BUSY

So I am  busy right now.

Super Busy...you know the kind, lots of stuff going on, lots of programs for the kids, lots of places to go, lots to do...BUSY.

I'm rushing here, I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to finish that, I'm going so fast I don't know if I am coming or going.  I'm BUSY.   And it's not the good kind of busy...some of it is, other is not.

I've got stuff for my class at my school:

• Mother's Day Projects
• Finishing Portfolios
• Finishing Lesson Plans
• Finalizing Summer Stuff
• Keeping up the the Schedule
• Parent Teacher Conferences

I've got stuff for the Big kids

• Janea's in drama, so that means play practice, chauffeuring her to rehearsals, late pickups from school, Saturday workdays
• Jaron will have a 504 meeting for some issues he is having and that means taking time off work and finding childcare
• Youth Group
• Last nights at Awana
• Going on a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa
• Projects, Map Testing and Finals

I've got stuff with Jayden

• Muffins with Mom
• Parkwood Sunday
• Well baby checkups and special outings to the park

I need time with the hubby but we are currently juggling all the little stuff.

It's busy...and I feel like I am failing.

But I'm not,

I'm making the time, I'm trying to meet the needs of the family.

I'm a little stressed but I am trying to prioritze and make sure that the important stuff gets done, that I am meeting all the needs of the emotions and not just focusing on the checklist.  It's hard, but I am doing it.

So we are Busy...and we will make it to SUMMER!!!  Only a few weeks left!

"Sticking" Together

"Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but words will never hurt me"
remember that rhyme?  It isn't true...words do hurt but this post isn't about the words it's about Sticks.

Sticks....lots of sticks!

We have 4 large trees in our front yard.  We have one large tree in our back yard.  We had a very snowy winter...which means lots of sticks have fallen off of our trees and into our yard.

The husband hates sticks!  Especially when he is mowing our yard.  They kick up, poke, clog the mower.  So every time he mows he sends the 10 year old around the yard to look for sticks.

The 10 year old isn't the greatest at finding all the sticks...but he gets a lot of them. I too went around looking for the sticks and Dan helped a lot too!

The big question then becomes what are we going to do with all these STICKS!  It's usually a really high pile!

This weekend we took care of the sticks by burning them.  In the past  we have burned them in the fireplace...a horrible messy job that drive me as the mom crazy!  There will be stick particles and dirt everywhere.  


The husband knows that I hate this so we went out and bought a fire-pit this weekend.  And we burned sticks yesterday...for almost 2 hours!  We had a lot of sticks.  

Dan was busy mowing the lawn, so I got put in charge of manning the fire.  I really don't fire.  I was badly burned as a young child and fire makes me really nervous.  But the job needed to be done and I am a much more logical choice to man the job then the 10 year old.  The firstborn was off doing the drama thing at her school.

So yesterday the lawn got mowed, the sticks got burned, we worked together.  It was good...I smelled terrible last night and was super tired but I felt like we had accomplished something.

On a cute note...the toddler got a lawnmower for his birthday from Grandma and Grandpa and he was going around and around the house yesterday just like daddy mowing the lawn!  I wish I had had my camera out to capture the cuteness of it all!

A Parenting Perk

This month we hit the start of a milestone year...the year where we will have a 2 year old, an 11 year old, and an "official" Teenager...13!

I'll be honest, I'm a little bit intimidated by the the layers of parenting this brood.

We are now juggling tantrums, school projects, school activities, boys looming on the horizon, and the never ending driving to this event and that event.

I will admit though it has it perks.  We have a built in babysitter(if her schedule allows)  case in point  last night.

Yesterday and every Friday my class at school is very CRAZY!  We have 8 very loud boys in the class and they are very crazy and by Friday it's brace yourself, and hold on for dear life!  It was extra crazy yesterday.  And I was kidded out...literally.

So Dan and I talk frequently as we drive home for work and I suggested that I could use a night off this weekend if Janea was game to watch the boys...he had had a very busy week as well and was also in need of some spouse time so he volunteered to get her from Drama practice and then informed her of the plan.

I had enough Papa Johns' reward points for a free pizza!  The kids love pizza so that was their dinner...I just payed for extra cheese sticks on the side.  Dinner for them, under 10 bucks!

Dan and I enjoyed a nice meal out without the kids.  It was nice to talk and chat in the car, to enjoy a meal with no real interruptions and me not having to think about cooking something!

An hour and a half off.  It was nice, it was really nice and it basically cost us very little for babysitting...a pizza dinner and new ear buds for Janea.

I'm very appreciative of a daughter who is willing to babysit and allow us as parents some much needed time off as a thank you for all we do for her!

Sanity

I'm quickly reaching my breaking point,

My sanity is leaving me.

I've forgotten how hard parenting a toddler can be..

Jayden is busy.  He turns 2 in 9 days.  He is curious, he is fun loving he is in a word....EXHAUSTING!

The toddler after he spilled half a bottle of lotion all over himself and my kitchen!

Today, he went to my workday and staff meeting with me.  It was not a relaxing time during the meeting, and I really hope my coworker took good notes because I was not really paying attention.

We got in the car to come home and he fell asleep.  I thought I could transfer him to his bed...WRONG...he woke up and then hasn't napped since 12:40 this afternoon.  It's dinner time now and he is going strong.

I needed nap time today.  I needed quiet and peace and a moment to breathe....and I didn't get them.  I'm a little bit angry about it too.

I love my son, I do, he is a joy to my life and a lot of fun to be around.  He is also into everything.  I was working on dinner and turned around to find him standing on my kitchen table trying to get into the cake container to have a piece of leftover birthday cake!  ON THE TABLE???  WHY???

He is running around without a diaper, just pants, I know this because he keeps taking it off...might mean he is ready to potty train, might mean he likes freedom...probably means a mess for me to clean up soon...

See...  I am quickly losing my sanity...

I'm praying for wisdom, strength and sanity!  Also for ease in potty training!

My job as Mom....

I have the job of mom...and I have it over 2 very different ranges both with their joys and frustrations.

I have the job of raising soon to be teenagers...of balancing calendars and poking my nose in to their business and following them online.  Of making sure they are being responsible, it's my job to make sure they can make some meals, wash their clothes when dirty and pick up after themselves.  It's my job to listen to their woes, encourage their discouragements and desires, to nurture them into being self reliant. 

 In many ways they make this easy.  

They can tell me if they are hungry, tired, what they want to eat.  They don't need me to take them potty or make sure that they put their socks on their feet the right way.  They sleep through the night and often go to bed without me telling them too.  It's easy in may ways.  It's like the promised land of parenting.  They can entertain themselves and if its quiet it doesn't turn on my alert memo, it may be that they are playing a game on the DS, reading a book or finding something to do that doesn't make noise...like building with tools or other things.  I also know that I can trust them. They have proven this to me and are proving it on a regular basis.

Then I have my other job as Mom...only here I'm known as MAMA.  

The toddler....I forgot how much work one little person can be.  He cannot entertain himself for longer than 5 minutes and if he is quiet and I can't see him he can often be found drawing on a wall, pulling every single wipe out of the package or every tissue out of the box.  He also enjoys unrolling toilet paper and seeing what can be flushed...gotta remember to keep that door closed.  He is demanding yet doesn't have all the words to tell me what he wants or needs.  If he doesn't get his way he cries or whines and is trying to figure out what is going on.  

He can't dress himself, he wears diapers, and prefers to run around naked!  He has no inhibitions yet!  His favorite word is NO!  He loves to laugh, cry and still doesn't sleep consistently through the night...he is in one word....exhausting!  I love him but WOW!  

It's hard to have toddlers and soon to be teenagers.  Don't get me wrong I love my kids and I wouldn't trade them for anything but being a mom is hard work, being a mom to multiple ages is crazy!  

January is Flying By

Wow!  It's been crazy around here.

Life is moving rapidly and I feel like I am constantly playing catchup.

Jayden turned 9 months old on Tuesday and I tried to take his picture with his bear but it didn't happen.  He was cranky and disagreeable so we will try again hopefully this weekend.

Work is going good, the kiddos are back in school and Janea hasn't gotten the chickenpox.  Dan is busy, I am busy and on top of everything I am taking a class for work online and it's good but makes for busy days.

Looking forward to a three day weekend and getting things put away and organized around her. 

As I said...it's a busy crazy life....thankful for my life but sometimes it moves faster than me.

Knock Knock

I went outside yesterday to wait for the big kids to get home from school and look what was knocking at our door!  Most content little bug I have seen for awhile...and no he didn't get to come inside!

Rainy Day

I schedule pictures to be taken outside today...and then it rained...but that's okay we still took pictures just inside and we will take more outside another day!  Now my grass will be green and lovely too when we try!

The kids are getting on their last nerves so I pull out the cake mix we bought a month ago and then it got so terribly hot that having the oven on seemed like torture.  It's nice and cooler this morning so we are making white confetti cupcakes with blue frosting...yummy!

The grass and flowers are getting a much needed drink of water and it's so nice to hear the sound of rain on the roof!

I love me a rainy day!

What a Week!

In case you live under a rock or in a Sunny warm area where snow is a non issue let me tell you...I just lived through my second blizzard! The weather this week has been interesting to say the least and I am so looking forward to Spring...here's a look at our week.

MONDAY:
I took the kiddos to school...there was some slight freezing drizzle, the roads weren't bad but there were slick spots so you had to be careful. I came home and did a few things since I wasn't going into work until later due to an OB appointment for my 28th week of pregnancy. Dan made it to work with no problems and all in all it was a normal day for us. I get to the doctor, get all the stuff done that I need to do and have my glucose test....hate the stuff they make you drink for this test...ick! My doctor says something about making sure I'm careful and everything and that I should probably just stay home since there is a 100% chance of snow for the next day and a blizzard warning. Well, I spoke up and said that it would help if I had a doctor's note excusing me from work since pregnancy and driving are not the best combo and my company would be more understanding if I had doctor's recommendation to stay home...and he wrote it. The kids ended up with a early dismissal and then Dan worked later than normal...let me just say that our Babysitter in the afternoon is totally awesome! I get home and then learn that the kids school is being cancelled for the next day which I was totally expecting and I get ready to plan for a quiet day at home watching the snow fall....Dan prepares to leave for work earlier and we have a contingency plan set up for him to possibly stay near his work for the evening if the roads are bad.

TUESDAY:
Dan and I wake up early...Dan leaves early for work and makes it before it really starts snowing. The kids and I prepare to be home. By 8:30 we can't see the road pavement...it's snowing steadily and I am thankful to not be driving in the weather. At 10:45 I get a call from Dan saying that they have closed his company for the day and that he is on his way home. He gets home by 12:30 and we enjoy a nice lunch together...it was a lazy afternoon watching the blizzard blow in and seeing the weather and wind change....we were kinda mean parents and sent Jaron for the trash cans in the middle of a heavy patch of snow! Dan and I got naps...that evening Dan and I call his company and find out that we all have a snow day for the next day...in fact my work closed on Wednesday as well. We enjoy a family movie night that night and look forward to sleeping in.

WEDNESDAY:
We start the process of digging out. Our house has a super long driveway that runs the length of the house to a cement pad in the back where the garages are and so it takes a LONG time to shovel...so long in fact that we techincally haven't totally finished. Both cars were in the garage too so we had to clear enough room to get the cars out of the garages. We worked for many hours and still didn't finish the job...we get a call that the kids don't have school for Thursday too. This starts the great debate of who stays home with the kids and what to do..Dan decides its his turn and that he will drive me to work after getting the van out.

THURSDAY:
Dan gets the curb clear and gets the van out so he can take me to work. Then he and the kids spend the afternoon clearing the walk and enough room in the driveway to park the two cars. I went to work and found out that I had no kids on Tuesday so I totally felt better for not being at work...the conditions were really bad...Dan picks me up from work and we enjoy a pizza dinner at Pizza Hut.

FRIDAY:
School is back on and it's a normal day. Dan goes to work and then gets a flat tire. So on my lunch break I have to head to the bank and do a balance transfer so Dan can get four new tires for the van. Again very thankful for the babysitter who was able to watch the kids longer than normal. I get home totally exhausted. The week really hit mehard and the baby was very active all day causing me pain. Add to the pain uncomfortable chairs and hard floors and I feel like I am totally done.

Only 5 more weeks of work....I really hope there are no more snow days....I'm beyond exhausted from all the planning and detail arranging. Being 29 weeks pregnant makes for slower movements and added tiredness...plus I'm often starving.

Looking forward to a less busy weekend and couponing grocery trip...and some good naps!

Never a Dull Moment

This morning Janea and I were going about cleaning out some trashcans using the shower to fill them up with hot and soapy water in order to clean them out (they were really nasty). Well, we got them rinsed and filled with water and then Janea comes to me and says in a bit of a panic..."Mom, I can't turn the water off!" I go into the bathroom and the handle is only spinning and spinning. I try to use a screwdriver to get it to turn off...no luck...I'm getting really really stressed and the bathroom is filling full of steam...so I call my DAD! He comes to my rescue...but he can't get it to turn off either....so we have to turn the water off to the whole house! In the midst of this I accidently turned the water back on as I was trying to turn it completely off getting my Dad wet in the process...SORRY DAD! He tries all he can but says that we're going to have to call the maintenence department since he's not sure if a plumber is needed or not.

I see My Dad off on his way back to work and call the main office. Within 15 minutes the maintenence guy is here. He says the handle is broken but he won't get a new part until tomorrow but he is able to turn it so that the water is shut off so I can turn the water back on in the house! So now the shower looks like this...
It's times like this I am glad we are renting as opposed to homeowner since i don't have to fix this myself...an adrenaline rush later I can honestly say that I'm glad this is over!

An unTypical Evening

Usually when Dan and I go and watch TV in our room as opposed to the living room it's to get away from the kid programs on Nick or Cartoon Network or the Disney Channel.

Well, tonight, I went into the bedroom and Dan soon followed and guess what we watched? The Disney Channel...and the kids were no where in site...

This is almost as bad as the day I watched the Backyardigans and the kids weren't even home.

On a side note...Wizards of Waverly Place and Phineas and Ferb were both really funny tonight!

Volume Control

One little boy.

One sleeping daddy.

One little boy who enjoys talking.

One sleeping daddy who needs sleep since he's working some long hours.

One little boy who needs to learn to speak softly while talking.

One sleeping daddy who is sleeping and one stressed out momma who is trying to keep the little boy quiet.

One momma who is wishing her son had a mute button...but alas he doesn't so we are working on volume control.

It's really not working...any ideas on how to keep the little boy quiet and the sleeping daddy sleeping?

WW III

We have World War III going on tonight.

Usually my children get along great but tonight they are trying to kill one another.

Oh how I wish Dan were home tonight...

Monday's Bite

Just when I am all relaxed and happy it happens. Monday comes to bite ya! This was that morning. I got up later than I planned after having not slept really well and jump in the shower! A hot shower later, I am up checking the weather to make sure that I wear temperature appropriate clothes and dress the kids to not be cold and Dan is playing the Wii still. He has a game that is a challenge and spent most of the night on it. So I am kinda half rushing half not yet. Go to dry my hair and it's not cooperating...give up completely, just hope it dries okay. Make the kiddos lunches, get them dressed, give last minute instructions, go to get my keys...they are not where I thought they were...and I can't find them. Dan just isn't a help when I misplace my keys, and it really does make me mad at times especially when I am rushing around worried I am going to be late. He gives me his spare keys(no house key) I rush out to the car only to realize I forgot my sweater...pounding on the door later to get in to grab my sweater! Not the best mindset to be in when leaving for work.

A long day today, out of sorts a lot, not as together as I would like to be! I did find my keys when I got home. Janea had left them on the couch and they had slipped to the side of a cushion, they are ready for tomorrow morning, in the key holder and life will be better. Tomorrow is another day and I for one am happy to shut the door on August and welcome in September! So here's to a September and the start of Fall!

Okay, I get it already

Dear Dan,

Yes dear I know i leave my shoes in places that drive you crazy....I'm sorry! I honestly am not thinking how this may cause you stress when I take them off. I prefer to be barefoot. I come home and just want to not wear shoes. I hope that you can understand that.

On a side note...I don't like finding the shoes I leave in your way in weird places, like the pot I use to make spaghetti on the stove when I am getting ready for work in the mornings. On the frustration scale this drives me as crazy as you finding my shoes in weird places. I will try to do better, and can you please stop too.

I love you,
Erin

Dart Boy

My folks got Jaron a dart gun for Christmas...well it's made a reappearance this week. It had disappeared for a while but now it's back...and here's how it's been used this week:

*flyswatter...Jaron spent at least 15 minutes aiming at a fly on our front door today.

* Daddy slayer...then he had to deal with Daddy shooting it back at him

* giggle inducer...giggling insues as the kids shoot the gun back and forth.

Its rather fun to watch as long as I am not in the line of fire!

Crazy Night

Tonight was crazy night in AWANA. We had a lot of fun...it was a little odd..typical nights include making sure we have vests, books, Bibles and such...tonights also included inside out clothes and funky hair sprayed hair. I also had mismatched socks and shoes.

It was a fun night! We had a good time and now it's time to wash this stuff right out of my hair!

Baby it's cold outside...

We had a cold snap this week....both inside and out!

Outside there have been a few cold front pushing through this month. It was nice for the week I was off but this week it hasn't really been out of the forties and fifties. Well, last week I turned our furnace off and was running a fan in the house to bring in cooler air. It was nice to get the fresh air in the house as I was cleaning. On Tuesday, I thought about turning on the heat again but it wasn't too bad with a forecast of near 60 and sun which warms the house up during the day. Well, Wednesday morning was chilly and I thought, okay lets turn the heat on again to warm us up. I go to the thermostat and turn it to heat and nothing happens. So I flip it to Air Conditioning and nothing happens, it doesnt' turn on. I go and check the breaker box, no circuits are flipped. I turn on the fan and it turns on but it's only blowing cold air. Oh no, not good, but I gotta get to work.

During the day I often communicate with Dan by texting. So I asked him to check the thermostat and see if he can get it to work... He can't get it to work either and tells me to call our landlord. So Thursday morning I call and the furnace guy comes and checks it out...no luck, they need a different part and will fix it today. A little before 1pm Dan texts me and says that the house is only 54 degrees inside(We have an internal thermometer) and the furnace guy hasn't come yet...so I think, should I call, I want the heat! There is a chance of a serious snow storm this weekend and it's cold! I hate calling on things...well, as I am getting my kids in class down for nap the main office calls and says that they are on their way! Around 2:30 today Dan texts me again and tells me we have HEAT! I got home today to a nice warm house!

It's the little things like heat that you don't really appreciate until they are gone...well I am very appreciative of the fact that my house has heat and my furnace is working again!

I am a Cleaning Queen...

and boy am I tired!

Today I was working at school all day to clean and organize the classroom. We tackled a massive project of cleaning out an entire cupboard and the closet which was stuffed full! Took us all day but now the closet is clean enough to walk in turn around.

Then when I got home Dan decided to tackle a project we started last week(he took the night off) and I decided to work near him and tackled cleaning the kitchen...got a lot done...looks much cleaner.

I am tired, tired, tired. Yet I feel strangely good...

I shoulda, coulda, woulda...

Boy do I wish I had watched where I was stepping! It would have saved me a whole lotta pain.

This is the board with 3 staples sticking out of it. I had placed this in an unsafe spot on the floor as I was cleaning the kids room...I was trying to keep it safe and out of Jaron's hands!

This is my foot, about 5 hours after I stepped directly on it with just socks on! I had forgotten where I had placed it and in my hurry to move something, I stepped directly on the staples, leaving 6 smaller puncture wounds in my foot!
I adjusted the contrast so you can see exactly how swollen and bruised my foot is!