girlymama

snowballing into spring

So suddenly we are totally re-landscaping our yard. Surprised? So are we. But you know how it goes.
*We need a shed, since we have no outdoor storage and Husband's parents are moving all their belongings into our house.
*The foundation of the shed needs two tons of rocks. Which will be delivered by a huge dump truck, totally tearing up the yard.
*Then the shed will also be delivered by a huge truck, which will again tear up the yard.
*So we'll need to replant the grass on that half of the yard. Which is - ironically - the only part of our yard that actually has grass. (Most of our "grass" is actually dandelions.)
*Since we'll be replanting that half of the yard anyway... the other half of the backyard really needs regrading and replanting.
*So we might as well do that.
*And since the front yard is seriously almost entirely dandelions - seriously - we should probably reseed that as well.
*Plus, we wanted to add a flower bed in the front yard, by the driveway and build up our current flower beds, which are looking sorry. And since we're getting all that dirt delivered for the backyard, we might as well do the beds now too.
*Which means we need some more plants for the new bed, as well as a couple of shrubs, some groundcover, etc.

So all that to say, we are suddenly relandscaping our whole yard. How does this happen? Do other people's home improvement projects snowball like this?

prayer for my children

Our children, Lord, in faith and pray'r, we now devote to thee;
let them thy cov'nant mercies share, and thy salvation see.

Such helpless babes thou didst embrace, while dwelling here below;
to us and ours, O God of grace, the same compassion show.

In earthly days their hearts secure from worldly snares, we pray;
O let them to the end endure in every righteous way.

Hymn, entitled Our Children, Lord, in Faith and Prayer

day of rest

Today we are taking the day off. Yesterday was "Work On The House Day." Also known as "Spend An Astounding Amount Of Money At Home Depot Day."

Husband and the Father-In-Law spent the morning finishing up the cementing in the crawl space, meaning in the next week or two we can finally begin moving stuff into there. Which mean we will be moving stuff out of the 4th bedroom. Which means we can get started on the guest bedroom. Which means I get to pick out paint! Which I love!!

Then all afternoon, we got the foundation prepared for the new shed. And by "we" I mean the guys did 99.5% of the work. I did, however, pick out the spot. So now our backyard looks like this:
Now we get to have two tons of stones delivered to fill in the bottom for the shed to rest on. Does that seem like a lot to you? Like the average weight of a small elephant worth of rocks? To fill up that space? I'm staying out of it, so that I am not responsible when we have 1.5 tons of rocks left over. And we're also getting loads of dirt delivered, to try and fill in the trench that has formed in our backyard that likes to turn into a swampy river whenever it rains. And we're getting mulch while we at it, since we're going to be throwing our backs out anyways.

So today, we are resting. And making a list for our next trip to Home Depot for our housework next Saturday. And taking bets as to whether we'll break our Home Depot Spending Record. Which is not hard to do, unfortunately. 

bikini countdown: 3 weeks

Forgot to update you, since I'm sure you are simply on the edge of your seats with this hot topic.

Same weight as last week, although I am eating more :-)  If I would just stop baking, I'd probably be really skinny. Yesterday I made brownies in my mini-muffin tin, which I then frosted with chocolate frosting. I ate a couple. A few. Okay, 10.  (Plus batter. Which doesn't count. Ahem.)

I did, however, I work out three, count 'em THREE, times. Please note that I tripled my working out this week. I hope you are deeply impressed.

"i'm fine, thanks!"

Why do I always say this when people ask me how I am? "Fine" is subjective, I guess. And sort-of honest. I mean - by most standards - I am doing quite "fine."

But a more honest answer would probably be "really, really tired." or "A little frustrated with the whole stay-at-home-mom gig." or "Worried about this and that. And this other thing." or "Deeply pondering the effectiveness of my mothering skills." or "Desperately counting down the days to my vacation." or "Sick to death of picking up other people's crap." or "Stressing out about these wrinkles around my eyes and wondering where my youth went." or "Wondering why everyone keeps telling me that these will be the best years of my life. Because I don't find that very encouraging." or "Trying not to stress out about school choices for next year." (The list goes on and on with no end to the crazy in sight. Trust me.)

Do I say "fine" because I'm embarrassed that I'm not *gasp* the perfect Christian/wife/mother? Or because I don't want to bother people with my trivial problems? Or because I want them to read my blog to find out what's really going on in my whacked-out mind? Or because I don't feel like I know them well enough to be truly vulnerable? (Unlike on this blog, with which I am brutally honest to perfect strangers. Ponder that one.) Or because I'm afraid that once I start talking about what's really bothering me, I won't be able to shut up and they'll think I'm nuts?

Seriously, my Bible Study leader just called to check in and see how I'm doing. I said, "I'm doing fine! Thanks for calling!" Which really isn't true. I've cried a lot this week. "Just pray for my family to stay healthy and for wisdom in parenting the girls!" Which I certainly need, but could be much more specific and truthful.  And when I call the ladies who are in my study once a week to check in, they tell me that they're "fine." But are they? And I tell them that I'm fine. Which I know I'm not really. I feel like we are wasting time being superficial.

I think that will be my goal for my study next fall. I think we need to be more real with each other, even if we're a little embarrassed. And I need to step up and model this to my ladies, even if its a bit scary to be vulnerable.

Now I'm going to take a nap. Thinking is making my brain hurt.

trying something new for a change

I have been at the END of my ROPE with my kids lately. They wake up fighting over who gets what color plate at breakfast, fight all day, then go to bed fighting over toothbrushes and storybooks. They were even fighting yesterday about who got to pray first. I about ready to drop them off at boarding school and pick them up when they are in their twenties.  Gainfully employed with their own apartments.

So this morning I was upstairs brushing my teeth when the mirror started rattling due to Gracie's screaming two floors below. I ran downstairs, thinking she must be half-dead, but discovered that she was that upset because Ellie was merely looking at her.  It was time to get serious.  So we sat down on the kitchen floor and had a little chat. About loving each other, obeying God and being respectful. While I was at it, I threw in a talk about how we are to "Do everything without arguing..." since lately my kids have started that. They argue with everything I say, from "Sit down in your chair" to "Come here" to "Stop hitting your sister." Everything is met with a "But, Mom, [enter excuse here]."

So today we tried this:

And if they have lots and lots of stickers at the end of they day, they will get a special, secret surprise. Worked like a charm. Only 1 fight (over who would be the 'prince' while dancing to princess music). No hitting. No screaming. No time-outs and no disciplines. Very few teary moments. (Even while having a friend's 18 month old hanging around today.)  The problem?
Now I have to come up with a super special secret surprise!!  Any ideas?

tagged + uninspired = meme!

From DCRmom.

1. What do you like on a hot dog?  Ketchup and Mustard. Lots of it. To hide the taste of the hot dog.

2. What do you like on a hamburger?  Lots of toppings, but hold the cheese and mayo, please! Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard....

3. What do you like on a baked potato?  Not a big potato fan. Unless its fried in 'fry' or 'chip' form. I guess just butter and salt?

4. What do you like on a slice of toast?  Chunky peanut butter and sliced bananas. My typical breakfast!

5. What do you like in a cup of coffee or tea?  My tea I drink straight. But coffee must have milk or half and half.  Occasionally I'll use Splenda in yucky gas station "coffee" or the "coffee" they serve at church, which tastes exactly like filtered dirt swept off a gas station floor.

If you're reading, I tag you!

darn you, disney!

Today my kids corrected me once again as I was singing a princess song with them ("Its 'part of that world,'  Mom, not 'part of your world.'")

Meanwhile I have been teaching them the children's catechism questions since birth and we are only on question 6. And occasionally (often) I will ask them question 1, "Who made you?" (answer: God) and they will look at me like I just asked them the atomic weight of magnesium.

Waaaayyyyy to much of their brain space has been taken up by princesses!

no wonder i'm going crazy with conversations like this....

Husband calls me into the bathroom where he is giving the girls a bath.
Husband: "Look at Ellie."
Ellie has bright red cheeks, sweat running down her face and every part under the water has turned red.
Husband: "I think I made the water too hot."
Me: "She looks like a baboon."
Gracie: "I'm cold."

**********
Ellie: "You must eat lots and lots of food to get big and strong. Not lots of candy. If you eat lots of candy you will not get big and strong. You will get big and sick.  But ice cream isn't candy. Its food."

That's great. Food issues at 4.

**********
Watch the master at work:
Me: "Gracie did you hit Ellie?"
Grace: "No."
Me: "Did you hit her?"
Grace: "No."
Me: "Are you sure?"
Grace: "No."
Me: "Ellie said you hit her."
Grace: "No."
Me: "Are you telling the truth?
Grace: "No."
Me: "Are you lying?"
Grace: "No."
Me: "Do you need discipline?"
Grace: "No."
Me: "Do you want to tell Mama what happened?"
Grace: "No. But I love you, Mommy, so so so much. You are so pretty. I want to give you a kiss and a big hug! I loooooove youuuuuuu!!!"

monday, monday.....

Not enough time to explain. Let me sum up.

We bought a shed from some nice Amish people in Lancaster. Got a great deal on a great shed to be delivered to our house the first week in June. Of course, it still cost more than we thought, but that seems to be the theme of this year. "2007: Everything Just Costs More Than You Budgeted! Good Luck in December!!"
Now we have to do all the prep work, which translates to lots of digging and a zillion pounds of gravel. Fun!
**********
I had a total breakdown on Saturday. I have been super stressed lately, plus tired and allergic to spring among other medical issues. And Husband has been super busy with work and church stuff, so I've been on my own more than usual. This usually is not a good combination for me. It had been building for a couple of days, but I pretty much just could not take it any more.
So, Saturday night began with me crying and my Husband, with his poor engineering-logical mind, trying to figure out why. "Why are you crying?" "I don't know!" "Why are you so stressed out? Is it the kids? The house?" "I just don't know! Let me cry! Sob!!" Poor guy.
So he took the girls to the local park so I could have some time to calm the heck down and shower, which I hadn't had a chance to do in three days (I know. Yuck.) Then they came and picked me up and took me to Wendy's, so I wouldn't have to cook or do dishes. What a guy. I was feeling much better by Saturday night. (While having the kids to himself, he also realized that I was not exaggerating the fighting and arguing of the adorable, innocent-looking princesses. So that was a bonus.)
Upon hearing about my breakdown Sunday morning, we were kidnapped by a friend who told me I needed a day off and who knows me well enough to know that, if I am at home, I will find something to do. So she took us to her house, fed us, we hung out while our hubbies went to play golf, she even gave my kids a bath and we all went out to dinner. Now that's a girlfriend!
**********
Today we're recovering from the weekend and gearing up for what looks like an even busier week. Oh well. I'm feeling better about the craziness. I'm concentrating on the important things, like just taking care of the family and myself and taking the time to read my Bible and pray. You know, important stuff like that. Not stupid stuff like having my house perfectly clean.
**********
Here is a picture of Gracie, who dressed herself this morning. She was really upset that she couldn't go to Bible Study like this. But I told her that the other little girls would be jealous.