It's true. We're not off to a really great start. I have NONE of that time I was supposed to have since all the kids are at school. The good news is that I'm not feeling as lonely as I was worried about. The bad news is that time was supposed to be for cleaning the house, preparing dinner, exercising. So none of that stuff got done yesterday.
The kids didn't get to bed until after 9:00 and they reminded me a lot when I woke them up for scripture reading this morning. At least we're getting THAT done! Practicing was iffy yesterday. I woke up a little earlier this morning determined to get more done! Everything was going OK until I woke the kids up...just kidding...kind of. We read scriptures, I made whole wheat pancakes (I'm taking credit for every possible tiny little thing right now). Eva had to take her violin to school for the first time today and wanted to put some cool things in her locker and wanted me to go with her. Given yesterday's great results I was feeling a little rushed and wondering really why couldn't she just do it herself but I went because it seemed important to her. We got there really early, dropped off her violin (I counted my blessings AGAIN for the free violin because it means that since we have had to upgrade we have two violins and she can leave one at school and we don't have to worry about the back and forth stuff), and I watched while she set up her locker. A few times I noticed I was the ONLY parent and was feeling rushed and wishing I could get out of there but then I realized I was the ONLY parent....she invited me to school as a 7th grader and actually that's really cool and it means she likes me and wants me around and that's very special for a 12 almost 13 year old girl. Then I felt a little teary and after a couple of minutes I said, "Eva I feel pretty special because I think I'm the only parent to be invited to middle school." I was going to say thank you but before I could get it out she looked around and said, "Um, bye Mom." I didn't hug her in the hall but I imagined it in my head.
THEN I had to go to the store because we were almost out of bread and I had no time to make any yesterday. There was a really long line (5 customers in front of me) and the person at the front of it had trouble and there was only one checker. When I finally got home, Ivy and Nathan were in the yard with their backpacks like they were ready for school--an hour early! But they weren't really ready because Ivy needed to comb her hair and Nathan had put a shirt on that had syrup all over it from the other day (don't even ask my why...I didn't even ask about the pants because I really didn't want to know--they looked all right...I figure that's why I buy them pants that all look the same). I told Nathan to change and Ivy to comb her hair and then went to work on some PTA stuff I needed to take care of when we heard emergency vehicles outside. Concerned, but determined to stay focused, I asked the kids to see if they could see anything happening from the front door. They could--there was a policeman and two ambulances at a neighbor's house so I ran over there to make sure everything was fine. They were (I mean as well as a person could be who had to have ambulances over, I guess) and I left my phone number and talked to the mother of the household (she was at work in Salt Lake) and then came home to take the kids to school....late, of course. But only by a few minutes really.
The really great part about it was that when they got out of the car at school I noticed that
Ivy didn't comb her hair...
Nathan DID change his shirt...
Into the one he wore yesterday.
So I guess tomorrow, Day 3, will be the day I get it all together!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday night Eva and I got sick with some bug that gave us fever and chills, stomach pains and muscle aches. We were miserable. The rest of the family was so sweet!!
Nathan brought me an extra blanket from downstairs and a pan "just in case". He also put a new light bulb in the lamp by my bed.
Ivy helped Eva come upstairs closer to a bathroom and got her a pan "just in case".
Ethan cooked dinner Sunday.
Vince got us medicine to help with the fever, brought us water, and washed the dishes.
I couldn't help but remember 5-7 years ago when I would get sick and have to putter around the house still trying to do what I could. It's so nice to have a husband home and to have kids mature and thoughtful enough to help take care of things!
Nathan brought me an extra blanket from downstairs and a pan "just in case". He also put a new light bulb in the lamp by my bed.
Ivy helped Eva come upstairs closer to a bathroom and got her a pan "just in case".
Ethan cooked dinner Sunday.
Vince got us medicine to help with the fever, brought us water, and washed the dishes.
I couldn't help but remember 5-7 years ago when I would get sick and have to putter around the house still trying to do what I could. It's so nice to have a husband home and to have kids mature and thoughtful enough to help take care of things!
Ivy, the Ultimate Multi-tasker
School starts tomorrow and my kids are shaggy so I announced this morning that we are ALL, yes even I, going to get hair cuts this morning.
It's the last day of summer....they are all annoying each other....and me. I'm losing my sanity and I'm thinking that an hour out of the house for haircuts is what we all need so I went in my room to change and run a comb through my hair.
The kids were all in the living room--Eva engrossed in her book, Ethan annoying everyone, Nathan fighting back with him, and Ivy brushing her hair. I hear all the angst that goes along with all of this until finally one phrase from Ivy is heard above all the rest:
"I have a comb! And I WILL use it!"
It's the last day of summer....they are all annoying each other....and me. I'm losing my sanity and I'm thinking that an hour out of the house for haircuts is what we all need so I went in my room to change and run a comb through my hair.
The kids were all in the living room--Eva engrossed in her book, Ethan annoying everyone, Nathan fighting back with him, and Ivy brushing her hair. I hear all the angst that goes along with all of this until finally one phrase from Ivy is heard above all the rest:
"I have a comb! And I WILL use it!"
Friday, August 20, 2010
I'm From Venus, He's From ... #3
Do any of you have husbands out there who seem to be frequently......
vague? Or undecided?
Like this year is our 15th anniversary and after 14 anniversaries of barely going out--there are some stories there but I'm trying to bury the hatchet and move on--we have decided to take 2 nights AWAY!
This is so exciting! As a general rule, Vince and I have never taken/had the luxury of much time to ourselves. It began when we were dating and each had big job and church responsibilities that limited our dating opportunities followed by a 5 month summer apart when I was in Oregon and he in Arizona. After that we took full-time 50-80 hour a week jobs in the treadmill factory to pay for school where we both took full-time credits. When we graduated we moved to Oregon to start the job search and after just a month or so Vince was hired on a probation-type status so he moved to Utah while I stayed in Oregon for a few months. When I finally got to Utah we each had big church responsibilities and more kids and, well, here we are. We had one night without the kids 5-7 years ago (I can't remember when exactly) thanks to my parents and we had another one in June thanks to Uncle S and Aunt K.
So you can imagine I am thrilled that we have committed to going somewhere. Anywhere. I don't care where. But he does. He wants to decide the place, which is TOTALLY fine with me and I think it's cool that he wants to decide. But DECIDE already!!! We've been talking for a couple of months and he can't decide. All he has to do is pick a city/town. When I ask he typically says something like, "Don't worry...I'll decide....we'll go somewhere." Ugh. I want to make reservations, already.
So this week the perfect opportunity presented itself. Some teenagers I know are acting in a play. The first play I ever attended is when this same group of kids presented A Midsummer Night's Dream and I went because I had a student in it and she really wanted me to go and I was VERY reluctant to go but I dragged a great friend with me and we had a blast! It was amazing!! So we are taking our husbands to the play tonight. And I had a feeling that if I told Vince where we were going he would come up with a reason to not go out tonight. So I decided to tell him nothing. And I thought that maybe he would understand how frustrating it is to not have any idea what is planned! Because I clearly like to know. I have been waiting all week for him to ask me what we're doing tonight.
Last night he asked. And I said something like he would say:
"Oh, we're going to a thing....we'll leave around 6:30 or so."
And HE said...........
OK
Sigh.
vague? Or undecided?
Like this year is our 15th anniversary and after 14 anniversaries of barely going out--there are some stories there but I'm trying to bury the hatchet and move on--we have decided to take 2 nights AWAY!
This is so exciting! As a general rule, Vince and I have never taken/had the luxury of much time to ourselves. It began when we were dating and each had big job and church responsibilities that limited our dating opportunities followed by a 5 month summer apart when I was in Oregon and he in Arizona. After that we took full-time 50-80 hour a week jobs in the treadmill factory to pay for school where we both took full-time credits. When we graduated we moved to Oregon to start the job search and after just a month or so Vince was hired on a probation-type status so he moved to Utah while I stayed in Oregon for a few months. When I finally got to Utah we each had big church responsibilities and more kids and, well, here we are. We had one night without the kids 5-7 years ago (I can't remember when exactly) thanks to my parents and we had another one in June thanks to Uncle S and Aunt K.
So you can imagine I am thrilled that we have committed to going somewhere. Anywhere. I don't care where. But he does. He wants to decide the place, which is TOTALLY fine with me and I think it's cool that he wants to decide. But DECIDE already!!! We've been talking for a couple of months and he can't decide. All he has to do is pick a city/town. When I ask he typically says something like, "Don't worry...I'll decide....we'll go somewhere." Ugh. I want to make reservations, already.
So this week the perfect opportunity presented itself. Some teenagers I know are acting in a play. The first play I ever attended is when this same group of kids presented A Midsummer Night's Dream and I went because I had a student in it and she really wanted me to go and I was VERY reluctant to go but I dragged a great friend with me and we had a blast! It was amazing!! So we are taking our husbands to the play tonight. And I had a feeling that if I told Vince where we were going he would come up with a reason to not go out tonight. So I decided to tell him nothing. And I thought that maybe he would understand how frustrating it is to not have any idea what is planned! Because I clearly like to know. I have been waiting all week for him to ask me what we're doing tonight.
Last night he asked. And I said something like he would say:
"Oh, we're going to a thing....we'll leave around 6:30 or so."
And HE said...........
OK
Sigh.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Disturbing Shopping Behavior
I went shopping with kids. That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? I mean, really, it took me about 2 months to figure out that was a bad idea...when Eva was a baby. And yet I continue to subject myself to the experience. Just kidding--they're all old enough that I don't mind taking them anymore, especially when I can just take one or two at a time.
Today I took Nathan. We were having a good time. He wanted to spend some time with me doing a "project". I didn't have much time for a project as we were out of bread, milk, eggs, cereal, ....well you get the idea. I taught piano until 3:00 and then made a list of what we would need for the next two weeks. And then when I got home remembered a few more things we need before school starts. Of course. Anyway. Halfway through our "project" he declares he tired, cold, hungry, didn't have a snack, his feet hurt, OH--can we buy THIS? You know what I'm talking about. But I was really having a good time anyway and enjoying the change in scenery.
At one point in the produce section, I noticed a woman staring intently at Nathan as we were walking past. I thought it was really disconcerting--enough that I had the following 5 second conversation with myself. "Do I know her? What's she looking at? Is she looking at me? Does she recognize him from somewhere? Maybe I should ask her what's so interesting about my 6 year old son. Seriously? She's still looking? Oh well. We are almost done and I'm feeling good enough to forget about....NATHAN" That's the conversation I had in my head--here's what I said out loud: "Get your finger out of your nose!" Seriously. He had it waaaay up there! He said to me: "But there's something stuck up there Mom!" I said, "I don't care--wait until you have a Kleenex or something!" And then I imagined the 5 adults in earshot of our cart wondering what produce we had been shopping for and vowing to wash EVERYTHING as soon as they got home!
Today I took Nathan. We were having a good time. He wanted to spend some time with me doing a "project". I didn't have much time for a project as we were out of bread, milk, eggs, cereal, ....well you get the idea. I taught piano until 3:00 and then made a list of what we would need for the next two weeks. And then when I got home remembered a few more things we need before school starts. Of course. Anyway. Halfway through our "project" he declares he tired, cold, hungry, didn't have a snack, his feet hurt, OH--can we buy THIS? You know what I'm talking about. But I was really having a good time anyway and enjoying the change in scenery.
At one point in the produce section, I noticed a woman staring intently at Nathan as we were walking past. I thought it was really disconcerting--enough that I had the following 5 second conversation with myself. "Do I know her? What's she looking at? Is she looking at me? Does she recognize him from somewhere? Maybe I should ask her what's so interesting about my 6 year old son. Seriously? She's still looking? Oh well. We are almost done and I'm feeling good enough to forget about....NATHAN" That's the conversation I had in my head--here's what I said out loud: "Get your finger out of your nose!" Seriously. He had it waaaay up there! He said to me: "But there's something stuck up there Mom!" I said, "I don't care--wait until you have a Kleenex or something!" And then I imagined the 5 adults in earshot of our cart wondering what produce we had been shopping for and vowing to wash EVERYTHING as soon as they got home!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
One more thing to Remember...
The safety instructions for my new hair dryer said "Never operate while sleeping"
More Pictures!!!!
It's Eva! Again. I am putting more pictures up. Yesterday Mom, Ethan, and I cleaned out the spice cupboard, the knife/utensil drawer and the Silverware drawer. Here are 3 more pictures. Every time my Mom looks at one of the places we cleaned she goes "Look at my spice cupboard, It's so clean!!!!!". Hope you like it!! One more thing. We also fixed the potholder drawer, but I forgot to take a picture.
 |
| The Silverware drawer |
 |
| The Knife Drawer |
 |
| The Spice Cupboard |
Friday, August 13, 2010
Pictures!!!
This is Eva!!! I am putting the pictures on!! I tried to zoom out, but the room was so small I couldn't back up very far!! My Mom told me to choose two or three. I would like to put more on, but unfortunetly, this isn't my blog. So, here they are!!!
"I Know What We're Going to DO Today!"
Do you ever wake up in the morning with a plan? I do. I generally wake up each morning with a very good idea of exactly what I'm supposed to do. And then I spend most of the day doing anything BUT the plan. Just kidding--it's not really that bad. This summer has been a little unique because every day I have been following plans dictated by the needs/desires of family members, church callings, etc. Until yesterday. When I woke up and declared to myself that I was going to organize the armpit of the house: our "laundry/pantry/medicine closet/cleaning supply/recycling/trash/small appliance storage/craft/garage overflow" room. It's the teeny tiny room adjacent to the kitchen and it's been our "catch-all" for years.
I felt like Phineas and Ferb yesterday when I made the announcement to the kids--and they were excited. Eva even volunteered to help all day and make it a personal progress goal.
It took us all day but we eliminated garage overflow and craft stuff from the room entirely. We installed something in the garage to hang brooms, dust pans, dusters, and fly swatters (much to Vince's chagrin, as he is not thrilled to open the garage door and reach 6" to grab the fly swatter). We installed something on the wall to store plastic garbage sacks. We rehung the ironing board and iron. We put ALL the bulk food items and mixes (chocolate milk, pancake mix, muffin mix, bisquick, cornmeal, oatmeal, etc.) in plastic canisters. We got some stacking wire baskets for fruit and potatoes and onions. We got some hanging shelf baskets and stacking shelves to help organize the bread, canned goods, medicine and laundry stuff. We got a bin for the newspapers and hauled old papers out for a fresh start. We got a second garbage can and blue sacks so we can now recycle. Eva printed nice pages to help us learn what goes in which can for the next several weeks. She also printed matching labels for all the bulk food and mixes. We have a box for lunch bags and water bottles.
It's a different room! Eva is excited to post a picture so maybe she'll get to do it today.
And I know what I'm going to do TODAY! I get to finish laundry and clean my kitchen cupboards! And yes, I'm excited--I generally get to do this at least twice a year but it's been well over a year this time because we've been too busy with other things.
I felt like Phineas and Ferb yesterday when I made the announcement to the kids--and they were excited. Eva even volunteered to help all day and make it a personal progress goal.
It took us all day but we eliminated garage overflow and craft stuff from the room entirely. We installed something in the garage to hang brooms, dust pans, dusters, and fly swatters (much to Vince's chagrin, as he is not thrilled to open the garage door and reach 6" to grab the fly swatter). We installed something on the wall to store plastic garbage sacks. We rehung the ironing board and iron. We put ALL the bulk food items and mixes (chocolate milk, pancake mix, muffin mix, bisquick, cornmeal, oatmeal, etc.) in plastic canisters. We got some stacking wire baskets for fruit and potatoes and onions. We got some hanging shelf baskets and stacking shelves to help organize the bread, canned goods, medicine and laundry stuff. We got a bin for the newspapers and hauled old papers out for a fresh start. We got a second garbage can and blue sacks so we can now recycle. Eva printed nice pages to help us learn what goes in which can for the next several weeks. She also printed matching labels for all the bulk food and mixes. We have a box for lunch bags and water bottles.
It's a different room! Eva is excited to post a picture so maybe she'll get to do it today.
And I know what I'm going to do TODAY! I get to finish laundry and clean my kitchen cupboards! And yes, I'm excited--I generally get to do this at least twice a year but it's been well over a year this time because we've been too busy with other things.
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