clever title for a post, I will just pretend that my life is part of the Complete Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and title it appropriately.

On Having a Daughter

I am now three months into being the mother of a daughter. Since Violet was born, I have regularly had people ask me if it is different having a daughter. I have avoided the urge to respond, “Only when I’m changing her diaper.” I mean, she’s still a little lump of a baby (a very cute lump, but a lump nonetheless).

And then, a week or two ago, it happened. I projected.

I innocently clicked on an add for Rebecca, the Jewish American Girls doll from New York City. OK, maybe it wasn’t innocent when I first did it. I have, in the past, found great humor in the American Girls dolls. Especially after I found out that they currently have an American Girl named Gwen who is homeless. Which means that she is probably petitioning Congress to tax the 70’s Girls’ (Julie and Ivy) incomes more heavily to pay for universal health care. Which probably has Molly and Emily (the World War II dolls) worried since Medicare is all but bankrupt and they might not get the same level of care that they are used to if the government is more concerned with keeping the younger dolls healthy. But don’t worry, Rebecca will probably throw together a televised benefit to raise awareness of the health crisis in this country.

So, anyhow, $95 for a doll has always seemed rather extreme to me.

But I got into that site and started clicking around. I found the “Just Like You” dolls that don’t have any historical significance attached to them. Then I saw this one:

 

And I could picture it being the doll that would be the most to look like my little girl when she got a bit older. Then, suddenly, I wanted it. Not because my three-month-old could give a rat’s patoot about ANY dolls. Or because I’m irrational enough to think that $95 is suddenly reasonable. But because it is the COOL doll to have, and I can relate to wanting the COOL doll (not that she does, but someday she will—whether this is still the cool one or not).

You see, I still have vivid memories of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze. I can remember when I was, oh, probably eight or nine years old. My little brother was young enough not to know that dolls aren’t “boy” toys, and old enough to want one. My sister was old enough that my mom thought she was too old to be interested in dolls still, and young enough to resent it when she wasn’t given one. So, yeah, probably eight or nine.

We were visiting my grandparents. My mom and sister had gone shopping together and left me at the house with my grandparents. While they were at the store, a new display of Cabbage Patch Kids was brought out. This was in the height of the craze, when entire displays disappeared within minutes of being brought out. Right place, right time. My mom grabbed two, one for me and one for my brother. I still remember how completely and overwhelmingly excited I was that my mother brought that doll home to me that night. I had something special.

Now I want that for my daughter. I may still have to wait a few years.

 

Today, I am thankful for:

1. The local children’s museum. My kids love that place. And I love being able to go to a great big building full of things that my children are ALLOWED to touch.
2. Corell dishes. Goodness knows how many plates I would have bought by now if it weren’t for those indestructible little gems.
3. Noah’s frequently short attention span (at least on this one), which will probably kick in long before he actually achieves the coveted Corbin Bleu look.
   
4. Roots. At the museum today, we ran into two different families that we know. My mother-in-law commented that every time she goes someplace with me, we run into at least one person that I know. Really, that’s pretty accurate. That’s what happens when you live in the same area the vast majority of your life. And it is really comforting for me. I wouldn’t do well with having to move around a lot.
5. Naps. After an over six year stream of constant babies, it is really pretty amazing that I’m able to form any type of coherent thought. If it weren’t for naps, there is no way that would happen. Besides, what could be better than curling up under a warm quilt on a chilly autumn afternoon?