Laughing Until It Hurts

I love belly laughing. I love laughing until I cry. I love laughing until I can't breathe. I love laughing until I have to pee. It's the best feeling in the world. (Ok, how could crying, not breathing, and needing to pee be the best feelings in the world?) Whatever it is, it makes my mind and body happy.

I was thinking this morning how fortunate I am that my kids truly laugh at things. Silly things like Sponge Bob or Chris Farley. They could be in the living room or basement while I'm in the kitchen, but when I hear them spontaneously laughing at something, I can't help but laugh out loud myself.

I wish people and things were funny all day.

Milk and Cookies

My munchkins were in the kitchen last night as I was sitting on the couch in the living room. I can't see the kitchen from my couch, but I could hear the microwave hum and then the refrigerator door open and close.

Then I heard the seven year old say to the nine year old, "Michael, I love you...you're the best brother...". I turned around and realized Michael had heated a homeade chocolate chip cookie (cookies that he had made the night before) and poured a glass of milk for his little bro.

It was enough to make me wonder who those kids were and what they did with mine.

I'm Back on Top

It's so quiet right now, I can hear my dogs swallowing while they sleep. Kinda gross...

Everyone is in bed early tonight except me. It's only 9:30 pm. I've spent way too much time on Facebook today. Thanks alot CDJ. Now I'm hooked. There is way too much to play with. (BTW, I've started looking at your Friends and Family list to see how far down I am. It sorts itself by how long ago your people have posted, you know. Well, if I get to far down the list, my competitive nature compels me to blog whether I have anything to say or not just to get back towards the top.)

Anyway, before I became consumed with this new time-eater-upper, I helped the 9 year old finish up his book report poster whatever thingy. It looks pretty good...like a 9 year old did it with his mom standing over him.

Well got to get back to the new hobby. It probably won't last long. Nothing for me ever does. The newness (?) always wears off and then there are just chores to do again.

Quiet Your Mind

I was reading in a 2nd hand copy of More magazine last night about sitting in silence without any technological distractions...letting your mind meander and relax. I've been doing that for a few minutes this morning. Very peaceful. All I hear are the snaps and buttons hitting the inside of the dryer and the hum of the refrigerator...and concrete trucks driving up and down as they build another house up the street.

Outside we are having another beautiful weather day. The sky is blue, the temperature will get up in the 70's. A perfect day for after school football and soccer practices.

Hope everyone is having a good week. Have some quiet time...it's good.

Friday Night and It's Alright

Isn't my title so cute...all rhymy and stuff?

It's 9:30 here and I mentioned to the husband that I wished I had some home-made (?) icecream, and guess what? The icecream maker is whirring away. Four ingredients to happy, happy, happy.

Busy day today. Got up with a headache and stuffy nose so I took 2 Excedrin, 1 Sudafed, and 1 Alevert. I'm hoping to head off whatever it is I'm heading off. After that I was good. I took the kids to school; everyone had their backbacks today, yea! I went to the Y. I didn't have quite as much energy as I would have liked, but I made it through the 33 minutes on the eliptical. I ran home at 9:00 am to shred chicken that was in the crockpot, take a shower, and then run back to school with the chicken for a teacher's appreciation lunch. Met friends for lunch at a newly opened neighborhood spot; ran home for Taekwando stuff and hockey registration. Went back to school for kid's plus kid's friends; took kid to Taek for Poomse practice; took other kid and friends to mall for snacks; picked up Taek kid and went home; got dinner ready and fed 4 kids and two adults. And now I've been sitting on my butt on the computer for a couple of hours at least.

Fox news is yammering on TV. I don't mind Fox news from time to time, but it's Friday nite for crying out loud!

At least I've got icecream coming. It's all good.

Today

I'm sitting here trying to not let myself go take a nap. I just got back from working out at the Y on the eliptical (BP 112/87 and pulse was 154 bpm when I was done) and then breakfast with friends.

I need to clean the upstairs, but hard to get motivated. I also need to put in a load of clothes, straighten the kitchen from breakfast, do filing in my office and declutter, and work on a website page. But I'm tired and a little sweaty, and I just don't feel like any of it. I pick up the kids in 2 hours. Could I get it all done before that? Probably most if I really kicked it in gear. After school the 6 year old has taekwando and hockey signup and I need to make the pork chops. Need some music on. Maybe that will get me going.

Ok, the dish network channel is called Sirius Big 80's. We'll see. I'm still sitting here. Both dogs are napping at my feet. Ugh, I don't like this song much. Next channel...ooo, here's one with a dance beat...my feet are tapping...gonna go clean a toilet, yea!

This and That

Ewww...I just had to kill a hobo spider in the basement hallway on my way to my computer. This is how I have to begin?

Anyway, it is hot here. Very un-northwest rockies hot...like 100 degrees. So I am gratefully downstairs in my cool basement on the computer...along with the hobos. Actually, I don't have another choice since DH took his laptop to North Dakota. How rude.

The kids had swimming lessons every morning this week through Thursday. And I have been busy catching up this week after our vacation. I did do a couple of loads of laundry Monday and Tuesday, but I spent the rest of those days catching up on rest. My body was beat up and tired. At the lake, I spent a lot of time entertaining Michael (9) since he did not live at the horse barn like Jonathan (6) did. This entailed running (literally) around a field catching bugs to fish with, then fishing which meant putting bugs and worms on hooks to taking fish off of hooks (none of my family were willing, not even DH - thank goodness my grandpa took me fishing as a kid and made me bait my hook and unhook my catch), watching him swim, taking him out in kayaks and fishing boats, and playing cribbage. In the midst of that, I jumped off the tower 3 times over the week, water skied once, and tried 4 times to get up on a wakeboard. From the wakeboard, I ended up with tons of bruises all over my knees and legs. The ones on my knees are just now going away. I also accompanied Jonathan (6) on two of his many horseback rides that week. And then there is all the walking and running back and forth to the room, barn, or lake to get forgotton towels, cameras, bugspray, whatever. Anyway, I took a vacation from housework when I got home.

But by Wednesday I kicked it into gear. I think I've gotten most of the laundry done and put away as well as most of the Weekly Home Blessing Hour done (Flylady). The WHBH takes more like 3 hours so I divide it up now over 3 days or so.

Thursday I got to see my nurse midwife for a "girl" checkup. I think while in the office, I ended up with a ruptured ovarian cyst again. It came on suddenly, and I left with the same intense pain in my right abdomen that I had in January. I went home, napped and took two courses of the prescription Aleve they gave me in January and the pain was pretty much gone in 24 hours. And I still got my chores done on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday morning I was going to get up early and pull weeds before it got hot. Instead I spent the morning buying replacement irrigation heads and installing them. Four were easy...just unscrew the top and screw a new one on. One I had to dig the huge thing up and replace the entire unit. I was actually sweating from my forehead, and down my back and legs. I still ended up weeding although it was after noon. I wasn't too picky. If it was big I grabbed it, if it was little, I'll get in next time.

I also finished two books this week. One of them was "The Shack" by William P. Young (Christian fiction) which I started at the lake (CDJ - I wanted to read this after you blogged about it. This book was interesting and made me think outside my little "Baptist understanding of God" box. And while part of the middle seemed to move a little slow for my taste, I really enjoyed the chapter entitled "Verbs and Other Freedoms". This chapter spoke to me where I am at this point in my journey...trying to understand what it means to be free in Christ and living in the Spirit with joy and peace vs. living according to my understanding of Biblical rules and laws I have been taught and living in fear of judgement. I also liked the example of responsibily vs. the ability to respond, and expectation vs. expectancy.)

So that's that.

June and July

Well winter finally passed and summer finally arrived (physically, spiritually and emotionally). We have had a wonderfully peaceful and playful summer.

The kids have been involved in various camps and activities. Jonathan (6) got to restart Taekwando, went to basketball camp, and was in a Children's Theater play called "Johnny Appleseed". He was an appleseed. Michael (9) went to football camp, YMCA Broken Arrow camp, YMCA golf camp, and YMCA Mission to Mars camp. Both kids were taken to the pool too many times to count as well as to parks, on hikes, and day trips to lakes by the best mom ever.

The whole family just got back from a week up at a dude ranch preceded by a quick trip to a wedding in a neighboring state where Jonathan (6) was the proud snagger and now owner of the bride's garter. (That's a lot of "..ers", CDJ. Noticed that just for you...oh, and look at all the "..allys" and "..ullys" in the first paragraph. Now that I read that in your blog, I can't get away from seeing this stuff everywhere.)

I've eaten way too much this summer. The theme song for the "Pullups" commercial keeps marching through my head ("I'm a big girl now..."). Gotta cut back, but there are no regrets. Food was good.

The kids start two weeks of swimming lessons tomorrow and then school starts the next week on August 27th. Yes, I know swimming lessons should come before all the trips to the pool and lakes, but at least they are getting them.

This summer I've started on two projects, making dinners almost every night using the E-mealz.com menu system and getting my house decluttered and cleaned using the Flylady.net system. Both have helped me overcome some (and I say some) of my poor planning and organizational skills. Baby steps, as fly lady would say...

Anyway, more later.

Merry Christmas!

It has snowed off and on today...in mid-June. We are expecting a low of 33 tonight, highs in the 40's today and tomorrow. They are forcasting 2 inches of snow on the valley floor and 5" in the foothills. We live between the two so I guess we get about 3"? I brought my pots into the garage. Thank goodness they are the only annuals I put out this year. And that was just last week.

Here's a picture from the other day off our deck:

New camera, yea!

I finally got a new camera. Perhaps it will work for me this time. The last two cameras I had both didn't work after a few months.






Today was the first day of summer vacation. I didn't get up until 8:00 am. After breakfast, I took the kids and met a couple of friends at the Y around 10:00 am. Then we ended up with one of their friends here most of the day. They tried to play outside between rain showers, otherwise they played a little xbox, with the nerf guns, and with the Erector set. It seemed a little crowded in the house with them running around inside.

Writing Just to Write

I didn't cry at church for the first time since the end of February. So I'm ready to move on from that.

Tomorrow I have a follow up with the doctor I saw for a high heart rate. I'm prepared to convince him that I don't need the medication that he put me on. He was hoping it would take care of both my heart rate and migraines. Well, it seemed to lower my heart rate, but it didn't touch the headaches. But I think it was making me have even less energy, be more tired, and more depressed. I don't need all that, even if my heart rate is a little high.

Michael (8) got up this morning and got little brother's and his breakfast ready on his own without being asked. Wow, I like having older self-sufficient kids. It fits right in with my selfish, lazy lifestyle.

The sun is finally coming out again. I definitely think it affects my mood when it is gone. I may need a second home in a sunshine state to visit at will.

I signed up for E-mealz.com a couple of days ago. I'm so excited because I spent no time stressing over what was going to be for dinner tonight. I made potato salad earlier and will throw the main course together in a bit. This is awesome. Hopefully, we will save some money from not eating out.

Hello. I'm still here.

It's been awhile. Lots has happened. I've had to recover from some of it. I think I'm still recovering. I still feel sadness and some anger. I cry alot. (Mom, I'm not saying I'm depressed...yet...so I don't need the lecture.) I hope writing will help.

There are only 3 1/2 more days of school next week. I can't decide if I'm happy or sad. Happy that I can get up at leisure for the most part instead of with an alarm. Sad that I will have to think more about meals and our daily schedule (I'm so lazy, huh).

The kids have various things they are signed up for peppered throughout the summer. Other than that, we will just roll along until next school year. We just got back from the south and no more trips are scheduled. We will swim and maybe do some camping. Hopefully I can help them not watch too much tv or play too much xbox. But that means I need to plan. But I'm lazy. So we'll see.

Pajamas

As I was cleaning the kitchen the other night, I overheard this conversation:

Jonathan (6), whining: "No, I don't want to wear those pajamas!"
Michael (8), soothingly: "But you look good in them..."
J: "I can't do the buttons."
M, helpfully: "I'll do them for you."
J: "But what if they come undone in the middle of the night?"
M: "Then I'll button them up for you."
J: "Ok...how do I look?"
M: "You look great!"

Me: "Sigh..."

Bugs

This morning on the way to school, my six year old Jonathan was making up a song and singing "Sugar bug, sugar bug...(something, something, something)".

My eight year old Michael decided to join in and change it to "Jitter bug, jitter bug...(etc.)."

So Jonathan, then, using all his rhyming skills and ability to make up knew words began singing "Sh...tterbug, sh...tterbug...." So instead of trying to explain, "no, that's something you have when you are sick", I just nipped that bug in the bud right there.

Six Year Old on Digestion

"Mom, I'm just not hungry this morning because the food I ate last night...my stomach has not starved it up yet." - Jonathan (6)

August Update

I've had writer's paralysis for weeks now because I had not written for a while, then I went to the south and back, and now there has been so much that has occurred since the last post that I am overwhelmed with events that were not shared and may be forgotten now. Should I move on or try to remember all the cute and clever things my kids have said or funny things that have happened?

Hmm...the south...flew down with just the kids to visit mom and dad, my brother and his wife and 4 kids (2 of which were 3-4 week old twin baby girls...really cool to see them), and my BFF CDJ and her fam (this visit entailed probably the most harrowing events of the trip since on the drive over, I sat in 30 minutes of stand still traffic on I-20 because of a wreck and once I got past that, several pieces of old lumber flew off some guy's trailer that hit my dad's minivan, and then I drove the last hour in pouring rain. On the drive home I spent at least an hour and half in torrential rain in which I had to use my hazards so that other cars would see me since I could not see them.) We stayed in in the south about 12 days including travel days. During our stay, it rained ALOT (as I have already alluded to) and only got in the 80's until our last couple of days. This was a welcome relief compared to the hot dry summer and fires we were having up north. We swam at a few pools, ate at numerous restaurants, and watched what seemed like endless hours of game show television. We visited another (our 3rd) flight museum and saw more World War 2 airplanes. I think I'm done. I'm ready for Michael (8) to move on to something else. And I think he has....

When we returned from the south, our house guests for the next year were already here. DH's youngest brother and his fiance are going to work and go to school while staying with us. The kid's are thrilled, of course, to have an uncle here. I'm not so sure the uncle is as thrilled to have the kids here. But there is a new passion in the house. Football. They play football outside, watch football on TV and the news, and play football on the XBOX. I can live with football for a while. It's a nice change of pace from war planes and history channel.

So that's where I am right now...anticipating a visit from the rest of husband's fam this next week and getting ready for school and sports to start.

No Food For Two Weeks

Jonathan has the high kick!

Last Tuesday, both boys got in trouble in Taekwando class. This means that they repeatedly misbehaved (which includes not listening to instructions, playing around and distracting others, showing disrespect to the instructor, etc.). The consequence is putting your name on the board. If your name is on the board at the end of class, then you have to do 10-20 pushups for your parent before you leave.

This was not the first time Jonathan (5) has had to do the pushups, but I think the first for Michael (8). I did not witness their misbehavior since I was sitting outside on a bench reading. Michael came and got me and said I have to come inside. I hate that. I feel like I'm the one in trouble. So therefore, pushups were not all they were going to have to suffer through.

On the way home I asked them to tell me what happened. They each in turn told me they couldn't remember, however, Jonathan re-enacted Michael with a big sigh and rolling eyes to a tee (which translates to disrespect to the instructor when given instructions), and I already had a hunch what Jonathan had done (his usual loud antics and messing around probably).

After I got the information, I did not follow up with the usual...umm, yelling and lecturing..., but I calmly informed them there would be no electronics in their future until Friday. This included TV, XBOX, computer games, and hand-held devices.

Oh, my gosh, you would have thought I said I wouldn't feed them for two weeks. They started arguing and debating why the consequence was going to be so horrible. I then calmly informed them that they were about to lose all speaking priviledges too. I'm not sure how I was going to enforce that so I was glad they suddenly got quiet. I went ahead and gave them the lecture the rest of the way home, just to clarify why they were getting the consequence they were getting.

So for the last few days, my house has been extremely quiet. I myself have had to refrain from turning on the TV during the day since I told them the only time they would be allowed to watch was if daddy or I were watching something but that they could not request anything. So they have had to get their TV fix from the news in the evening. (We couldn't watch Myth Busters, though, or several other shows on Discovery or History Channel since they actually like those shows too much.)

It was nice. We worked puzzles, the boys played with the Erector set and Legos, they built a fort in their room, they composed a song on the piano, they looked at and read books, and they laid on the couch looking at the ceiling or took a nap. It all reminded me of the way we used to entertain ourselves as kids. We had to get creative sometimes. Of course there was always the little complaint now and then of "I'm bored" for which they got to do more pushups.

Today the TV and XBOX are back on. I'm a little sad. Unfortunately, their behavior and attitude at Taekwando last night were perfect. They both gave 100% without complaint. So I'm having to watch for another chance to give them the consequence again.

I doubt I will have to wait too long. They are boys.

Could It Have Been That Long?

I sat down to blog again and looked at the date of the last one. Over a month ago. That is sad. It's not that I have nothing to write about, but it's just that I never seem to have time. And then I read my friend CDJ's blog (she writes that I am busy and that is the reason I am a sporatic blogger) and realize actually I'm just lazy. I'm always in awe of how much she seems to get done in a day (or week, or month).

Anyway, I'll try to get everyone caught up. School has been out since June 6th and baseball games and all other team sports have been over since last Wednesday. Now we are just down to Taekwando two days a week.

So far since the end of school, we have been on a last minute trip to the northeast to visit family, we have camped at the lake, we have gone to the airport on the hottest day so far (96 degrees) and stood on the tarmack for 2.5 hours looking at three World War II bombers (part of the time was spent waiting for them to arrive, watching them land, as well as climbing through them), we threw Michael (7) a water gun fight themed birthday party with friends, we (Jonathan (5) and I) have gone to a Senior Pro Rodeo in Hamilton (old guys riding bulls and bareback, etc.), we have golfed (DH and I), and we have floated the river. In between times, I do laundry, clean, take the kids to the pool, mess in the flower garden, and do church stuff. Sometimes I work. And sometimes I don't.

Jonathan (5) sleeping at the airport while DH gets the rental car. Our flight got in close to midnight. He stayed asleep while we untangled him from the chairs and carried him to the hotel.











Jonathan (5) and his cousin playing around before breakfast at the lake.















Kids in front of the B24. Michael (7) has a passion for World War II planes and history. He managed to impress the old guys with his knowledge of the airplanes.














Michael (7) during his water gun fight birthday party. What a handsome young man.















Jonathan (5) and I at the rodeo. The boy has a passion for all things cowboy, from music to horses to wrangler western wear. And yes, a rare photo of his mom. He kept trying to get me to sit away from him after someone teased him that I was his date. I think he wanted to make sure all the cute, blond, 4 year olds knew he was available. And who could resist him?











And mah flowahs. The kids said Nana wanted to see them.

This Week's Recap

I've meant to blog all week. So here it is.

Sunday, Mother's Day: I proudly wore my Mother's Day gift from Michael (7) to church, a one-of-a-kind volcano and fireball necklace that he made in school. I got many compliments. Right after church we went to two soccer games and then DH mowed his grandpa's yard. Then we had Wendy's take-out and that was it.

Monday: I took care of the baby and Jonathan (5) helped. He sang "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sle-eep little Am-a-lee", a Jonathan original.

Tuesday: I put together a couple of concepts for a website I've been hired to do. Both kids were at school. After work, DH threw the baseball with Michael for what seemed over an hour. He is improving.

Wednesday: DH took Michael to school before Jonathan even woke up. While he was still sleeping, I went outside and the weather seemed great. I witnessed an all-out national geographic cat chase/fight. I could hear the resident woodpecker. Nature was calling me to get some outdoor chores done. I decided to pull weeds. Jonathan finally emerged from the house. We spent the rest of the morning in the yard together. I would give him any worms I found, and he would play with them for a bit before burying them again.

At one point a robin landed quite close to us pecking around for insects and worms. We sat very still and it got so close that it snatched up one of the worms Jonathan had just buried and ate it in front of us. We discussed how she was probably going to go feed her babies. After about 3 hours I decided we had worked hard enough so we went inside.

That evening, Michael had a baseball game and hit the ball and got on base 3 times during the game and made it around the bases once. His last time up to bat, a freak wind storm came through. I was running for cover, but it didn't even phase him...he hit the ball and got on base. He's a lot tougher than I am. This same evening Jonathan had soccer practice and then his first T-ball game. So here's the funny thing. Jonathan was up to bat at the same time Michael was during that freak windstorm just one field diagonal from us. He also got a hit (not using the T).

In the middle of the night things started getting weird for me. My muscles were on fire and I couldn't sleep. I ended up tossing and turning on the couch and I think allergies triggered from the wind were making me feel slightly sick.

Thursday: I took Tylenol for my muscle aches since I was supposed to watch the baby (not my regular day). She had a cold and couldn't get comfortable, and I had been up all night and was not feeling 100%. She needed much nurturing and I just needed a nap. Her mom came for her 10:00 am meal and decided to take her to back to work with her. I felt bad, but I felt bad. I went to bed. That night I sat outside through another baseball game. I took Tylenol PM for the muscle aches, but ended up being awake most of the night with a queasy stomach.

Friday: I called early to cancel the baby sitting since I felt like I was going to hurl. DH realized after he got ready for work that I wasn't going to get out of bed and get the kids ready and take them to school. I think I just figured I'd let them stay home. He took it upon himself to get them dressed, fed, pack there lunches and took them to school without saying a word to me. God bless him, because I finally made the mad dash to the bathroom. Nothing was in my stomach, but I felt better and slept all morning. I was afraid to eat much, so I was tired and weak the rest of the day. I ate a little dinner and slept great.

Saturday: I woke up early, feeling great. DH coached Michael's soccer practice and then we had another overlapping baseball and t-ball game. The weather was great at the beginning but got cool and windy toward the end. My allergies, again, were all messed up and I felt sick the rest of the day. I didn't sleep much last night. But got a lot of good Bible reading and praying done on the couch.

Sunday (today): Must have been feeling emotional from the week so I had a girl moment in front of the whole church while singing with the praise team. Nice and humiliating.

I find the best way to avoid some of that is not think about the words while I'm singing. Today, of course, I let my guard down and listened to what I was singing. It was "We Will Dance" which has become one of my favorite songs and sometimes, after you have one of those weeks, you just can't help yourself looking forward to The Day. Here are the words:

Sing a song of celebration
Lift up a shout of praise
For the Bridegroom will come
The glorious One
And oh, we will look on His face
We’ll go to a much better place

Dance with all your might
Lift up your hands and clap for joy
The time’s drawing near
When He will appear
And oh, we will stand by His side
A strong, pure, spotless bride

We will dance on the streets that are golden
The glorious bride and the great Son of man
From every tongue and tribe and nation
Will join in the song of the Lamb

Copyright © 1993 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured..

The Business Plan

Today in the car on the way home, the kids outlined a business plan for when they grow up.

They are disappointed that their XBOX game "Battlestations Midway" won't allow for more than one player unless you play online (which they are NOT allowed to do). So in order to remedy the situation, they have planned to create their own "XBOX factory" where they would design a better "Battlestations Midway" in which you could play several people at a time.

Michael (7) said he would be the boss since he is the oldest and run the company which would have 1000 workers. He would give orders to Jonathan (5) who agreed and said he, Jonathan, would be the engineer to build the factory building as well as the manager in charge of making white controllers. (Jonathan is on an "engineer" kick and has asked about what all engineers do because he wants to be one...however, since there are so many different kinds of engineers, he is having trouble narrowing it down).

Michael said he would be in charge of making colored controllers. And the game would have 21 levels with some easier ones for 5 year olds (the game has been hard for Jonathan to learn).

I guess the next step is to go to the bank for a loan.