Ahhhh...

After writing that title, I'm wondering what you all might be thinking I'll say next. "Ahhh" could mean a lot of things. Said with a short" a" sound could mean I'm stressed, said before "choo" could mean I have to sneeze. Or said with a sigh might mean I'm feeling relaxed, relieved or refreshed. I know that Jen and Janelle who saw in me at the soccer game are betting on the stressed "ahhh". They saw my frenzied state this morning. I think I might have said something like, "I feel like selling all our worldy possessions and moving far, far away from everything and everyone."

Yeah, sometimes I don't cope with the stresses of life very well. It's a problem. That and my ability to say "no", which is an even BIGGER problem and of course only adds fuel to the fire.

But I digress. Oh, and for the record it was the last "ahhh"...I'm feeling refreshed. Would you like to know why? That is a rhetorical question, I'm going to tell you whether you want to know or not.

I'm sure you can deduct from the whole "selling worldly possessions and moving far away" thing that our family needed a BREAK. So, with wisdom, Rich declared a "day of rest" for our family. I, of course, immediately started thinking about the state of our home, the unwritten thank you notes, the dead fish, plants, etc., and was not convinced a "day of rest" was in our near future...or at least not mine. He, however, insisted that it could wait and I, in my desperate state (and knowing down deep he was right), relented.

So...when we came home, I ignored, the cluttered counter, the toy filled floor, the unmade beds, the loads of laundry...this list could go on forever...in favor of a nap. It was only a short nap because I had a MUCH NEEDED haircut scheduled for this afternoon. By the end of my hair appointment I was feeling so much better that I decided to make a couple of stops for a fall scented candle and some pampering products.

As I drove home, I was amazed at how much better I felt. I couldn't believe how much my perspective had changed in just a short amount of time. I'm so thankful that Rich gave us all permission to rest. And if he were in a conscious state right now I'm sure he would agree ;-)

You may be wondering where I am going with all of this. I don't really know. I guess maybe I'm hoping that if I document this, it will help me remember to do things differently next time.

The Cuddler

Cuddles

When William woke up this morning he was crying out for me. I opened the door to this conversation...

William: I want you.

Me: Aw, I want you, too. I need some William cuddles.

(now cuddling)

William: I love cuddles.

Me: I love cuddles, too.

William: They make me happy.

Me: (sigh) They make me happy, too.

How MUCH we can learn from our children. Thank you, Lord for that gift.

Thursday 13

13 Memorable Moments (From Today)

1) Hearing about an answered prayer. God is good.

2) William sharing his first "Show and Tell" ever with a gleam in his eye.

3) Hearing the "oohs" and "ahhs" from William's class when he pushed the buttons on his Lightning McQueen car.

4) Dining on Dora Yogurt and Scooby Snacks while conversing with a table full of 3 year olds.

5) "Painting" with those same 3 year olds...need I say more?

6) Dining on Hammy Thingys and Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa while scoring a WHOLE NEW WARDROBE for both boys at the same time!

7) Clearing the dishes out of my sink and folding a load of laundry. Memorable because I actually found time to do this today.

8) Hearing the chorus of children greeting Richie today at the Kindergarten picnic.

9) Watching him joyfully run about to say "hello" to each one of them.

10) Finally putting faces to the names of children I've heard him talk about.

11) Talking face to face with his teacher about his progress.

12) "Dining" on Hot Dogs, Chips, and cookies with these fine folks.

13) Marveling at the percentage of food that actually entered our children's tummies vs. the percentage of food (and drink) that hit the ground.

Take Two Chocolates and Call Me in the Morning

Because chocolate is healthy, you know. It says so here.

And according to my most recent poll, you'd rather do that than have an apple a day. Chocolatey desserts won HANDS DOWN over fruity desserts. I personally think you have to be a little "fruity" (no offense) to choose anything over chocolate (No, I'm not contradicting my last post...we're purely talking desserts here). Don't get me wrong, I would never TURN DOWN a fruity dessert, but it would definitely be second place in my book. And while I am on the subject, I am troubled by one thing with the polls. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the percentages aren't adding up to 100%. This week the votes were 73% chocolate and 26% fruity. I'm not genius at math, but that only adds up to 99%. The same thing happened with my last poll. Am I missing something? Why yes, I am...1%!

I owe a big thank you to Tara for being kind enough to award me this...



Tara is a new blogging friend, but she is definitely a keeper! Click on over and say "hello", you'll be glad you did. She is a sweet, encouraging, Mommy that loves the Lord. Thanks Tara!! So everyone says the best part about getting a blog award is that you get to pass it on! I don't know what is wrong with me, but passing the award along only brings me stress. Remember my personality description is peacemaker? I can't stand the thought of leaving anyone out, hurting anyone's feelings, or spending any more time deliberating over it so I elect you all! Is that legal? Because I'm also a rule follower and the thought of breaking a blog award rule causes me even more stress! You think I'm kidding. I'm dead serious. So, in the spirit of equality and peace, I bestow the You Make Me Smile Award to anyone who is reading this! I know...I'm hopeless.

Okay, so that's all for tonight, I'm off to have a bit of chocolate...I hear it is good for stress reduction, too.

Take a Deep Breath

I'm talking to myself with the title of this post, but if you want to play along, feel free.

Today was one of those days. I was go, go, going from dawn to dusk. Well, maybe not as early as dawn and later than dusk, but you get the picture.

There was one point in the car this evening that I pulled these out of my purse in desperation.

According to the back of the bottle two small gumballs are the 21st century equivalent to Calgon. You don't even need the bathtub anymore, ladies. Just chew a couple pieces of gum and "you'll experience a tingly taste sensation throughout your mouth as Origins own peace makers, including Peppermint, Basil, and Eucalyptus, release bursts of calming coolness. Within minutes, tense jaw muscles relax and unclench, gnashing teeth grind to a halt and the band of tightness around your head loosens as pressure, tension and the weight of the world melt blissfully away."

WOW.

Sign me up.

Strangely, (although they do help a little) even these "amazing" morsels didn't take away all of the stress in my life and make everything better. I'm saddened now at the thought that I had the presence of mind to grab some gumballs from my purse, but it did not occur to me to pause and draw near to the One who truly can make the "weight of the world melt blissfully away". Peace is not in a bottle my friends. It is not in a candy bar, a tv show, a computer, a clean house, a cup of coffee, a new wardrobe, a perfect body, a padded bank account, in another person, or "fill in the blank".

Did I name your thing? You know the place or thing where you are searching in vain?

It is not there.

YOU WILL NOT FIND IT.

Try here.

Seriously, try it.

I don't know where all of that came from.

I sat down to write a post about the 15 minutes I had to transform myself from the harried Mom who just dropped her son off at soccer into pulled together and refined faculty wife who can hold an intelligent conversation with a well known and respected artist. 15 minutes is NOT enough, by the way. 15 years is not enough, actually.

But hey, it seems God had another message in mind for this post because I can promise you that last bit did not come from me! It speaks to me, though. And that's all I have to say about that.

But before I close, I do want to share one more thing. My friend Sharon and I got together today and she encouraged me to seek out this verse. When I sat down to read it, I was filled up.

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Colossians 1:9-14

WOW.

Sign me up.

Thursday 13 and Then Some

Janelle, you are NOT alone.

I'm so far behind; I think I'm first.

I remember buying a key chain with this little saying when I was in Junior High and thinking it was applicable to my life then.

HA!

I really am behind.

Do you want PROOF?

Here are 13 reasons. Because after all it IS Thursday.

1) Richie's birthday was July 12th, I still haven't sent out the thank you notes. For those of you who aren't great at math...that's two months!

2) One of my best friends and one of my sisters both called to chat over a week ago and I have yet to return their calls. (In my defense I want to actually talk to them when I call so I'm waiting until I have a good chunk of time to invest).

3) We moved 19 months ago and I have yet to get the address on my license changed.

4) I have not been "caught up" on the laundry for months...probably closing in on a year with that one.

5) We have a gift certificate for a two night's stay at a RESORT here in town and we have yet to use it. And I don't see it happening in the near future.

6) Pictures. Need I say more? Actually, yes I do need say more. Some of you feel bad because you are behind on your scrapbooks. I have boxes and boxes of photos that are not even SORTED (I mean dated back to college...and I'm no spring chicken anymore). And you've already heard about the 4000 some digital pictures on my computer.

7) Will is 3 years old and very few of his baby pictures are printed let alone put into an album or scrapbook of any kind. Although he does have a baby DVD.

8) I have a few dents in the back of my car (not all made by me) that have yet to be repaired. The first dent was made while we were at our old house (you know...before we MOVED 19 months ago?)

9) We put our aquarium of fish in the garage after we moved (say it with me...19 months ago) until we could find the time to secure Richie's chest of drawers to the wall. As a result, how shall I put this delicately...um...let's just say the population of fish in the tank has declined quite a bit. Apparently they are not hearty enough for extreme temperatures.

10) On the top of the armoire in our bedroom, there is a little montage of picture frames. Our intent was to have our wedding picture in the middle and our parent's wedding pictures on either side. We had a picture the right size for Rich's parents, but needed to get a copy made of my parent's picture. That frame is still empty after 19 MONTHS!

11) I have a dead plant in my closet. Why you ask? Because (after we moved...anyone sensing a theme here?) I put it in there until I could buy a pot to put it in that would go better with our new decor.

12) I just replaced a blender that I broke 2 years ago...last week.

13) Finally, does anyone know the shelf life of spices? Because I have some that date back to my wedding shower...11+ years ago.

I don't know what my problem is. I'm really not lazy, although I could at times use my time more wisely (i.e. blogging about why I'm behind on things instead of tackling something I'm behind on...but hey...this is therapeutic...plus now I have a list for future reference). And despite your impressions after reading this, I'm actually fairly organized. What's the deal? I'm hoping it is the season I am in and that in the five hours a week without kids this year I can manage a trip to the DMV for the address change on my license, take some time to throw out some spices, sort through a few pictures, and dare I say it...catch up? We'll see. It seems like every time I think I'm getting caught up I MOVE, or have a baby, or have a baby AND move, or start a business, or have Christmas, or get addicted to blogging (okay, that last one was definitely my fault).

What about you? I figure you are either feeling better about yourself after viewing this post because you aren't THAT far behind, you're feeling comforted because you have a similar list, or maybe you're yelling "PANSY!" at the computer because I have nothing on YOU.

Feel free to share. I'm listening...

Thirsty

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:1-4

Quick!!

We're hosting a Young Married's Small Group at our house TONIGHT!

What are your favorite get to know you questions and/or ice breakers??

Thank you!

I Cannot Tell A Lie...

...I was not so secretly GLAD when Richie's soccer game was cancelled this morning because of rain. I did give God the glory as I slipped back into bed.

"THANK YOU, JESUS!"

I love watching Richie play soccer, it gives me so much pleasure, but this morning with the drizzle of rain outside my window, a cold trying to get its hold on me, and several very long Ta Da lists, going back to bed was a MOST comforting option.

I taught my first Kindermusik classes of the semester yesterday. I had so much fun and the kids were great! However, in the aftermath of my preparations, my house is a DISASTER AREA. I'm going to tackle that as soon as I'm done with this post. I KNOW...my priorities are so right on.

Does anyone else feel repressed by a messy house? I feel like if my house is clean and in order I can do anything. If it is a mess, I feel like I can't function. It must get done today because we are hosting a young married's small group from church in our home on Sunday night. I'm very excited about that, but I'm wondering when I stopped qualifying as a young married myself?

Hmmm...let's see what else do I have to tell? Oh yes. This week at Wednesday night church we did a personality profile assessment. I have done all kinds of these, but this one was the most thorough one I have ever taken. I learned that I am an "S" and that the name for my condition is "Peacemaker". Big SHOCKER, I'm sure for anyone reading this that knows me. It was scary how accurately the description described me. The test also told you which biblical personality matched with yours and had scriptures to go along with it. I found out that I have the same personality as Moses, John, Eliezer, and Jesus. That's right, I have the same personalitiy as Jesus! There was much prideful rejoicing at that thought until I realized Jesus was listed under EVERY personality description. I guess that makes sense with Him being GOD and all.

Okay, so SERIOUSLY, do you really not know what a barista is or were you just pulling my leg? According to the official definition from Wikipedia, "When using the term in English, "barista" refers to one who has acquired some level of expertise in the preparation of espresso-based coffee drinks." It's the Starbucks girl/guy! I have often wondered if anyone tips them. I mean there is always money in the jar, but I don't know if I've ever actually seen anyone put money in it. So, here are the results from my scientific poll...

1 (6%) of you ABSOLUTELY leaves a tip in the barista's tip jar (I'm guessing that this person either is or has in the past actually BEEN a barista?)

2 (12%) of you would not even think of doing so

4 (24%) of you leave a little something when you are feeling charitable

and

9 (56%) did not (until now) know what a barista was...

As always, please feel free to leave a comment and explain yourself.

Lastly, because I am sure your eyes are starting to glaze over from all the exciting information I'm offering you with this post, I'd like to tell you about a movie we rented last night.

Have you heard of this movie?



It was made by Fox Faith (this company has also released The Passion of the Christ, One Night With the King, End of the Spear, and more). I have to say that it was refreshing to watch a faith based, moral, family friendly movie that didn't cause me to cringe from all the terrible acting, hokey story lines, etc. I really enjoyed this movie. The story was beautiful and the quality of the movie was good for the most part. The lead characters did a very good job, Abigail Breslin (from Little Miss Sunshine) stole the show, and although there were a few supporting characters that left a little to be desired in the acting department, all in all it was a very enjoyable two hours. I recommend it and think it would make a great family night pick for parents with older children.

It's Our Time to Sing Together...

Forgive me for not posting pictures of Will's first day before now! I am knee deep in preparations for a new Kindermusik semester. I'm a Kindermusik teacher by the way (if you don't already know that...which most of you do). In case you have no idea what Kindermusik is you can click on the word Kindermusik and check it out! If you are interested in finding a class in your area just search the class locator for a teacher near you! It is a fabulous program and you will LOVE it!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Will's first day went great! No potty accidents...woohoo! And no problem with the drop off. To be honest, I'm not sure he even noticed we were gone. He had a great time and seemed most impressed by a story about a big hungry bear. I'm not too fond of the big hungry bear because he threw us for a bit of a potty training loop, but I'll fill you in on that at a later date. Or I'll just say that I will and never do it (this seems to be my pattern).

I would like to say, however, "Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!" in response to the whole 2 1/2 hours without kids. I was giddy with excitement. I stopped by Starbucks for a tasty treat and then went home to get some work done. I know that must not sound very exciting, but it was bliss for me to have time alone in my house to accomplish something without interruption!

Ahhhh!

Without further ado, I'll share some of my favorite pictures from yesterday. By the way, I can take credit for very few of the pictures found on this blog. My husband takes the bulk of the pictures around here.

Will and L (our other buddy Tessa wasn't able to be there for the first day)

Is that cute or what? The backpack is almost entirely purposeless, but I couldn't resist!

After all you do need to have something to hang on your hook for the first day! AND there is the need for something to hold a change of clothes just in case Potty Training 301 didn't stick.

(Pre)School Daze

Well, now that we are in the swing of things with Kindergarten it is time to throw one more change into the mix.



Baby Will is starting preschool tomorrow. He's not really Baby Will anymore, but that is what he was affectionately called for quite some time around here.

I'm actually feeling pretty good about the preschool thing. William will go to the same preschool that Richie just graduated from. He will have the same teacher and the same classroom. And two of his best buddies are in his class. Do you know what is even cooler than that? His buddies' Mommies are also two of MY best buddies! Janelle and Dixie. Don't bother clicking on Dixie's link because there is only one post on her poor, poor blog. Although, that one post did get 86 comments, all of which are rather entertaining. We were all gluttons for punishment until we realized that no matter how much we PLEADED she was not going to post another entry in this LIFETIME.

Anyway, there is no fear about tomorrow because we have been down this road before and it is a wonderful, happy, friendly road. Plus, preschool is only 2 1/2 hours two mornings a week and that is hardly enough time to get sad about being ALL ALONE WITH NO CHILDREN. And although, William was afraid I might be "scawed" all alone and told me that I would be "ohhhhkay!"...I think I can handle it.

I'm really just so thankful that he is going to be able to attend preschool. I was worried that he would not be allowed in because we failed Potty Training 101: An Introduction to All Things Potty and Potty Training 201: A Concerted Effort. However, thankfully last week when we attempted Potty Training 301:Please God Let This Work Because We Only Have One Week Until Preschool Starts something clicked and he has had mostly dry underwear for about a week! We're still having some issues with (ahem) #2, but I guess he is saving that for the senior level course of Potty Training 401: How to poop in the POTTY and not in your PULL-UP at naptime.

Well, now that I have surely give you much more information than you came here wanting to know, I'll close.

Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll let you know how his first day went complete with pictures!