Summer

Ahhhhh the sounds of summer have begun. I have this sudden feeling of freedom. I can't really pinpoint what I am free from, but I feel light, happy, and relaxed. I actually noticed myself taking deep breaths three times today. Can you believe it? I had enough time to do something that was not already scheduled on my calendar! I heard the baseball hit the bat today, the sounds of splashing children in the swimming pool, and I endured the heat through it all. Like I said... summer is certainly here.

The beginning of summer is always bittersweet for me. It's a little bit of a shock to have the full responsibility of entertaining 4 children who have strong opinions on what we should do next. I love to have them home all day - we can sleep late, have lunch together (at whatever time we want), and just take in the afternoon in whatever fashion hits us first. But as summer begins, we have to bid our teachers good-bye. This year Cole was a part of his Kindergarten teacher's very first classroom. Reed spent the year with a teacher who we knew well. Brooks was in her class 2 years ago. I knew what to expect, yet it was even better than I remembered. Brooks loved his first year of middle school. Caroline's year brought great success.

I am so thankful for our teachers and for their willingness to help my children through each stage of their education. I always wanted to be a teacher growing up. I played school for hours in my room with the door closed. I had my very own back-scratcher and I dreamed of the beautiful wedge heels that my 3rd grade teacher had. How the shoes relate to school teaching, I don't know, but I thought every teacher had a pair. I also couldn't wait to have my very own blackboard along with a chalk-holder. But somewhere along the way my sense of reason left me and I entered the world of business. Don't get me wrong, I loved my days in Human Resources. I helped plenty of people and learned all kinds of things. But I am just amazed at how a teacher shapes a child's day. When I volunteer in classes, I constantly re-evaluate how I could go back to school and become a teacher. Isn't that crazy?

I guess it has to do with the fact that my mind is beginning to wonder what one does when the kids are all gone. Yes, I know, I have 12 years till my nest will be empty - but it seems like it was 19 years not too long ago and now 7 of those years are gone. I am constantly evaluating what I want to do in my 3rd career. I think I might try something entirely new.

Didn't I tell you I was feeling free? I am actually free to daydream. Today I was free to water the flowers and move a few pots around. We hoisted some junk to the dump and hung the towel bars in the bathroom I painted back in April. I feel like I've been to the spa. Oh yeah, it was just the humidity in the air as I breathed in the heat from the first days of summer. Before our routine begins again.

Forgive Me

Here's a quick update on how my life is going. May is particularly busy around here. This past weekend we had 6 baseball games, 2 baseball practices, 1 soccer game, and 4 Sound Company performances.  My parents were here, so they were able to see first hand just how crazy life is.  We had a great time and everything went quite smoothly - which is great considering I had some type of mild stomach ailment on Friday and Saturday.

Monday morning the kids whooshed off to school despite the exhaustion and mess.  Amazingly, I was able to overlook the chaos and make 4 lunches in record time.  You see, I have a messy kitchen phobia.  I really need to have all dishes in the dishwasher before serving breakfast and before making lunches.  Why?  I really don't know.  Tim discovered my phobia long ago and adjusted our Sunday morning schedule.  We used to be late to church every week because I was insistent on having the dishwasher cleaned out and refilled before we left.  So, he simply took over kitchen duty.  He brings me my breakfast while I dry my hair and we are now on time for church again.

All that said, we loaded the dishwasher yesterday before we left for the day's activities.  Somehow between yesterday morning and this morning, I felt for sure that those dishes had been washed. I opened the dishwasher this morning to grab some cups for orange juice.  I filled those puppies up with very pure, delicious orange juice and placed them proudly in front of Reed and Cole.  Right after that, I proceeded to grab the silverware in order to put it back in the drawer.  Suddenly I discovered a horrible truth.  Just as I looked over to see both boys gulping down the last of their drinks, I realized that I had just served their juice in dirty cups.  Reed even commented on how quickly I had run the dishwasher today.  Evidently he had already discovered the dirty dishes and had pulled from the cabinet instead.  

I just didn't have the heart to admit my mistake.  I mean, what do you say?  "Oops!  I just gave you dirty cups?"  I was going to stop them before they started drinking, but upon looking up I realized it was just too late.  Oh, and remember that stomach ailment I had last weekend?  I had the horrible realization that one of those cups had been used for water to wash down my medicine.  There is just really nothing to say.  I just grimaced, gave them kisses, and put those cups right back where they had been.  In the dirty dishwasher.

Just imagine my relief when I went back up to brush my teeth and I found the glass I used on Saturday - still dirty - right beside the sink where I'd left it.

Again

I actually composed the post below on Monday.  I was being completely sarcastic when I pondered which kid would like to be sick.

Guess what.  2 kids home from school today.  Fever and stomachache.

Tell somebody I was KIDDING!  

But I am enjoying the excuse to watch a little more Gilmore.

Androliday

Guess what happened 39 years ago at 4:30 a.m... In Hillsdale, NJ, at Hackensack Hospital, yours truly entered the world.

Here I am! What do you think?

I now have 365 days until I lose my status as thirtysomething. I have to say that it will be hard to bid farewell to this decade. After all, some great things have happened in the past 10 years. Plus, when I was in college, my favorite tv show was "Thirtysomething" - partly because the 30's seemed so far away. How can I be older than most of the professional athletes?

Well, it's gonna happen, so I might as well grin and bear it!

I'm trying to smile, can't you tell?

Bouncy

Just to let you know, my workouts are continuing to progress.  I am sure you've been clinging to the edge of your seat to see if my legs are still attached after the somewhat strenuous workout from last week.  

Our gym has the coolest cardio room.  Those of you living in a large city have had these since 1492, but those of us in Smalltown America come by things slowly.  If you ever come looking for me and I'm not in step class, you will find me in the movie room.  The room is dark and the sound is loud.  We can use treadmills, bikes, or elliptical machines while watching a blockbuster.  Last Friday I watched Cellular.  One full hour on the treadmill just to see how it would all end up.  The first time I went into the movie room, they were showing Chicago.  Great movie, great music - perfect for keeping your mind off the sweat and tears incurred by overexertion!

This morning I put myself through a Body Step class.  We have an extremely energetic instructor.  She has this bounce that the rest of us cannot emulate.  In fact, when I try, I practically fall to the ground. and falling to the ground is dangerous when you are on a step.  It is a long way down to the floor.  Not to mention embarrassing!  At the end of her class, you are surely worthy of a blue ribbon - or whatever color you want.  An honorable mention for sure, because you are a survivor.

I'm a glutton for punishment.  I'll go back tomorrow for step.  Caroline has an eye doctor appointment, so I will skip my weekly date with Beth (Moore) and exercise before the appointment.

I'm not sure all of this exercise is doing much for this bod.  I just notice that I am ravenous all day long - and my stress levels are manageable after an hour with loud music, my step and one super bouncy instructor.

What's for Dinner

I am going through a phase.

This particular phase I am in cycles through every once in a while.  It is called the Restaurant Phase.  Symptoms:  I really have no desire to cook.  Nothing sounds good unless I purchase it already prepared.  The house is not well-stocked with anything but cereal and popcorn (of course).  

I've been through many other phases, too.  

When we lived in Mississippi I went through the Organized Cooking Phase.  Symptoms:  the desire to cook everything all at once and the dislike of frequent trips to the grocery store.  My freezer was full of home-cooked dinners plus fresh veggies and fruits.  I would cook our meals for the month in one to two days, then store them in the freezer.  It was the best plan.  I went to the grocery once a week and I had no worries!  We left Mississippi 4 years ago and I haven't experienced such symptoms since.  But I keep trying to get back to this point - it was easy, healthy, and it felt so good to be organized. 

In between, I have been in the Last Minute Phase.  Symptoms:  Too busy/lazy to make a meal plan.  Procrastinating on dinner options until the last minute and going to the store everyday to buy only what you need for that night.  Now, I do have several friends who live by this plan.  It seems to work well for them. During baseball season, this is the best plan for our family.  I never know which night we will have time to eat at home, so I save money by avoiding food (rot)ation.

There is also the Slow Cooker Phase.  I used to cook things over night, but by the time I woke up the next morning, I had already had so much of the meal through my nose that I was no longer in the mood to eat what was in the cooker.  When I use the slow cooker now, I reserve it for an occasion when I will be gone all day.  I can walk in, scoop it out on a plate, and voila ... a meal is ready with little effort!

I am quite happy when I can get away with the Sandwich Phase. This does not hit often, as hubs is not wild about sandwiches.  If there is something leftover to make a sandwich with, he is ok.  But, I don't like leftovers. at all.   I'd rather starve (or eat popcorn).  Plus, I hate having a refrigerated crowded with leftovers.  Call me crazy.  It is just too hard to maneuver around all of the "glad ware" when looking for the sour cream!

So, for now, I will remain in the Restaurant Phase.  I'm feeling ok about it right now.  Did you know that the woman in Proverbs 31 did take-out, too?  This is what I learned from my last bible study class with Beth Moore...

 "...she is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar." Proverbs 31:14

Hmmm.  Wonder what we'll have tonight!

Back to the Gym

This was written last Thursday:

I headed back to the gym today.  It's been quite a few weeks since I've been there.  I have been quite busy playing nurse maid to sick kids - plus I've been blogging (which takes some time).  I've also been planning birthday parties and painting my nails....  So what it really boils down to, is the fact that any excuse has been a good one and I've been skipping out.

Little Cindy Who (LCW) and I had plans to run a 5K in March.  Until I realized that March 22 in East Tennessee could quite possibly bring snow.  I absolutely refuse to run outside in cold weather - so - since there is that possibility - I have postponed the first inaugural 5K until the weather promises to cooperate.  

LCW and I also have plans to avoid osteoperosis and firm up the sag by lifting weights on a regular basis.  We were in a great routine last Spring (after my knee surgery) but somehow we have been unable to get it together again.

Until today.  I promise.  We are really starting again. Well, I am starting.  She's been going great guns since Fall.  I, on the other hand, have not.  We began this journey in January.  We headed into the weight room to brave the world of men.  Usually the weight room is full of big, buff men who like to listen to head-bangin' rock (which we personally cannot stand).  Do you think there is something about Ozzie Osbourne that builds muscles?  I have my doubts (especially since my phone rings "Crazy Train" when hubs calls).  If it did, I would be hugemongous just from the phone calls).  Too bad it doesn't work that way.

Fortunately for us, we met Gerald in January.  He came to our rescue when another hugemongo male decided to give us some lifting tips.  The HM (hugemongo male) volunteered to teach us some abs exercise that might possibly kill us (and yes, he really did say that) - but he also added that they were just what we needed to whip our bellies into shape.  Gerald appeared just after HM's demonstration of the exercises and kindly suggested that we start with some easier reps.  To this day, we meet Gerald on Tuesdays and Thursdays for our FREE personal training at the gym.  He always has some type of hint for the day - how to improve our form with just one small adjustment or how to cook tilapia, or with an encouraging word to keep us coming back for more.

He was happy to have us back today. I'm happy, too.  It's my legs that won't be happy tomorrow!  Oh well, no pain, no gain... right?

Translation

Upon reflection, I can see with clarity, just how last night came about....

First, for the OR. Hubs had a small issue that needed to be taken care of, which delayed his arrival home from the expected 8:00 to about 10:30.  I already knew he would be late because of a meeting, but sometimes things come up and hubs is busy caring for others.

The science project was very well managed by said 10 year old until about 8:00.  That was when I discovered a few misinterpretations had overtaken the project and we had some revising to do.  No matter how much you prepare, something unexpected always comes up, and a project takes longer than you planned!  Right?  I must re-emphasize that projects have to be finished at least 1 weekend before the due date - just in case of the unexpected.

In addition to the project debacle, I had one 3rd grade program to attend (which was the best ever, by the way).  One basketball practice to skip.  One 6th grader who was not feeling well and who also needed some homework help.  Plus one wild and crazy 6 year old who needed supervising.

And, wouldn't you know, I chose this week to discontinue my large consumption of Diet Coke!  That is the absolute culprit.  I wasn't able to indulge in the medicating bubbles brought on by the ingestion of a few DC's a day.

I am sure the lack of chocolate also contributed to my personal issues.  But, by about 9:30 when child #2 was off to bed saying, "Mom, I really appreciate you helping me with my project".  What else was there to say but how much I loved him and how proud of him I am....

...and then I headed off to make my beloved bowl of popcorn, which always brings life back to this exhausted Mama.

Keeping it Real

Tonight was quite a catastrophe.  Toward the end of the evening (translated 3 kids in bed, one to go), I dashed off a quick email to a few friends.  Which is quite funny to me.  I felt better after sending a quip out into the faceless world of the internet - hoping my plight would be received by those who know me well.

Here is how it went:

Pardon me, but I must gripe and hubs is in the OR.  Yes, at 8:45.

I am about to self-combust from frustration from 5th grade Science projects and procrastinating, creative, sweet, innocent, loving, cute boys.  Particularly the one whom I birthed at 11:45 am on Thursday on the 17th day of the 7th month in the 97th year of 1900.

Did you know that I birthed a child on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?  Now that is something to be absolutely and completely proud of.

I am positive I would not feel this frustrated if I had eaten chocolate today.  But I am trying not.  I even drank black decaf at Starbucks yesterday.  and I hate coffee.  What am I becoming?

Did you know that my birthday is exactly 13 days from this current, cold February day.  It had better be warm, that is all I have to say, and sunny.  with presents.  lots.

Ahhh.  I feel better now.  Off to chug some apple cider rendition I found in my refrigerator!

and to make popcorn.  :)

Songs of the Day

This will give you an idea of what my days are filled with....

This is my story, this is my song...

I could do laun-dry all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song.

I thought I was fin-ished, but I was dead wrong!

... and song 2...

Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred pa-irs

Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred socks.

I hate to wash whi-ites

because it ends in matching...

I hate to match them all -

'cause it never works out!

Here are 49 socks (from about 4 days) - and I always end up with an uneven number. (I couldn't fit the entire continuous line in one shot).

Seasons of lo-o-ove, seasons of lo-o-ove!

Happy Hearts

Tonight Reed finished practicing the piano and walked into the kitchen.  Cole had just come in from outside because it was so cold.  Reed said, "Cole, do you want me to play with you now"?  I stopped him and hugged him.  I told him that he has been doing 3 things on a regular basis that I really love.

1.  He gets up in the morning and makes his bed without me asking him to.

2.  He has been practicing the piano without being asked.

3.  He asked Cole if he wanted to play.  

I told him that #3 makes my heart happy and his little brother's heart happy.  Reed said, "and it makes my heart happy".  and we had a 3 person hug (instigated by his younger brother).

Brotherly love at its best.

Happy Valentines Day

Every year we celebrate Valentines Day with our children. It's a fun tradition we started when we moved to Tennessee. It's not the same every year but dinner always involves candles and chocolate. I want them to know that Valentine's Day isn't just about a romantic relationship. It's a fun day to tell your friends and family how much you love them!

Tonight we are having an easier dinner (because I will be gone all day)- with china, candles and music. Who says the entree' has to be fancy - just serve it well and it all goes down better, right!? I will be presenting spaghetti and meatballs, spinach salad, and hot buttery bread. For dessert? Chocolate covered cherry ice cream pie with homemade hot fudge sauce. Yumminess in a bowl!

To my four:

- I loved my Valentine greeting in unison this morning! What a surprise!

- I love your Mardi Gras bands on your braces.

- I love that you all missed your sister when she was camping last weekend.

- I loved the "good luck" exchange before the baseball scrimmage last Sunday.

- I love to watch you play Guitar Hero with your dad.

- I love to play "April Fools" jokes on you.

- I love to make hot tea for you in the morning.

- I love kissing your cheeks when you are waking up in the morning.

- I love taking you to Marble Slab.

- I love watching movies with you over a bowl of hot popcorn!

- I love that you are willing to try new foods - even chocolate cream of wheat

- I love riding to the lake on our bikes.

- I love my future Polar Bearologist.

- I love my future Indianapolis Colt.

- I love my future doctor.

- I love my future American Idol/ Architect.

You light up my life and make me smile everyday!

Pray for Abby

This sweet girl needs our prayers.  Her aunt and uncle go to our church.  Abby's family is an example to me everytime I see them.  An example of patience, love and faithfulness.

A Stumper

It's been quite a day at the house today. You see, I did 3 loads of laundry, planned a Valentines party, and spent the rest of the day watching this:

Once the kids were home, it was off to choir practice and 3 scout meetings, with dinner in the middle. Here we are at 9:45 pm tackling a tough math problem. Brooks and his mathematician dad are contemplating the real answer.... Maybe you would like to try it, too?

Ron made cookies for the fair. His sister made candy. Four cookies were packaged together, and 6 pieces of candy were packaged together. There were 6 more packages of cookies than packages of candy.
Write an expression for the number of packages of cookies, using p as a variable.

How may cookies and pieces of candy were taken to the bake sale?

We'll take all answers till tomorrow night and Brooks will tell us how we did.

Stay tuned!

Now You See It, Now You Don't!

We bought a new house this summer. We are still in the same neighborhood, but we needed a basement to store our junk and we needed the house to be configured a little differently. Actually, I began looking for this new house about a month after we moved into our first home in Oak Ridge. I have seen lots of houses and I could tell you minute details about the real estate market, if you asked! Oak Ridge has quite a history - as the home of the atomic bomb - the secret city - where 75,000 people once lived. Now it is a small town close to Knoxville with fabulous schools. This is a science mecca with all sorts of engineers and physicists - and interestingly - such professionals have designed many houses around here. They have random rooms in them - might have to go through the master bathroom to get to the playroom or you might want a swimming pool in the middle of the house - look for a house in Oak Ridge, and you will see it all. I am sure these home design professionals had a perfect reason for situating rooms in such a way, but for the subsequent owner, the reason is not always clear.

Now you know why it took so long to find our jewel. 3 long years and a realtor who would do anything to make me happy - just so I won't drag her to any others! So it was, last December when we were on our way home from Snowshoe, when she called and said she had found a house for

us. She began to read the specs on it and suddenly, I had to see it!

Sure enough, it was a good fit for us. We moved in this past July and we love it. My very favorite feature is the waterfall that cascades down the hill just off of our breakfast room. We have a plate-glass window to gaze through as we are mesmerized by the sound of a mountain stream. Unfortunately, the river birch which was strategically placed just beside the waterfall has aged through the years and the roots have completely penetrated the liner of the stream bed. What does that mean? Basically, that we spent more on sewer and water than we ever did at the old house, in the month of September. Well, not that bad, but it was an outlandish bill.

I have been distraught over the sadness of losing my water feature! It was really my favorite thing about the house. I am happy to report - today is the beginning of a new waterfall. We have a good friend who is going to rebuild just after the river birch is removed. Here is where we are so far:

The pictures are rather dark, thanks to the weather. They are not supposed to be black and white.

I just can't wait to get it looking like this again:

Cole informed me today that the Groundhog must have been wrong (because it was 72 today). I sure hope so, I can't wait for Spring!!!

In Search of the Perfect Shot

I have been filing pictures away in my photo albums this week. I am not a scrapbooker. I started out that way, but by the birth of #3, I realized the album by album account of our life was never going to happen. I now resort to collecting our pictures for the year in a photo-safe box. At the end of the year, I spend a day going through the photos and selecting the best for an album like this.

Before digital cameras, I used to get a bad case of Christmas Photo Anxiety that I am sure many of you can identify with. Tim and I would spend several frustrating afternoons trying to capture that perfect picture to send out of our little angels (or a picture that at least made them look like angels).

2002 took the cake for requiring the most patience. We set out to the country club with adorned children in a happy mood. Hair was fixed, outfits picked, and naps had been taken. We even brought along some outfit changes, as I recall. I was feeling energetic and optimistic!

Unfortunately by the time naptime ends, the gnats are out in Ocean Springs. If you aren't familiar with gnats, avoid them at all costs. Gnats are the reason we moved away from Ocean Springs! Here is our photo journal:

Reed hadn't found his smile yet...














attempt #2...














attempt #3 with gnats:

change of location, attempt #146














a little fun in the middle:


new clothes for attempt #339 (and we left the 1 year old out completely)....

one year old chose to leave self out of this one...

not cooperating (again)... but the older ones are really trying to smile!
We ended the day with this shot, although Tim wouldn't let me send it out for our Christmas picture that year. I personally thought it was a perfect solution to our rigorous shot attempts. As you can see, even this one took a while. But don't they all look like angels?

Raising Boys

An old friend and I have been emailing this week. She and I each grew up with a sister. Thirty years later, we are raising boys - and one daughter. We had neighbors who were boys - but close friends? Well, we stuck with the girls most of the time. As we approached junior high and high school, of course we grew more interested in boys. But for the most part we were typical girls - into clothes, shopping, music and talking on the phone. My junior and senior year in high school, I had a group of friends who I hung with all of the time. There were 7 girls and 7 guys. We went to movies, swam, ice skated, cooked, watched football, went to dances, etc. together. Really, we were always together. Hanging with the guys gave me my only education on what boys are like. They were competitive, joked around a lot, and were entertained by gross jokes. The guys were lots of fun - I have a million fond memories of time spent with them.

So you can see that my brother-type boy experiences did not exist. I didn't know what it was like to have a boy in my house (well, except for one practical joke the "guys" played on me). I found it puzzling that many of the houses I visited where boys lived had at least one sign over the toilet that said "if you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie". I figured boys had issues. That's why, when I walked out of the ultrasound room, I said to Tim - "what am I going to do with a boy?" and 18 months later, I said "I never thought I'd have a boy - and certainly not two"! Well, God had it planned all along. He knew I would feel overwhelmed, crazy,complete with my one daughter and 3 sons.

He also knew my boy experiences would begin on July 17, 1997. We were off to a great start until we got home and attempted the first diaper change. Who knew that sudden changes in temperature around a boy's thingamajig would cause Old Faithful to erupt? My mom and I (yes, at first it took two) were changing Brooks on the bathroom counter when the "sprinkler" came on. That was fine, we could deal, until we followed the stream and found that the receptacle was Brooks' mouth. Yep, really. He peed into his very own mouth. Filled it up like a dixie cup. All the way up. He was crying (because he was cold and hated his diaper changes) and while the mouth was open, it caught some warm fluid. Well, what to do? No need to remain calm, I panicked, called his dad and asked him what to do??? Once recovering from the shock and humor of such an absurd call, he assured me that urine is sterile and he didn't think 911 was necessary. So, I tipped his head to the side and proceeded to wipe out his mouth thoroughly. Boy issue #1 resolved. Whew! Thankfully, I learn from my mistakes and future boy diaper changes usually resulted in much less excitement!

Boys are so active! They dash through the house playing hide-and-go-seek, scratch games of football and soccer in the yard, and the video games, now that is another topic. My boys will play together any chance they get. I have to admit, the games usually end in some type of physical debacle. One tackles the other too hard and the other pays him back. So you give them a little space and it's not long before they are begging to play together again. I love our busy nights at the baseball fields - getting to see my 8 year old hit a grand slam, or feeling a bit nervous as my 9 year old pitches his first full game. Tim and I get a kick out of the little boys swinging the bat and turning in a perfect circle 'cause the bat is so heavy - or running to the wrong soccer goal early in the season.

Boys can laugh like nobody's business. In fact, it wasn't too long ago when I heard a tremendous amount of laughter coming from the bathroom. Cole and 2 friends from Kindergarten were evidently having sword fights with their pee. It was a triple sword fight. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they wipe of the seat, right? (that was Cole's question, not mine).

I really wasn't prepared for this. I don't know that there is anything that will prepare you for the mess, the noises, the fear (when they tear down the mountain and snowplow at the last second), or the JOY... of having 3 boys tell you how very much they love you at the end of the day. I love raising boys!

Barf bowls and Other Comforts

This week has been quite long for my 6 year old.  He came home from school on Monday with a fever and sore throat.  Within 2 hours (after a negative strep test) his sore throat progressed into one very upset tummy.  Bring out the barf bowl!  Fill it up, take it to the toilet bowl.  Time and time again.  In the middle of the night we were travelling to the toilet bowl for other outpourings.  Isn't that a nice description?  The poor guy had some horrible virus that had come to stay.  Wednesday we had to have IV fluids in order to re-hydrate him.  Thursday he continued to have no appetite until evening.  Finally, he was willing to eat some warm spaghetti with a dab of butter.  He had 3 bowls!!  plus a pedialyte popsicle and lots of gatorade.  I think he is on the road to recovery.

I was really quite proud of myself this time.  I don't do well with throw-up.  In fact, just hearing the word will send my adrenaline on a swift course through my body.  I get sweaty palms and worry, worry, worry about whether or not it will hit the family.  BUT this time, I calmly took care of the poor fella.  You see MH wasn't home and he is usually the caretaker when t.u. comes to visit.  He will clean it up, kiss the kid, and do whatever else is needed.  I am, on the other hand, usually freaking out and having IBS symptoms.  Nerves, really.  You see, I think it is somewhat of a phobia stemming back a few years...

my sister puked on me when I was about 8.  We were sleeping (at least I was) when all of a sudden, well, you can imagine, I am sure.  I have been scarred since then, it is most certainly a throw-up phobia.

I really do run if I hear it or see it - and believe me - if it happens even remotely close to me - I will see it.  Then I think about it for the entire rest of the day.  I am just sure that I will catch it or that someone I am with will catch it.  This is absolutely unreasonable, I realize, but reason doesn't go with t.u.

I am thankful that God matched me up with a man who never barfs.  Yep, it's true... in the 18-1/2 years I have known him, he has only upchucked once.  The night before he had a bit of bad crawfish and it sent him over (to) the edge of the bowl.  I haven't eaten crawfish since!

My Mom is Out of Town

#4 is out of town this weekend with his dad. It's a special weekend for MH, he's celebrating his 20th high school reunion. It's been 20 years since he was a purple and yellow tornado - you really have to wonder about those colors and the chosen weather event. But really, when you think about it, the sky does turn eerie colors just before a tornado arrives in town. but I digress....

2 weeks ago MH and I went to an out-of-town football game. We left all 4 with a favorite sitter who is extremely responsible and who is determined not to let my #4 run her over(after being runover a few times before). Sunday morning, she actually fed them, ensured that they were dressed and drove them up the hill to our church. Did I mention that they were 25 minutes early for the service - or 45 minutes late for Sunday School(depending on your perspective)? One of the greatest thing about our church - food wise - is that you can have a second breakfast when you get there. The pastor's wife makes this incredible blueberry bread and there are usually donuts.

ANYWAY... in #4 goes, scarfs down 5 donuts and tears down to Sunday School (late) and announces "MY MOM IS OUT OF TOWN". What an interruption to the tale of Gideon - the one who hid from Jesus - #4 isn't hiding a thing. He was up on sugar and up on freedom. Like a kid on Spring Break - MY MOM IS OUT OF TOWN!