feelin' mighty proud... and sore.

I have finally finished some of those projects I had planned to do over Spring Break.

• I planted no less than 75 separate plants. Mostly perennials, but some annuals for a touch of color.


• Weeded and fertilized our yard.


• Got my first official sunburn of the sunny seasons. Please refer to aforementioned bullet-point...


• Removed the unwanted or dead landscaping from our yard.


• Took the kids on their first ever fishing trip.


• Spent some time with family.


• Painted my bedroom. I seriously wish I had before and afters. And before and afters. How many colors did I try? Probably at least 5 or 6...


• Began decorating my bedroom. Mostly with stuff I already had - but please pay specific attention to what is on my dresser!! I'm a spoiled brat!!


• Got our bedroom ceiling fan hung, courtesy of my hunny. That marked the removal of the last pink flamingo from our home - sigh... Have I ever told you about the vibrant color choices of the previous owners? heheh I think we found around a dozen different pink flamingos.


• Polyurethaned my dining room table - finally. I had stained it, but never put on the topcoat to protect it. Silly, I know - but I like to live dangerously with two small children. :)


• Hung some shelves. And my bathroom towel bar. Woohoo! Our towels now have a home that IS NOT the floor!


• Got the tile that we will install during the summer ordered.


• Did not suffocate under oppressive amounts of laundry.


• Survived spring break and my to do list.


• Played with my kids and got gruff with them on a few occasions.


• Tweaked lots of little things around the house not really worth mentioning but that made me feel swell.

I feel like I am risking 'persecution' by talking about decorating and keeping my house just the way I like it. Maybe persecution is a strong word, but goodness - I like it better when I can know that the people who are reading my blog are going to use their words constructively and to edify. I am thinking about making my blog private because I don't want to feel like I have to censor what is going on in my world or the telling of it.

(For those of you who are completely confused, I feel I should mention that someone did use some pretty harsh and anonymous criticism toward a good friend of mine because she had expressed a desire to redecorate her bedroom while keeping expenses to a minimum.)

Here are some pictures of my nearly finished bedroom. Please note that the color of the carpet is a point of much dissatisfaction for me. And no, you do not need to adjust the color on your screen... It is strawberry pink.

utterly exhausted

there is only one kind of 'exhausted' that rivals 'childbirth exhausted' and that is yardwork/remodeling exhausted
i am it
or
it is me
i am pooped

what a day
the to do list ain't got nothin on me
i am about to conquer it

i am so tired my mind is thinking in sentence fragments
maybe i'll have something eloquent tomorrow

This will be funny someday.

Yesterday, my son thought it would be entertaining to color A's bedroom walls, doors, carpet, and furniture with lip gloss.
This was no mild infraction.
It actually evoked the quiet response from me.
If none of you are familiar with the quiet response, it goes like this:

Normal response - You walk into the room and find something kinda awful, you shout and holler and the kids are not phased at all.

Quiet response - You walk into the room and find something despicable beyond all belief, you utter no words. You just stare. There probably aren't words to describe all that is being communicated with the stare. At long last, you quietly, and in a somewhat psychotic whispery voice, offer suggestions like, "J, why don't you walk down the hall, (pause) into the kitchen, (gulp) and grab a washcloth. Then you can come back and (gleefully and detached) clean this up. (All smiles)"

There is real fear in the room at this point. I do not encourage using the quiet response for anything other than real, nightmarish events - otherwise it loses its potency.

I have never had to utilize my psycho, quiet trick twice in a short period of time. Until today.

Yesterday was lip gloss artwork. Today was much, much worse.

First of all, it would be important to note that there is a mother-in-law visit in progress. She witnessed the whole thing. For that, I am ashamed because due to the sheer magnitude of the offense, I had to 'up' the poker face just a smidge.

Here's today's event:
The kids have worn me ragged throughout the day prior to the arrival of Grandma with oodles of Easter baskets and goodies. Enter goodies: enter misery for mom.
They were ravaging the baskets and making Grandma feel so happy.
How they savored their treats! It was kinda cute. Until...
They had run out into the backyard and crushed about a dozen confetti eggs and then thought it might be cool to crush the hard boiled eggs they just painted, Yucko!
Egg in hair is not really a good look for anyone, nor is it a delightful smell.
The worst of it came when J. realized that playing with gum when Mom isn't looking is an adrenaline rush.
He must've pulled it out of his mouth and started playing with it. Stretching it out between his fingers, like a "spiderweb."
Next thing I knew A. walked in with her head ducked low and said, "Mommy, J. put spiderwebs all in my hair."
I looked real close and felt of it, because this looked like one phenomenal spider web!
It was NOT spiderweb. It was gum.
It sufficiently coated her entire head in a web-like pattern. It was smeared into her eyebrows and down one of her cheeks.
Then came the boy child.
He walked in with gobs of sticky mess between his fingers and his best attempt at putting 'bubble gum' eyeshadow on.

At this point, it was clear we were all too far invested in this moment to back out now.
I quietly asked, "J, is this bubblegum?" Ha! As if there were any other possibility...
He sheepishly said, "It's spiderweb."
Good one.
I encouraged them to go to the bathtub and touch NOTHING along the way.
A's hair was an absolute mess. I just KNEW she'd have to be shaved bald for Easter. Tragic, I tell you.
My mother-in-law kinda stood in the bathroom doorway watching, waiting to see if there was anything she could do. I think she was already horrified at the pace my children keep, but this was way more than either of us expected.
I calmly talked with my son about all the reasons this was unacceptable.
And furthermore, that he would not even remember what chewing/bubble gum is by the time he got to college, which is the next time he'll be given a piece.
There were spankings involved. Calm, earned spankings.
I proceeded to strip globs of gum out of my daughter's hair.
Hair by hair. Olive oil is what it took. And olive oil is messy all by itself.
I pulled off the quiet crazy response flawlessly.

Both of my kids were beyond mortified by the end of this experience.

The psycho mom trick is way too easy for me.
Almost natural.

Dud.

I have struggled with feeling like a dud all day over cancelling that silly get-together.
I looked out my window this afternoon and thought, 'I probably could have done it still.'
It seemed to be drying up fairly quickly today.
So poo.
I really hope no one becomes squeamish about coming to my house for fear that Fickle Face will change her mind moments before...
I guess that's all I have.

Long live the to do list.

Why do we say, "I guess I'll get that done over Spring Break, " when the cumulative list is physically impossible to accomplish in one week?

I have been going and going - probably with as much velocity as any work week, but I am still no where close to finishing the list.

Too bad it's not cold outside, I'd make a fire and burn that silly list.

As it goes, I have shortened its' contents by a good amount.
I do know one thing though, being a homeowner means that you'll never really cross out the list completely.

Next step, polyurethane the dining room table.
I'll probably put that off until tomorrow...

• hang pictures in my bedroom
• hang the ceiling fan in my bedroom
• re-caulk the kids' bathroom
• fix the tile in my shower
• peel wallpaper off my bathroom walls
• pull weeds in the front yard
• hang towel bar and curtain rod in my bathroom
• tile dining room and kitchen

I put this list up here for me, and rest assured it'll never get done over the course of this week.

I'll be glad if it gets done by summer's end.

The Darndest Things

I was washing dishes today and A. walked in and said, "Mommy, um...., I love booger sandwiches!"
Then she turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

Forecast: Disappointment

I have thought about this all day as I watched the torrential downpour.
As badly as we needed the rain, I have found myself hating it today.
I watched my lawn turn into soup.
I watched the weather channel and saw them predict rain, rain, rain for the rest of today.
I thought about how many people I have invited to this playdate at my house.
My smallish house.
I began to become very nervous about how in the world we are going to make it work with gravy grass.
Kids in and out. In and out.
I decided I wasn't woman enough for the job.

I have opted to take a rein check on our playdate tomorrow and vow to have one as soon as possible.

You have no idea how I look forward to these things - it wasn't a fun choice to cancel.
I will try to make it up to you by doing your laundry in my spare time or cooking nearly edible meals or pulling weeds - I AM good at pulling weeds...
Many apologies.

living in the moment

plans.
lofty plans.
we make them.
we break them.
we are governed by them.

today, i had plans.
i planned to finally paint our master bedroom in a cohesive way (unlike the 5 random color splotches that now adorn our bedroom walls.)
i was readying the room and setting up things to paint and i walked out of my room and saw something that compelled me to change my plans.

candles lit on the dining room table.
two plates sitting there piled high with freshly grilled steak.
two wine glasses.
and a smiling hunk who orchestrated the whole thing.

in all my life, i have never been afforded this single, most romantic gesture of a candle-lit dinner.
it wasn't spectacular, but it was very 'us' and that made it unforgettable!
the fare? steak and, well, steak. how cute!
the company? the man with whom i have made vows and continue to love through trial and triumph.

today, however, was not a day of triumph.
today was hard - harder than i realized it would be when i woke up this morning.

ever once in a great, great while we are reminded of how fleeting life can be.
how very crucial our every breath is.
today was one of those days.

as we sat there half-mourning the losses of the day and half-pondering our tremendous blessings, one of our biggest blessings walked into the dining room in a rare after-bedtime showing.

it was our son. he was thirsty. i had put him to bed over a hour before. instead of my normal, hard core stance toward waking up after bedtime, i was soft. i fixed him up with a plate of steak and a glass of milk.

we sat there and enjoyed each other's company. no. we savored each other's company.
we truly appreciated each other. loved each other.

a moment or two later, like magic, one of our other biggest blessings joined us for our first ever romantic candle-lit dinner. she woke up groggy, but ready to partake in the late night 'date' we were having.

we sat there as a family, engaged in some of the most important moments we've ever exchanged. my husband and i were so keenly aware of the gift of each moment we have been given.

sometimes tragedies can evoke real substance from a person. when you are forced into a moment of reckoning and you, for the first time in great, great while, learn to appreciate through different, wiser eyes how much you have, you learn what you value and what is important.

tonight was one of those nights.

thanks hunny for the wonderful dinner, for our life together, and for our beautiful children.
we have been blessed beyond measure.
i am so grateful that you are in my life. i know God put us together for a terrific purpose and as each day unravels, i am blessed to share it with you.

i am sorry for the trials you now endure. i wish more than anything that i could make sense out of it for you. for some reason, it is. the best i can do is to help you through it. you are my love, the one given by God and with His help, i will help you. even through times like these.
love, a.

Wednesday at Noon.

Get-together at my house.
Please feel free to bring a lunch, eat before you come, or not - that part is up to you completely!
We will have a good time indoors and out and our kids can play the afternoon away.

If you are not acquainted with my address, you can contact the church office - they can get it to you.

I was hoping that by setting the start time around noon I would miss the majority of naptimes - hope it works for you!

PG.

My son informed me during a wise-beyond-his-years/too-cute-for-words type conversation the other day that he knows some "Bad Words." (Is it permissible to use so many dashes in one sentence?)
My initial gut check reaction was replaced by a strange need to know whether or not he really knew 'bad words.'

I said, "Oh really? So... what types of bad words do you know? It's ok - Mommy won't be upset if you say them just this once. You can tell me anything."

Then he looked up at me and said, "I know 'Shut up' and 'Stupid.'"

My relief was tangible, but I was able to regain my serious composure.

I raised my eyebrows and said, "Oh, J. those ARE awful words."

He hesitantly added, "I also know 'shoot!'"

I then said what any good parent would say, "I am sorry that you know those words but I am glad that you felt like it was ok to tell me about it. And now that I know you know they are wrong, let's not use them, ok?"

I guess in the most real sense of the rating PG, we are doing ok.