Saturday

I would love to tell you how I have decided that this is my day of rest, which it usually is. I would love to tell you that besides a few cleaning tasks, I have nothing planned except trying to find a good Sandra Bullock movie on TBS or reading a preselected book from the library today. I would love to say that I have no one coming over tonight so if I don't want to do the dishes today, I don't have to! But, it's not in my life plan today! Nope! Because I decided that Thursday was the day that I needed to crack the whip and get my house in order. It was a tornado zone from top to bottom. My dear husband actually commented that he has never seen it get that bad before. He usually says this same comment anytime the house is that bad, but this time I had to agree. So we slackers took the day off of school on Thursday, but that means that we have to school on Saturday! It sounded like a good idea at the time. Now, I am not so sure!

Weeeee Got One!!!!!!!!

Can you name that movie? I bet you can't! I bet that I have to give you another clue. How about the State Puffed Marshmallow Man? Come on! There is only one movie on this earth that has a giant, walking marshmallow man ready to take on the city. If you guessed "Ghost Busters" you have my admiration. I will hold you in the highest respect whenever I see or talk to you.



I loved that movie. When I was growing up, my brother and I used to take my dad's flashlights and shine them in dark places to see if Slimer the green sliming ghost was hiding. We would then pretend that the flashlights were our weapons and sucked up the ghosts just like the real Ghost Buster's would do! We were so cool!



Now? What was it that I felt I needed to share? Oh yes! We got one! My husband, the manly man that he is, finally got his deer this year. He hasn't had many places to hunt, and the places that he has been able to hunt on he's had to share with about 200 other hunters. This year, however, he and one of his best friends were blessed to get permission to hunt on 600 acres of land. Not only did they hunt there, they also got permission to hunt on the land neighboring the 600 acres to make that a grand total of 1200 acres to THEMSELVES! I would say the odds were for them.

He called me while still out of breath from the hunt of his dreams. Finally, instead of driving home with out his primary goal, he brought the family some meat. I am feeling a little pioneerish, but its free and I had some tonight in a stew.........amazing!!!!!


Well here it is. Here is my man with 2008 deer! Great job honey! I am proud! He plans to go out next weekend for round two.

His and Her Toys!

After neglecting my duty to my adoring readers, I have finally come home to my blog. I have come to the space where I can say what I want, think what I want, share intricacies of my homestead, and have people read them with laughter and find them somehow entertaining! I love you all for laughing with me! Thank you for being patient with me!

Now for your next installment of my random thought process.......drum roll............His and Her Toys! Those of you without children don't worry. This is not about my picks of the year from Toys R Us. With that said, you don't need to cover your eyes. Let me assure you that this is rated G for everyone. I promise! Would I steer you down a path that I wouldn't tread myself?

Now, We were talking about the adult toys (G rated remember!). My husband, being the manly man that he is, is a wood worker. He loves building things from nothing. He loves working with his hands. He loves critically thinking about putting something together that didn't even exist before he thought of it. In order to do this kind of work, you need to have the right tools. You need some good working toys, I mean tools, to get the quality that you want, the quality he must have.

You need.......another drum roll please..............

This is one of the first toy purchases we made as a couple. Actually this is the upgraded version of what we first purchased! If any of you don't know what the brand De Walt means. Just think money! Lots and lots of money.

This is my newest toy! My darling Kitchen Aid Mixer! I have wanted one of these since I first started to put my kitchen together 10 years ago with a Target wedding registry list. Because of my inherited frugality issues, I decided that I could probably get by with a 40 dollar mixer instead, and then I would get more needed gifts at the wedding. I kicked myself for many years after that! My patience paid off though. After hearing how I burned out 3 mixers in 3 years, one of my dear friends saw this on clearance and bought it for me. I am forever and eternally grateful to her. Every woman wants one of these. If they don't, they are lying, or they don't cook!

Now this is his favorite toy!

I wouldn't be showing the true glory of the toy if I didn't show you the name. It is made by Grizzly. This is where I am going to point out the genius ideas of advertising. All men's toys are manly sounding like Grizzly. You know it gives you the image of the big, tough bear that he probably hunted after it tried to go after his camp's food supply. If the tool has the name of Black and Decker on it, then it probably isn't manly enough to be included in a real man's garage.

This is my other favorite tool/toy! My dream machines! If you haven't heard about how we met click here: http://ordinarilyrandomme.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-can-move-mountains.html I move mountains with these girls! And notice the girly brand name: Whirlpool. What comes to mind with that? As if laundry and relaxation ever will coexist! One can dream.

Pumpking Carving!

With 4 children, things can get pretty messy and out of control in a short time! We had to lay some ground rules before they "had at it" with the pumpkins. Let's remind everyone that we are doing this on my kitchen table that is in a room with a carpeted floor. Don't ask! I have only ever lived a few months in a house that didn't have a carpeted dining room. It seems to be my curse! Even building our own house didn't take it away!

Now, notice in the picture above, my son's first instinct as he grabs the carving knife. I would like to point out to all who think boys won't be boys if there aren't any weapons around. Boys will be boys, and they always find weapons. They make weapons from nothing. They crave weapons. If it is already shaped like a weapon, then it's all the better, and fun!


Princess just jumped right in! "Really! We get to make a mess and you won't be mad????"

Baby Princess is a little disgusted. She took some coercing. Don't worry she eventually realized the reality that she can squeeze the guts all she wants and I won't care!

This is "Mr. Analytical". Not only is he the cleanest kid I have, but he takes the utmost care and time to do everything. The job was not done until every possible seed and gut was removed in as orderly fashion as he could come up with. We eventually had to help in order for it to be finished before Halloween.

My "Hunk of Love"! This is one of his favorite times of year. Fall means a lot of things to him, but this day is ranked on top. Why? Well he is highly addicted to pumpkin seeds. Oh yes, highly addicted. Throughout the entire process of carving he is surfing through the guts picking out every single seed. At least 10 times he makes sure that the kids don't miss a single seed. He has it down to a science. He separates the guts and the seeds, he rechecks the garbage piles to see if any were left behind, he rinses off any left over guts, he rinses again, and again, and then we salt and bake. I am always impressed with his patience while doing this. The beautiful thing about having 4 kids, is having 4 massive pumpkins loaded with seeds.

Coming up! Halloween pictures!

Busy Bee!

I have discovered something that I actually already knew. Anybody who has read this blog or knows me personally, knows that I am busy. Sure we are all busy. We have normal duties that have to be fulfilled. Some are stay-at-home moms that are the basic cruise directors of their house, some work, some volunteer, and some....well some are really busy doing things that no one can figure out. I can't decide if I want to know or not. I don't have time to. I 'm too busy!


Anytime that I go out to the store, I get looks and comments like: "Wow! You have your hands full! Are those all yours? You sure are busy!". This is when I smile and sometimes chuckle. This is when I whip out the big news and say "Yes, I am busy. And oh, by the way, I home school them!" It's my favorite part. I watch their jaws drop, their tongues roll down to the floor, and their eyes open wider than humanly possible. Then I turn around, clap my hands three times, and ask the kids politely to get back in line behind me. (Ok, the end was a slight exaggeration. One can dream, right?)

So I'm busy. What else is new? I have a full day. What I do sometimes struggle with is the fact that I still look for things to fill my day. No, I am never bored. There is always something to do. I just find things that look cool or sound like a good idea and then spend my "extra" time studying them, or doing them. Or I think that I have all the time in the world because I don't work, and my kids don't spend 8 hours a day in school. Sure we can do things later in the day. Sure we can stay up late and sleep in. We home school. We can do what we want.

Well my dears, I am finding that the more I try to buck my schedule, the more I find that I am yearning for it. I am going for the less is best routine. I am going to stick to that routine. I am going to get off the computer and get in the shower right now. Because even before I sat down to type, I knew that this was not in the schedule!

Quote of the Day!

My dear friend Andrea is so wise. She leaves me a comment on most of my posts and makes me chuckle. After reading my latest post, she gave me a bit of her wisdom. I have declared it my quote of the day.


TV remotes - one of the reasons men and women will never understand each other!

I don't know!

TV has been the blame of some weird phenomenons here. The other day, I caught Princess and Batman watching my TV in this position. I don't even ask what they are doing or trying to accomplish anymore. I just laugh, take a picture, and say "I don't know!". Yes, weirdness runs in the family!

We have another habit that's forming in our house. My dear son has taken another step into manhood. He is about to turn six next week! In his great walk through life, he has learned an unwritten man trait. A trait that every woman winces at once in her life. If that woman has married or had multiple brothers, the chances are high that she winced a lot.

My dear first born son has mastered the remote control. He has learned to yearn for it. He knows what each button is for. When he sits and watches a movie, he will not stop looking for it before sitting down. It might as well be duck taped to his hand.

He has picked up the habit of rewinding and replaying the good parts over and over and over again, until his siblings run screaming from the room for me to come and take the remote away. When I come in, he instantly puts the remote down and acts like he didn't do anything. He bats his icey blue eyes at me, and innocently says, "What mom?". I instantly know what went on. I don't know if it is my mom instincts or if it is the reality that I somehow lived through growing up with 3 brothers that all did the same thing. Icey blue eyes or not, I know what he has been up to!

He also has the man habit of high volume. He doesn' t have a hearing problem. He simply has little man ears. My daughter and I can listen to the volume at an average level of 10 to 12. My son and husband??? It is more like 35. I don't know if it is nature or nurture. I have come to the conclusion that it is no coincidence!

A homeschooler's gym class

This is our PE class! No, I don't organize relay teams, or make them do exercises before each class. I have heard of some moms doing a gym class, but we don't. One of the reason's I don't is because of these pictures. Why waste my time? My kids are active. They run, play, spin, jump, and are moving all day long. Even during our rest time, I have to go up stairs and remind them that it is rest time, a time for rest and relaxation. Which means we need to be resting or lying down, not hanging off of our bunk beds and pretending we are jumping off tall buildings like Spider man!
I would love to challenge anyone who thinks that home school kids are getting anything less than public school kids. If anything, my kiddos are having more fun!

My First Born Son

When I had this little man, life changed. He brought a certain "oomph" into my life. He is super charged. He is full of life and energy, and at the same time has this little heart of gold. He is so caring. He will gladly give up something he wanted to someone who wants it more. He is the all around kind of guy. He makes friends everywhere. He wants to be just like his daddy.

About a week ago he told us that he wants to be an astronaut pastor. "Really, buddy?" I said. "Yeah, I need to go into space and I want to be a pastor and tell the whole world about God!" he said. My cup runneth over when he says things like that. Only a mother of a little boy could understand how stinking cute that sounds.

Sometimes he says things that blow me away. While at the doctor's office today, he made friends with this other little boy about his same age. They were playing in the little playhouse in the waiting room together. The little boy got excited about something and shouted, "Oh my god!". My son chimed in quickly and said, "Don't say oh my god! If you say oh my god, then God is going to come down and destroy your house!"

I quickly corrected him, but was laughing the whole time. The poor little boy he was talking to probably now has a true fear of God. All because the preacher's son decided to bring forth a little fire and brimstone! I love this kid. He makes my heart go pitter pat. And no, I don't believe that God is going to come down and destroy our houses.

So....How's it going?

It is going really, really well. Life is crazy, but we are surviving. I have been staying on schedule, mostly. I have been sleeping in until 6am instead of getting up at 5:30am. I know, I know! You think less of me. How undisciplined can one get? 6am wake up, that's for wimps.

Well I am one. I admit it. I like to sleep. I love to have the birds singing to me while I rub the sleep out of my eyes and stare at the wall for 30 minutes. It's what I do. For my first 30 minutes of existence in the morning, I like to live a life of denial. I like to deny that I even have to get out of bed. I like to think of every reason of why I should sleep until 10 or 11. I think things like: "They will be fine getting their own breakfasts today! They won't miss me. They will sit at the table with their school books ready quietly waiting for me. I will be the one welcomed with breakfast waiting when I get up. (Or my favorite excuse!) Sure! We can start school by 10:30 and get it all done before noon!"

I am totally not living in reality when I wake up. I am close to hallucinating. I don't think straight. Like I said, after 30 minutes or so of pondering my day, I decide that I must stick to the plan. I must grab myself by the collar and hoist my butt out of bed. I realize the reality of the situation and I grin and bare it. It's not that I don't want or like my life. I just don't like anything in the morning. After 7 or so, I am completely living my dream.

Just ask my husband. After 9 years of marriage, he still tries to converse with me while I am in the hallucination stage. He wakes up singing like a bird. I grunt or moan with a frown that is beginning to cause wrinkles. I tell him that I hate mornings. He asks, "Do you at least love me?" I give him a look. He leaves for work after hugging me and kissing my forehead. I love when he kisses my forehead. As for the hugging, I wouldn't classify my part of the hug a real hug. I really just lean into him and make him hold me up. About 45 minutes later, after my first cup of tea, I call him on his cell and with a big smile tell him good morning. He laughs at me, then tells me how ridiculous I was after I woke up, and asks if I am now finally awake. I act like I said or did nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. He again laughs at me, and asks if I will ever be a morning person? I then laugh at him, and sternly say "NO WAY! God didn't make mornings for me!".

After my nightmare of getting out of bed early everyday, everything is dandy. School is going great. The kids are falling into my steps just fine. They are learning at alarming rates. We have chosen some challenging curriculum for them and they are surfing right through it. Ok, Ok, it is only the second week of school and they are still reviewing last years material, but they are getting back at "it" very quickly.

As for this blog of mine. I am trying to find the time to do it daily. It might not happen everyday as you have noticed, but I will be posting more often as I find the time. I love doing it, and it seems to me by the remarks of those I see, that you guys enjoy it. So between the multiple grammar, arithmetic, phonics, history, and science lessons in the morning, the scrubbing of bathroom floors in the afternoon, and the nightly laundry sessions that I am called to, I will come to you. Who needs history? Let's just leave the past in the past, right? And math? Why did we invent calculators? Oh! and my favorite, we don't need to wear clean clothes everyday, do we? I mean, we do home school. Showering and dressing are optional!

Anyone who knows me, knows that these last few lines are a total joke! Just thought that I would clear my conscience and reassure you all.

Day one: Who needs organization?

We started school yesterday. I had this big plan. Our lives were perfectly set out like a clean pair of clothes for the morning. I was prepared man. No one, and nothing could rock my new disciplined life.

He He Ha Ha Ho Ho! Nothing that is, except for life itself. (Note to readers: Every time that I try to be ultra disciplined, I have a catastrophe. Something comes flying into my life like a rock into a windshield. I have learned to embrace this with laughing and not stressing, for I am ordinarily random.)



Anywho, back to the story. It actually started the day before school started. It was a hot Sunday afternoon and we were to attend a picnic. Since my husband is on the church staff, I am sort of required to be there. I really did want to go. I love hanging out with people. I love to eat. Church people know how to cook. I love to watch as my kids are entertained by the other children. Since my kids are home schooled, they almost hyperventilate when other children are around them. They are always ready to make new friends. It was 90 degrees outside, but we had a great time. After a few hours of running hard and playing games it was time to go home. We arrived at home at 4pm and the kids all wanted some much needed rest time. "45 minutes" I told them and myself as I got sucked into my love seat.



Yeah 45 minutes! Famous last words. Try 3 hours later. We all rolled out of our cocoons and awoke from napping. It was now 7pm, an hour before bedtime. Don't you know the rule for the night before school? It is mandatory for kids to get to bed early the night before the first day of school. Every good parent requires it, and then rejoices in the fact that they are awesome parents because their kid is safely tucked into bed and will be smarter because it was early. We ate dinner at 8pm as the kids laughed at the realization that they were awake during forbidden hours. We finally got to put them to bed at 9:30. They fell asleep at about 10, 2 hours past bedtime!



Of course, this messed up the schedule that I worked so dang hard on. Some slept in, and some got up early. The ones that needed to sleep in are the ones that got up early. Mood swings and all, we did it though. We trudged through the murky waters of the first day of school. We, I mean I, cracked the whip and did all 16 subjects. This number is the amount of 4 kids combined. I officially have a 3rd grader, 1st grader, kindergartner, and a preschooler. I would like to face some one who thinks being a stay-at-home mom is boring.

The Indiana State Fair

Do not adjust your computer screen. This is what happens when you take your 4 children to the fair. Your head is not screwed on tight. This is your brain. This is your brain when you decide to go to crowded public places with all 4 kids. Just kidding. This is actually my try at copying an idea from a photo blog that I read. She took the same type of picture, but hers was better. Much better. Mine looks like I was about to drop my camera just as I clicked the button. Maybe next year.

We had an awesome time. We went on the perfect day. It was only 80degrees. 80 degrees and August don't go together in Indy. It is more like 90 or 95 degrees, hence the reason we didn't go last year. The crowds were actually not bad. We went the day after all the public schools started so no one was there. It's another good reason to home school. We got to pet all sorts of farm animals. We fed them too. Princess is now determined to convince her daddy that we need a farm. I am convinced too, but she is better at getting her way with him. (Don't tell him I said that!)

Food was extremely expensive there. We made sure that everyone only ate absolute necessities. This of course included the must have of cotton candy. When else does mom OK eating pure sugar that is a cool color too.

Oh! I love this one. It is the proof that I do exist and that I do go on the family outings with them. I am never, and I mean never, in the pictures. I am the one that takes all the pictures.

Here they are! The other half. We only rode on one ride. Would you believe that one Ferris wheel ride costs $22 for a family of six to ride. They were troopers though. The animals and tractors were enough to keep their minds busy! The biggest attraction was the horse manure in the middle of a walking path. Poor suburban kids. What's as normal as a house fly for ranchers is a shock of excitement for suburban kids. And, no I didn't take a picture of the manure!

It's been a while!

I have been really busy. I know I constantly say that, but I have been feeling it more this past month than ever. I have been meeting my goals and checking off my to-do list that needs to happen before we venture into our next school year. I have 2 days left and I think I finally have a handle of the fact that we are going to loose 6 hours a day of our weekdays. It actually doesn't take 6 hours to do school. It is about 2 hours per schooled child. Some have more, some have less depending on their grade level and, let's just say this bluntly, their mood that particular day.

Yes, yes it is a lot of work, but it is one of those kinds of jobs that is totally worth it when you look back at it. I know they are getting the best. I know how to push them and when to back off. We work as a team and get it done. Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be an advertisement for home schooling.

I just wanted to say that I started my new schedule today. I now get up at the butt crack of dawn. Actually no, I get up before dawn. The birds aren't even conscious yet. With this new phenomenon of me getting up early, I may have a moment to post the intricacies of my life and family and my random thoughts. I know you miss them. I miss them too. Talk to you soon.

2 Weeks and counting!

2 weeks from today, my children's lives are going to change. Oh, they are used to change since they have the most random mother in the world. But we have had the most lazy summer that I can remember, and now school is starting in 2 weeks. We have watched way too much TV this summer. I say "we" because I have been lumped into this as of this week. I have been completely obsessed with the Olympics.

I like to be in bed at 10:30. For over a week now, I don't think that I have gone to bed until 12:30am maybe 1am. I am obsessed with watching Michael Phelps and the rest of the swim team cream their competition. My heart starts fluttering the last few seconds before they crash into the wall with all their might. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. I would stop what I was doing throughout the day, anytime of day, to watch swimming on TV. I am so glad it is over. Maybe life can begin again.

Then the gymnastics. Oh, don't get me started. Those little, under aged Chinese girls are adorable, but that's just it. They are adorable, as babies or little girls, not the young women that are suppose to be out there. Go Nastia and Shawn! You girls rock!

See? This wasn't suppose to be about the Olympics. Anytime my mind wanders into Olympic territory, I am a goner. I was writing about school. We are starting. I am going to bed on time from now on. NO MORE Olympics for me! Because, we are starting school! I am terrified. Yet, I am excited. I get to teach long division this year. I get to teach proper and common nouns. I get to teach a 4 year old how to read. Oh wait. He can already do that! (Just a little mom brag!) He is starting kindergarten this year, because there simply isn't any preschool left to teach him. Oh and I will not have any kids in diapers during the day. There will no longer be the unexpected breaks of me going off and chasing down a toddler, to change the never ending stink coming from them, per the request of their older sibling who can't stand the smell of their room. This brings me utter happiness! Even more than watching Michael Phelps woosh by, by 1/100th's of a second to win yet another gold. Football just doesn't do that to me.

Pray for me friends. I am going to a very full plate this year. 3 out of 4 kids are going to be schooled this year. Yikes! I have a lot of kids.

My Love/Hate relationship

This is my Love/Hate relationship. I love this machine, yet I hate it. I can't decide. It makes me groan and moan with despair when I think about getting on it for 30 minutes a day. It also makes me jump towards heaven when I loose 3lbs because of it.

I haven't been on it for a few weeks. I was doing it everyday without fail last month. I would listen to my MP3 player and glide to a loss of 300 calories a day. I loved that part. I have left overs that need to be tossed out. My "left overs" are the 2.5 lbs per child that seemed to never go away. No amount of breast feeding seemed to melt these last few away. You might be laughing at me that I am so upset over 10 lbs. Well they seem to have all gathered into one spot on my body. They didn't disperse and spread out throughout the 5ft 11in of my entire body. Nope! They all congregated at my midsection and are still having a party.

I hate my elliptical too. It seems to have a light shining on it. You know the "glow" or the "glimmer" from above. It is saying that it could be my salvation. I could have that supermodel body that I expected to have as soon as my balloon inflated stomach popped from labor. Every woman knows what I am talking about here. Right after you have the baby, you look into a mirror with shock. It seems that it isn't like taking the pillow out from under your shirt. You have war wounds. You have had WWIII and maybe IV, V, and VI with your body. Thus the reason we start dropping doe on some type of exercising equipment, or a big fancy stroller that can go as fast an Olympic sprinter. You know, because we would all run like that if we had a stroller that could keep up.

This week I am learning to embrace my love/hate relationship. I am going to learn to get my behind out of bed on time. I have given my husband permission to do whatever he deems necessary to get me out of bed at 6am. This is a scary time for me. I hate mornings. I hate getting up early. I have never been a morning person. I am going to get up and exercise before my kids wake up. (Yuk! I am scared!)

This is part of my new schedule that I am making for our family and myself. I will post more on it later since I am still writing the rest of it. Stay tuned! I also have some great pics of the state fair. Want to see how a family of 4 does at a very crowded fair? It is interesting!

Her Lovey!

This is Care Bear A. It was a gift for my baby princess on her second Christmas. We had requested it after she went nuts while holding it in a store one day. I had no idea what we were about to embark on.
This is Care Bear B. It is different. I promise. This was bought as her birthday present. We decided that we needed a back up. Every mother has dreams of having a back up blankey or lovey when their child falls in love with it. You can switch them out while washing it, or if one gets lost, you have a back up.
Care Bear A's back side. It's bottom is so perky for a cuddly bear.

Care Bear B. Notice the tail here. Little Princess twiddles it in between here fingers. When she needs extra comfort she takes it's ultra soft tail and rubs her nose to it.

I would like to say that there is a major difference in bears. I think they are the same, but she knows the difference. If I try to hand her the wrong bear, she throws it at me and says, "It's da wong one! Moooooommmmm!" Translation: "What is your IQ woman? Just because I am 2 doesn't make me ignorant!" I still try to give her the wrong one. Sometimes the "right one" is not in a convenient spot. I always try to grab the closest one.

The other night I did get away with giving her the "wrong one". However, she woke up and came to my door at 6:30am the next morning and said, "Mooommmmm! This is NOT da wite one!" And then threw the bear to the floor, and left to find the "right one". Mothers! What do we know!

Unsolved Mysteries

We have lots of unsolved mysteries in our house. We receive them daily. We don't need ghosts or horror stories from the past to acheive them. We have 4 kids. We have 4 kids that are getting smarter by the day, and they are exploring our world through their eyes. This leads to some discoveries of our own. What for instance would you call this picture? How was I ever entertained before having children? Oprah never did this for me.

Only a few weeks left......

Well summer is winding down. Heat wise it is a rip roaring inferno outside before 10am. We have to really get our bottoms in gear to get outside before it is too hot to breathe. Here in Indy, the kids start going back to school in early August. They do this, in my opinion, to escape the last of the heat wave. No one goes outside when it is like this. A blizzard is more tempting to handle than going out and having your eye lashes singed. I am taking advantage of this indoor time to get myself completely organized before we start back at school. My kids are laughing at the fact that they don't have to start for a few more weeks, while their neighbors are getting up early and being shipped off starting this week.

As previously noted, I have been organizing a few closets and doing things that my schedule doesn't allow during our full time school year. I, in the last two days, tackled the two closets that caused me the most fear. I organized dear husband's and my closets. They were scary. They had things that should have been pitched at least 5 years ago. I had shirts that my mom bought me in high school. I don't know what would make be think that a) they would ever fit after birthing 4 children in 5 years, and b) they would still be in style. Good news, they are on there way to the Goodwill.

I have a few more things to do before I feel ready for our next 9 month adventure. I know what you are all thinking right now. No, the 9 months isn't a signal of me being pregnant. I told you that I am done and I mean it. I am thinking of having my tubes tied to make sure that we have a back up to our other choice of permanent birth control. The 9 months means the length of our next school year.

One of the reasons that I think we are going to be successful homeschoolers is that I keep our schedule as light as possible. If things are organized before hand, the year goes much smoother. I keep all running around outside of house to a minimal. By running around, I mean errands that aren't really needed and too many extra curricular activities.

When we first thought about home schooling, my husband was unsure because of my lack of organization. I truly wasn't mad at this. He had a very valid point. I am totally unorganized, or at least was. If I wanted to take on more work, I needed to find a way to make it happen. My weakness was not going to make decisions for me. It is easy to do things that you are strong in, but whoa nelly is it painful to make yourself strong where you are weak.

What did I do? A few things were changed. I joined an online group that showed me how to clean my house really well in the least amount of time. For those who want this link it is: www.flylady.net She is amazing.

Next, I studied things on how other home schooling families make it happen. I only have 4 kids. This seems to be double the work in some people's eyes, but a lot of home school families are doing great things and they have more kids than me. One of my life savers is our chore system. We use a book called "Managers of their Chores" by Steve and Terry Maxwell. I quickly realized that I am one person and simply could not keep up with everything by myself. It also wasn't my husbands job to come home after working 12+ hours and help clean my house.

Now, with the help of the chore packs, the kids are doing things by themselves that used to take us double time with me watching over them and making sure that I remembered every step. My kids have a list of things to do to get ready for bed which include: picking up toys, PJ's on, put clothes in the laundry, pick out new clothes for the morning, brush teeth, go potty, wash hands, and get drink of water. In the morning, before breakfast, they make their beds, brush teeth, get dressed, put pj's away, and comb hair. It is important to note that they do these things by themselves. Yes, we have to go remind them that they are suppose to be doing their chore packs. They are kids and get distracted. For the most part, they do their chore packs successfully.

I do have a few more tricks up my sleeves that keep our house under control, and will share with you my secrets and laughable failures in the future.

A hiking we will go!

It wasn't really hiking, but it did include some adventures. My in-laws live on a couple of wooded acres in NY. It is beautiful up there. The trees are huge and leafy. Around them is thick brush for all sorts of reptiles and small animals to live. Since we currently live in suburbia we aren't accustomed to going out to our yard and finding God's creatures lurking about. Sure we have birds of all kinds and a ton of bugs, including gigantic grasshoppers and dragonflies. For little kids these things are fun to see, but to really get their attention they need to touch and hold the creatures.
Touching was indeed done. My husband went out and caught a snake or two for the kids to see. Since I have a strict "No rodents, reptiles, or cats" rule for our household pets, the kids were intrigued with the snake. I was incredibly happy for the zoom button on my camera. You wouldn't know it from the pictures, but I wouldn't come within 10 feet of the snake.

I love my girls. Don't you just love her little finger in a totally girly position. She had fun looking at the snake, but she needed some coercing to actually touch it. I would like to point out that one of my boys took a full grasp of the snake. Batman just grabbed it with his whole hand as if it were just a stick. There was no dainty finger petting coming from him. I don't have the picture yet, but will find it soon.

Why would anyone love these things? I am honestly going to have a pow wow with God about the creation of snakes when I get to heaven. I don't think that God ever makes mistakes, but I don't see why snakes really needed to be made. Just look at that tongue! It is saying, "I know I look like a harmless gardener snake, but I would love to taste you!" I am getting the chills just looking at this picture. I need to go to my laundry room and find some peace now! Ta Ta!

Home Sweet Home!

This is my humble abode! I love my house. We have been blessed to have 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. I think that these are prerequisites to having 4 children invade your homestead. I don't know how people survive without these things that I consider necessities!

We just returned from our summer vacation, to our old stomping grounds of Western New York. Man alive, it is beautiful up there. I love the old maple trees with the lay of the land up there. I love the swamps and forests and rolling hills that they all rest on. Some places are simply serene.

One of my favorite places, if I am not being invaded by mosquitoes, is my in-laws back yard. They have a couple acres of heaven in their backyard. They work really hard to maintain it, but to me it is worth every minute. I will post more on our adventures there later.

When we go up there it is our full intention to take a vacation and relax. We never do any real site seeing or visit big exciting places. We just go to relax, eat 2 to 3 times more calories than we do on any other given day, visit with family (this is a good thing since we like them!), and just get away from life. The cell phones were not being carried around, and most of the time they were turned off. We only responded to emails if we felt like it. If we didn't feel like it, we just used the excuse "Hey, I'm on vacation!". It's a beautiful thing to have such a valid excuse to ignore life.

After 2 weeks quickly zoomed by, we were on our way home. The drive back is a lengthy 8 and a half hours. I know you all envy me. You would just love to pack 4 children with you into a car and drive endlessly home. I do have to say that I have been blessed with the 4 best kids in the world. They are awesome in the car, mostly! We had a very uneventful ride until we came upon an accident that shut down the entire interstate. Of course this happens right after you tell everyone that we should be home in 45 minutes. By the end of the trip, my husband was chucking the fresh baked chocolate chip cookies that grandma sent home with us to the kids. This was an act of desperation after sitting in traffic that ended up adding an extra hour on to our trip. We had previously told them that they could have some when we got home. We didn't feel like cleaning up the crumbs and melted chocolate that would probably be smeared all over.

When we got home, I felt that a burden had been lifted. I soon began to realize something. Before we left, our main goal was to go on vacation to be able to relax. We did and it felt great, but I realized that I was starting to relax more the second I arrived home. I felt my body melt when I smelled my house. It still has that new house smell to it. I melted into my over stuffed couch and then my bed that I purposely had put clean sheets on before we left for vacation.



When I awoke on the my first morning home, I found this cup waiting for me. It is my favorite cup. I use it almost every morning. It holds the perfect amount of my legal addictive beverage. I grasp the handle with one hand and mold my other hand around its perfectly shaped side. Even though my blessed mother-in-law bought the exact brand of tea that I do, it just didn't taste the same as home. It might also have to do with the fact that I was using a cup with a Minnesota Vikings emblem on it. They are the rival team to my Chicago Bears. I felt a sense of betrayal as I sipped from that cup. It just wasn't the same as my happy-go-lucky snowman that smiles at me while I am still in my I-am-not-a-morning-person grumble.

With all that said, I am glad to be where I belong. My house is here to welcome me. My washing machine and I are going to have some one-on-one time today. My bathrooms will once again receive some much needed attention as well as the rest of the house. I feel a sense of pride as I walk back into my position of honor. I love my home. I love being the VP of the house. I love making sure that everything is ran the way I like it, and in the order in which I like. It is home and it was missed.

PS: To all you Hoosiers who are feeling like I didn't miss you: I really missed you. I really really missed you. I can't wait to call you all and hang out with you again. See you soon!

Excuses, Excuses!

I have neglected my blog this month. I am very sorry. I must apologize from the depths of my heart and soul. I have great excuses though. They really are great. Wanna here? Since it is my blog, I am going to tell them to you anyways. If you don't like it, read another blog. But, I warn you, you won't find someone as ordinary and random as me!

Excuses! Excuses!

1) I am really, really busy. I have a husband, 4 children, and a dog to look after.
2) I am embracing my summer vacation. After completing our first year of home schooling, I am relearning the phrase: summer vacation. I have zero desire to do anything. I want to sit on my couch and eat bon bons. Ok, not bon bons, but Dove chocolates, milk chocolate flavored to be exact.
3) I am doing things that my new found employment (home schooling) has not allowed. I have almost read 6 novels in the past month. Really, I have. It is weird and unnerving to think that I have read 3 times more books this month than I read in high school. Yes, I am sorry to say this is true. I am making up for it though.
4) I am doing some spring/summer cleaning. Since I have limited amounts of time to really deep clean my house throughout the school year, I am taking advantage of the lack of schedule in my house right now. I have washed all bedding in every room. I have washed floor boards, doors, and windows. I hand scrubbed the kitchen floor. I have organized my pantry and hall closet. I have big plans of organizing some closets upstairs, but I am a little petrified of them, and have been pushing them to the end of my list hoping that they will be forgotten until next year.
5) I have found time to do absolutely nothing. I sit on the couch and the kids come and sit with me. I really enjoy this time. I get many "I love you's" and kisses. They come up with the most random questions and explanations. I wonder where they get that from? Once Batman asked if he could have the sky for his birthday? How cute is that?
6) We have been getting outside and playing as often as possible. Due to the amount of stormy days we had, we haven't been outside as much as we would like. They have been enjoying every minute of the sunshine. Dear husband taught our Princess how to ride a 2 wheeler. I am so proud.
7) I spent last week catching up on laundry that piled up on us while we were gone. I am now preparing to pack for our 2 week vacation. Why do I feel like the house has to be spotless in order for us to travel? Maybe the burglars will feel at home when they come?

So there is my list. I promise to be back at it when I get home. We will return the first week of August. Ta Ta for now!

I brought a gun into Walmart!

Don't you think I would be great at creating headlines for newspapers? I love making up titles to things. I have made up titles to books that I might someday write. I don't really think I have enough material to write them, but I have great titles that would make anyone in Barnes and Noble refrain from there caffeinated beverage and take a look.

You are all probably wondering about my story. Here goes. Dear husband decided that this would be an awesome day to go out for ice cream after dinner. It was a great idea. We all did the dishes and rushed out the door. Let me explain to you now that getting all 4 kids and myself out the door fully clothed, hair some what organized, and shoes on the right feet is quite a challenge. Not to mention, they all need to be securely buckled in their car seats.

So there we were, all 6 of us, standing in line at the ice cream shop. All the kids were yelling their orders to us. When I looked down, I saw my son had his toy gun in hand. We have a no toys allowed rule for our truck, because they always get lost or left in it. I also wasn't pleased with the type of toy he smuggled out of the house. I wasn't trying to hide anything, but I also am not wanting people to think that he can go around shooting whom ever he pleases. I quietly took the gun from him and put it into my motherly sized pocket.

On the way home we had to make a quick stop to Walmart. I ran in to get our items. As I looked down, I noticed that the pirate pistol was half hanging out of my pocket. My first reaction was, of course, to laugh! I love my boys. They are always trying to be heroes. But then my thoughts went to, "What if someone thinks this is a real gun?" All sorts of scenarios went through my mind. I instantly tried to push the gun further into my pocket so it couldn't be seen. It turns out that it was still too big to fit into my motherly abyss of a pocket. Instead of half the gun showing, I now only had the handle and the trigger peaking out.

I did make it out with out anyone knowing. I feel like a dare devil now thanks to my son. Yes, boys will be boys, and may there momma's never cease to enjoy it.

9 years and counting!

Here I am with my other half, my soul mate, the man of my dreams, and best of all the man God made for me. He and I have been through many mountain top and valley experiences in these last 9 years. We have laughed and cried together. We have fought and played. We have talked and yelled (ok, I am the yeller he is the calm talker.) We have brought 4 beautiful children into this world. Life is good. I can't imagine doing it all without him by my side.

It's funny to think back and remember what it was like before he was there. I feel like he always was there. Yes, we did know each other growing up, but we weren't ever romantically involved then. It wasn't like this movie with 2 kids who saw each other and knew that there was never another human being that we could date. He was the big brother to a friend from school. He, of course, would come flirt with all her friends when they came to play, but they were just that, his sister's friends.

His family later moved away to another state. A few years after that he came back to our church to intern for the summer. It was at that time that I had just ended a bad relationship. I remember walking into church that Sunday morning and swearing off dating. I told God that I had zero interest in dating anyone for a very long time. Oh, how God probably was chuckling at me that morning. I walked into church and into the auditorium. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Service went on as usual, but then he came out and was introduced. I knew who he was, since I remembered him. I also remember looking at him and being reminded how cute he was. Funny how we forget things like that.

The service had ended with prayer that day. Anyone who had wanted it, came up to the front and had someone pray with you. I went up. Some how I was matched up with him! Now you would think that I would have some super spiritual thoughts on my mind at this time. Nope! My thoughts were on my appearance.

I know, I know you don't believe me. Let me fill you in. I am not a morning person. I have never been a morning person. I loved going to church at night. Unfortunately, that didn't fit my mom's ideal time. She woke me up to go with her. I woke up, took a shower, brushed my teeth, grabbed my make-up bag, and ran out the door before she left, which happened in about 15 minutes. I did my make-up while she drove us to church. My hair was sopping wet. I picked it out and threw a head band on. Who was I trying to impress? I told you, I didn't want to date anyone!

So there I was. I was clean. My make-up was done, but my hair! When my hair air dries, it dries into a frizzy mess. I had no frizz eez hair gel on it. My bangs weren't even down. They were pushed back with my head band. For someone who has always had bangs, it is very difficult to go without. All I could feel was the air on my naked forehead. My huge naked forehead. I felt like it was waving and yelling, "I'm free! Look at me! I am deformed and huge! Look! Look!" I felt it waving to whom ever I talked to. Now if you are a male, I apologize. This is what goes through a woman's mind from time to time.

When it became my time to pray, with who I didn't know would be my future husband, I didn't remember what I really wanted to pray about. He asked me, and then I quickly made something up. "Um yeah, I want to become closer to God." I wasn't lying. I really did. I really really did. Thinking back, it probably was close to my original prayer request. I was just taken off guard by those strong manly hands on my shoulders, and those light blue eyes that zapped me of all intelligence.

Who knew? Who knew that a year later, I would be standing up in front of a church again with him? Who knew that we would stand together praying almost exactly 1 year after we met again? That time though, we were praying for God to bless our marriage. And, He has!

I love you dear husband! Happy Anniversary! Love, your random wife!

Oh, just one more post because I like to procrastinate!

I am suppose to be doing the final touches on my novel of instructions that I am typing up for the babysitter. But I have one more blog to write. It has been on my mind for 24 hours now, and it is itching to escape the entrapment of my mind before it jumps into the sea of forgetfulness that seems to be taking up all my brain power lately.

I went out with a friend the other night. She and I have so much in common. We both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, just miles from each other and now live in Indiana together. We had never met before coming here. We think a lot alike. Sometimes we just start to laugh, because we have some many similarities. We even share the same name. Get this, I actually worked for her dad's company and we attended the same Christmas party. Yet, we never met! After moving from NY, I was lacking in the friend area. God brought us together here in Indy and I am so excited!

She started to attend our church. While talking together one time, I had mentioned that I am not a normal pastor's wife. She later told my husband that she thought that to be neat. (It was probably more relieving than anything!) I'm not a normal pastor's wife. After trying to live up to the image in one state, I came here and quickly dropped that ball.

Isn't it funny how we make up things in our mind. We here a title of a job or a life style and we paint a picture of what that person is like. We convince ourselves on how they always dress, always keep their house, always talk, always act, and what they probably do with their free time. We put everyone into these stereotypes that we have seen or heard about.

I once read this blog of a woman who was going to marry a rancher. She was an LA city girl, dressing in the latest trend, wearing heals, going to tanning beds, and drinking lots and lots of Starbucks. Then she dated her dashing man who swept her off her feet. When he asked her to marry him, she tried to picture herself as a ranchers wife. Here is what she pictured: "children, I’ll have ten of them, maybe eleven. I’ll have to squat in the garden and give birth while picking my okra. " She pictured herself wearing dish gloves and cutting her hair short, because married women always had short hair.

She did have all her children in a hospital though, she has awesome hair, and it is long and red! And, she only has 4 kids. That's probably why I like her so much! Anyone who has 4 kids has a lot personality. (Here's her story if you'd like to read it! http://thepioneerwoman.com/category/black_heelstractor_wheels)

All this to say, I am not a normal pastor's wife. I don't wear long dresses. I do wear make up, and not too much that it is running off of my face and eye lashes. I don't bring my bible to Walmart. I have high lights and low lights in my hair, in which I get done every 8 to 10 weeks. I watch rated R movies. I do cuss, only once in while. (Sorry mom it's true! Especially when my dear husband pushes the right buttons! It really gets the point across!) I can be loud and opinionated. I don't keep a perfect house. I don't have my little ducklings follow me in a perfect little line through the parking lot. I don't even clean under their finger nails before church. What's the point? They'll be digging in the dirt right after service ends. I definitely don't wake up before dawn. No, darkness in the morning means I need to be sleeping. I let the sun be my alarm. It must be high in the sky before I acknowledge its existence. Even though I know I have a great marriage, it doesn't mean that I can't really be mean to my husband. Sometimes I feel like picking a fight. We get over it very quickly, but I do get mad at him. He just knows, after 9 years of marriage, how to quickly get me to snap out of it. Oh! And I like to ignore my responsibilities and type pointless essays on a blog of mine for an hour, when I should be finishing up my laundry and packing for my trip. That is procrastination at its best folks!

I have neglected my duty to ya'll!

Did you like that "ya'll"? Some of my dear friends are from down south (say that with a southern tougue). When they type me emails they say ya'll. When they talk to more than one person they say ya'll. We all laugh at them and poke fun. They refuse to give up their southern tongues. It is in their blood. However, I have this little problem that I don't want to tell them.

I began reading these novels that take place in the pioneer days. They are really fun to read, but they are written just like they talked back then. There are words like, "I reckin" or "I'ma fixin' to git to those there thin's". It is interesting to repeat things in my head and figure out what they are saying. I am now on my 4th novel in the series and I am starting to pick up on the language. I had said something to my husband last night and he laughed at me. It seems to me that I am no longer using the "ing" on the end of my words. They all end in 'in' instead. Maybe we are suppose to give up on the midwest and go southwest and build us a ranch? Seeing that I can't ride a horse unless it is guided on a trail and going at a snails pace, I don't think it will happen.

Besides the fact that I try to cram too many hobbies into my jam packed life, I have been really busy getting this here house ready for the sitter. (Translation: I am going out of town with my hubby and I need to put the house back together so the babysitters don't realize the chaos that we really live in.) We are going to a weddin' and my preacher husband (actually in the book they call him a parson) is a goin' to do the hitchin'. And it is goin' to take us 7 hours to git too, but not because we are taking the horse and wagon to the next town over. We are going by car to the next state over.

We will have a child free car ride. We will have a child free trip. We will have a child free hotel room (whoo hooo!). We will sit at the table at the reception and cut our own food and ask for our own drinks. We will dance (ok so I do that dancin' and my hubby does the laughin'! Maybe they'll have a fiddle?). I don't get out much and I don't drink much. So when you put the two together, I am one fun date. Good thing I always go home with the same man.

I promise to get back in the saddle and update ya'll on my life and thinkin's when I git back from that there weddin'. I also promise to talk and write like a normal human being. Ok, me and normal don't go in the same sentence, but you catch my drift. Bye Ya'll!

PS I have never had that many words caught in spell check. It seems that the spell check was made by a northerner!

This is my numero uno child! (as in birth order!)

I don't know why I haven't written a post about her yet. She is my darling first born. She and I have been through a lot together. Heck, she is lucky to be alive. I mean this because she came upon 2 very young parents who had NO clue on how to raise a baby. When I was in labor with her they told me to push, I yelled, "but I don't know how!" That seems to have been the beginning of many of "I don't know how times!"

She was the perfect first child though. She went with the flow, and usually I was flowin' like like one of those wave pools you see at a water park. You know most of the waves are being pushed to the other end of the pool, but if you are in the deep end they seem to be crashing into each other instead.

She ate well, she started to sleep through the night at 4 weeks old, and she was a very content child. I could put her in her swing and clean or do a load of laundry (this started my journey to mountain making). I would lie her down on the floor and take a shower without worrying if she would get upset. She was always happy. This was the baby that seconds after having the stomach flu, was looking at us smiling. She was that good.

Her one fault though was change. She didn't respond well to us moving out-of-state when she was 4 months of age. She from then on didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 1/2. This was an answer to prayer since I was due with baby number 3 soon after and couldn't deal with waking up with 3 children in one night. (Although, it has happened on numerous occasions.) Her biggest need was me. It turned out that she had major separation anxiety. She wasn't hungry or scared. She needed me. I was "it" in her life.

When we would leave her with a babysitter, she would scream until I would come back. She would do it to her own father too. I worked a few hours a week at a retail store, she would cry the whole time I was gone. The only thing that would make her stop was her favorite Elmo video. My poor husband had watched that 25 minute video about 5 to 6 times in a row to make her happy. He still to this day refuses to stay in the room if it is on for one of little ones.

This kid cracks me up. When she about 2 or 3, I would go through the routine of putting her to bed. She would then, every night start asking, "Mommy, are you leaving?"
"No" I replied as I chuckled. She would ask this every night, as if I leave her when she falls asleep to go bar hopping or out with friends. I hardly ever left her. The only time I was gone at bedtime was when I would go out with my dear husband, and that was only once a month to every other month.

When she was a little bit older she wouldn't scream while I was gone. Part of this is because we had grandma to watch her, and part of this is because she finally understood that I would be back. One night we got home from a date at about 11:30pm. Grandma had put all the kids to bed and was waiting in the rocking chair for us to come home. She went over the night with us, and told how all the kids went down. She mentioned that Princess had a little trouble falling asleep, and kept asking when I would be home. Then my dear mother-in-law said, "I think she is asleep now. I haven't heard her in a while."

Then to my shock, with it being almost 3 hours past her bedtime, I hear, "No, I'm not sleeping! I need a kiss and hug!"

She had waited up for me to get home that night, because she needed me there. Now some parents might say that she needed to be socialized, or she needed to learn that it was ok to be away from me. I am sure that some arguments might sound reasonable on this, but this is a case of a daughter who loves her mommy. I have been given the opportunity to have this little girl look up at me and love me. She has put her full trust in me. Her day is complete because I am there to kiss her good morning and then kiss her good night. I could look at her and say, "Cut the cord kid!" or I could say "I love you too!". With all the unconditional love that this little one gives me, how could I say anything else but I love you!

Are you listening?

Oh, I am listening. I am listening too much. Is that possible? Did you know that people listen to you? Everyone, even though they might not admit it, is listening and watching someone throughout the day. They are and you are! Analyze yourself. I dare you. When you go out today or tomorrow see who you watch. When you talk to someone, see which part of the conversation you are pondering. Sometimes we ponder and pick up unhealthy things. Sometimes we have attitudes that we want to deal with, that we need to deal with. Then we see someone else with that same attitude and say, "Well they do it!". I do this same thing and then get mad at my kids when they do something that their sibling does.

This same process can happen for the good. Although it may disturb your way of thinking, you might ponder something that you know would be good for you. For instance, when you see or hear something about your health. You may process everything you eat and what's in those things. You may for a while, or a day, or a week, and if you are really good a month, go and change some of your eating habits. This is good for you. You may keep up with it.

Last week someone had shared something they were reading. It applied to her currant situation and she was sharing how it corrected the way she was thinking. She read how an understanding wife is from God. She wasn't trying to be mean to her husband. She is not a person who comes off with a bad attitude or a nagging personality. She simply wanted her husband to be around more. She had read that sentence and it changed her attitude. She thought about being understanding when he couldn't be there and wanted to. She understood that he after 9 years still can't put things away and clean up after himself. It wasn't something that would make her love him less. She chose to love him more by being understanding.

Well, she shared this with me. Now I have told all of you that I adore my husband. He isn't perfect, but he is the perfect match for me. He had a horrible week last week. He had worked late almost everyday. I was getting pretty weary by Thursday. He had told me that he was going to have all of Friday off since he had worked all week, day and night. No problem. I can make it until then.

Friday came. He wasn't home. He got calls from 3 different avenues, and each needed him. I smiled and said, "It's fine. No problem." I was definitely having a problem, but he didn't need me to tell him that. I am sure he already knew. The day flew by and I didn't see my husband until about 9:30pm. I was exhausted. I had grocery shopped with all 4 kids and my mood was being tested. I was walking on the edge of a cliff, and if I wasn't careful, I would have loved to have jumped.

Then this wonderful email popped into my head. An email saying how one little sentence had straightened my friends thinking out. She didn't write it to me to rub it in. She didn't even know what my week was like or how I was alone for 99% of it. She was simply sharing something cool that had happened to her heart that day. Well isn't God's timing funny? I got that email, and was reminded of it throughout my day. I called my friend.

"Woman!" I said. "What the heck is the matter with you? Why in the world would you share something like that? I wanted to drown in my self pity and be mad and maybe make those around me crawl up to me and bow down or something. Now, I feel like blessing them instead and letting the whole week slide like it doesn't matter. Why? Why? Why did you have to send that to me this week?"

She laughed at me, just like all my good friends do. They laugh at me. They do it because they realize that I need to vent and puke up all that is with in me. They know that I choose to laugh at myself instead of get mad at myself. So they laugh at me! Thank you dear friend for sharing your life change. It has inspired me. It inspired me to think on a better level and to just laugh some more.

So here's my challenge. Find something good to look at, to ponder. Learn to adopt it. Maybe it is something little. It doesn't matter. Little things can add up to something big! Oh, and for goodness sakes, laugh at yourself! It is more fun than yelling. I promise. Would I stear you wrong?

Drama, Drama, Drama!

I don't live a dramatic life. At least, not with in the definition that the media and Hollywood give. I am a happily married woman. I am married to the only man that I will every be married to. He is my other half and I don't wish to be with another man ever. We have a great marriage and relationship. It has come with a lot of work, and even though it probably would rate in the hardest thing I have ever worked on list, it is worth every moment of it. I am surrounded by drama though. It all started with my first born daughter and now with this little bundle. Can't you just see the look on her face? I will tell you exactly what these eyes are saying.

"Look MOM! I am almost 3! I can totally handle this. I don't need you to be any closer than you are! I can do it MYSELF!" Actually some of this was not only said with her eyes, but with her mouth too.

Now, not even 5 minutes into our adventure walk up a creek last week, I had turned around to make sure that our dog hadn't taken off running. With in that 15 seconds, our baby took a couple more steps and lost her footing and went head first into the creek. Of course at the age of 2 1/2 she doesn't know how to swim, so she was head down and breathing in water. Now I would like to point out that she wasn't in any danger. Yes, she snorted up some water, and yes, have we had left her for a few minutes she would have been in trouble, but she is totally fine. No scars, no bruises, just the same wild 2 year old that we always had. I wrote this to show her mood swing after the incident. After the initial confident girl I have pictured above, we got these pictures below.



Her independent creek walking days were over! She would barely let her toes touch the water after that. And instead of the happy go lucky pictures I was hoping for, I got this wonderful look! The eyes are now telling me, "Would you put that stupid camera away and come hold me, NOW!" She was holding a grudge at everyone and everything after that. She was mad at me for taking pictures, mad at daddy for picking her up instead of mommy, and mad at the dumb water for tipping her over. Poor girl. Life is so dramatic!