tidbits.

• Open enrollment for Chris' insurance ended today. I went through the options. None were financially do-able for us. I regret to tell you that I am going to go without health insurance for another year. The only way around that is if I get a full-time job with benefits before next November. That would mean not being a part-time stay-at-home mom. The whole situation really presents itself as lose/lose right now. So for now, Lord, shield me.
• My easy-going daughter seems to think that bedtime is a negotiable event.
• I began to research Cowboys/Packers tickets at Ticketmaster two nights ago. The cheapest ones were over $300. The upper end tickets were essentially a middle income family of 4's tax return per ticket. My source told me that our family group that was going together was intact and tickets were secured at under $100. My gut told me something different. I began to feel uneasy about the potential that my husband's last minute family may have waited til the last minute to buy tickets. They have. We will not be going to the Cowboys game as a result. I am absolutely so bummed out about it that there are no words. The only words I have are: If we cannot afford health insurance, we probably cannot afford NFL tickets. Well put.
• I wanted to stay at home so badly on Wednesday night from church that it practically took a tractor beam to get me in the pew. I am glad I went, but now I have to deal with something. God revealed to me what currently is my main stumbling block on Wednesday night. It is a difficult thing to verbalize but it is something that I have been warring with for a long time. John Reynolds spoke so succinctly. It was thought-provoking. It was what I needed to hear. So once again, I need you Lord. Please help me be the me You placed me here to be.
• Not prime reading tonight. Just real, grown-up stuff.

Coughed up an Alligator today.

So it's over.
What? You ask.
This day.
I guess deep down I have been dreading this day for quite some time.
We had our Thanksgiving Feast today.
It entails, in a few words, the purpose for my job.

1. Put on a program for the parents.
2. Include singing and dancing.
3. Make it entertaining and organized.
4. Use only 3, 4, and 5-year olds.
5. 85 of them, to be exact.
6. Synchronized.

Ultimately, I feel like the piper leading the lemmings out to sea.

The kids do whatever they are gonna do. Some sing. Some roam. The parents love it because it is their 'baby.' And I get to keep my job. Crisis averted.

__________________________________________

The REAL thing that has been weighing on me is my mom's surgery. She had a cyst removed from her hand/wrist today. It was day surgery and proved not to be a very big deal.

But I worry.

So that is over. We can all breathe a sigh of relief because it looked as though it was a harmless cyst.

Thank you Jesus!

Day 5 and counting.

ok.
seriously.
the eye twitch.
day 5. yes, five of 'em.
i thought it was gone.
not so.
it did stop for a few hours this evening, but has since returned.

my coworker was talking to me today.
she stopped mid-sentence and said, "that's just creepy."
i said, "what?"
she said, "your eye is jumping all around."
i shrugged, "oh...yeah..."

the best part?
i hadn't mentioned it before that.
it is apparently just that noticeable.

aaaaaaaaaarrrrrggghggghhhhh!
make it go away!!

The Mystery of Man.

I was afforded the extreme pleasure of getting to watch my son interact with his peers at playtime yesterday.
He is so great. He's 4, so his social prowess is, well, awkward at best.
I loved it though - such insight -from the vantage point of a fly on the wall.
He's a thinker. An impulsive thinker. An oxy-moron to some, but for him, it just works...

He was building something wonderful with Tinker Toys.
I could tell just by the intermittent giggle mingled with that rascally smile that he was drawing up some grand plans for his build.
It was huge.
It was at least 6 feet long.
It had many barrels and gears.
I could see the cogs turning in his head as he unravelled his devious plan...
He kept lodging one long skinny stick into a slot only to decide that it wouldn't do, then quickly switched it out for a longer one, to match the rest.
So meticulous.

He was just about finished with his fabled contraption, when a fellow schemer and builder turned his attention to what J. was assembling and admired it.
Eyes big, they both heaved this beast of a machine up off the floor.
It took two of them it was so enormous.

I had watched the whole mystery unfold without saying a word,
but I couldn't take it anymore....
I HAD to know...

I said, "Hey sweet doll, what are you building there?"
It was magnificent, even to an adult.
I was expecting a title fitting this extravagant machine, in all its complexity-
Like a krypton beam or something...

He half-snorted his response.
"It's a snot rocket! heheehehe!"
Then he raised it up and aimed it at me.
This was followed by the snot/spit shower of a lifetime as he demonstrated how this fanciful beast works...

How very boy!
Who could be mad after stepping into the baffling mind of man and walking away relatively unscathed?
After all, I practically begged him to shoot me with it, right?

Sweet me.

I like to spend a little time alone with each one of my kids at bedtime.
Talking about their day and just telling them sweet things.
"I'm so proud of you."
"I love the person God made when He made you."
Stuff like that.
I was finishing up with A. while Chris was talking with J. - I was beginning to walk out of A's room and she said, "Is daddy gonna sweet me now?"
How cute is that?!?!
I just love the way their little minds work!

Afternoon Playdate.

I am going to bite the bullet.
Playdate at my house on Tuesday.
Maybe starting around 2:30 or so.
That way we could be wrapping it up around 5-ish when most daddies are getting off work.
Let me know if you think you'll be coming. I may plan an art activity or something...

The Rest of the Story.

Well, the last post I wrote was on the heels of a weekend without the little ones.
They came home Saturday evening and life has been going, going, going.

I have spent the afternoon with them in our cozy little house. We did art projects and read books. I helped J. with his homework and I had to invent a pretend homework assignment for little sister. They are so serious about their 'assignments.' Very cute.

All the while, the Cowboys romped the giants in the background.
I guess, if I had to choose, although the weekend shop-stravaganza was nice - I prefer being near their warm little bodies and hearing all the inexplicably adorable things they think of.

Today, J. asked if we could glue butter to one of his art projects.
That is just so creative and funny.

I love, love being with them.
I am beginning to tire of all the extra home-owner and domestic engineer junk that prevents me from giving them every minute of my time.
I have all the work done now though.
Even the laundry is put away.

Tomorrow will be cuddles and snuggles for sure.
I can't wait!

What a great weekend!

I have had a glorious weekend filled with all things perfect!
The kids got to go spend time with my parents - which left me kid-less.
I got to hang out ALONE with La!
I went on a super romantic date with my husband to celebrate our anniversary!
Our meal turned out to be FREE!
I got to go shopping without 2 preschoolers! Even though my kids are wonderful, I think shopping alone trumps shopping with kids!
I got to hang out and go shopping some more with Crys!
I got to hang out with meems, cg, no_iffer, kj, and SEPH!!
Seph's one of us now! It was nice to get to SEE you!
Oh and by the way, no_iffer - thank you so much! I think I forgot to thank you profusely and tell you how much I love your super house (because of all the drama when I was leaving with my way-too-tired kids).
So Thanks a bunch! We had a really great time. You are far more brave than I was with a brand new baby! I loved your evening playdate!
All I can say is, I can't believe that it's only Saturday night!
I still have Sunday to look forward to - church and the Cowboys!!
What could be better?

and gwen, yes - I miss you too! I think we should make it happen (like say Monday or Tuesday)for sure!

bullets.

• The marriage seminar was cancelled. It that a sign? I have been trying to get to one for, oh 5 years, and for the first time, it all fell so perfectly into place... Go figure. I know there must be something terribly wrong for the speakers to cancel, so I have been praying for them.
• I had to do some 'professional development' course tonight. Blah. Blah. Blah. I work at a preschool. I don't understand why it's so necessary for me to listen to 3 hours of pool safety in November...
• I made this awesome spaghetti tonight. At the onset, I thought it would be disastrous. I almost never make spaghetti, but I bought a spaghetti squash. (Which I totally recommend) Then I realized that I didn't have any jars of sauce... So I ended up making the sauce from scratch. Now I'm hooked. I don't wanna brag but everything is better from fresh... :)
• I am soda-free today. OY! I just want a diet 'anything carbonated' right now.
• I was able to do something that meant a lot to me today. I lent my wedding dress to a girl who is pregnant and getting married. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see her face light up and to hear her say she felt like Cinderella. She said it took some of the sadness out of her big day - I may be one of the only people she could have said that to who completely understood what she meant. A girl's wedding day is supposed to be the most wonderful moment of her life - But when you are keenly aware that everyone is informed of your situation... The happy thoughts take a backseat to the shame. I just have to believe that my experience with those types of circumstances will add to whatever ministry I have. Today was really a good day because of that smile on her face. I am so thankful for that opportunity to, in some small way, minister acceptance to her. Thank you Father!

That's pretty much my day in nutshell.

Oh and - tomorrow is Friday!!

Thanks.

To all of you who wrote lovely posts, emails, called, came by my house - it really made me feel special.
I was taken to lunch by my parents. I got lots of hugs and sweet wishes from my students.
I was able to do something for my husband that I have been trying to find the time to do for over 2 weeks. I had been wanting to take his car and get new tires, which he needed so badly.
I got his tank filled to the brim. I got his car washed. I cleaned out the inside. Threw away a bunch of trash and detailed it myself. Well, I had the help of two very cute little people.
Then I took it back up to his work before he got off so he'd be surprised!
He was so happy!!
Also I got to hang out with my brother for a little while - he's been very busy lately, as have I, so it was nice to just 'chill.'
I got to roll around on the floor with my munchkins.
We went on a bug hunt in our front yard and that was tons of fun!
My friend, Wendy, came over and brought me a very cool and thoughtful gift.
I won't tell you what it is because it is so very thoughtful she might just want to do it again for someone else.
I read a book to my babies that I bought for them today called, "Hushabye Bearcub"
So sweet.
I skipped church because we are just plum tuckered out from our week.
All in all, it was a very ordinary, much-needed, low key day.
Thanks for wishing me well!