Good, Clean Fun

Michaela spent the morning with her dad while I ran an errand...they headed outside and took advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having.  It was a good day for yard work, but I think that there was an ulterior motive...

Good, clean fun which neccesitated a shower...

House Keeping

I've got something brewing in my mind. 

Scary, I know.

I have been pretty down lately...if the truth be told, a better word to use is despondent.  Now, I've been able to get up and get going, but barely.  The main issue for me right now is our house.

We moved at the beginning of the year and never really finished the job of settling in.  There are many different factors that make up our current FAULTY equation, and I don't think I'll go into all the gory details.  What it boils down to is that SO much needs to be done that I don't know where to start.  And any time I actually feel the slightest bit of motivation to start, I look at one particular area and completely lose heart.

I wish I could make a joke, or say something funny and charmingly self-deprecating.  The truth is...it's not funny.  At one point, it was kind of funny to tell people with a little laugh,"Oh, we'll be settled by December...of 2013!  But now it's more like being in the Pit of Despair, where the life-sucking machine in the form of the chaos that is all around me, well, is sucking the life out of me moment by moment.

Well, that was dramatic, wasn't it?

I love The Princess Bride.  Do you think it would be bad if instead of cleaning up our back entryway I went and watched that movie right now?

OH!  I just had a new idea...I can put on a movie, and clean at the same tiime!  Why didn't I think of that before?!  I already feel better.

The other idea I had, which is what I was referencing when I said there was something brewing up in my brains (which, by the way, Christian's teacher this morning said to me,"I can see that you are a right-brained person...I'm married to one of those."  She said it with the warmest and most lovely smile on her face, yet sympathetically...we had forgotten Christian's nightly reading book to turn in.  It was just a statement, though, and she didn't make any conclusion...I wasn't sure what to think of that.)...brains...right! 

I was thinking earlier today about how horrible the house makes me feel and I thought,"I have to do something about it.  It's not going anywhere.  I can't throw all of our stuff in the yard and burn it.  We aren't moving any time soon.  It's just going to get worse, unless I DO SOMETHING!!"  So, I thought it might motivate me if I shared my journey from overwhelmed housewife to functioning-in-a-somewhat-normal-way housewife here on the blog.  I decided that to set the goal higher, say to go from overwhelmed housewife to totally-ordered-and-efficient-in-every-way housewife would just be setting myself up for a bit of failure.  (Please know that I am smiling as I write that.)

The Situation:

There is regular mail to go through, as well as papers that were never sorted before our move.  There are enough shoes to outfit an army, and that's just at the back door.  There is luggage.  There are kids' papers and crafts.  There are still boxes that haven't been unpacked.  There is a technological arsenal.  We have so much electronic paraphernalia that we could open our own version of Radio Shack.  There is laundry, and there are toys.  There is even a broken sewing machine hanging around.

My ironing board and iron are put away...does that count for something?  Please?

I thought of putting pictures up of the progress that I make.  I think it will be painfully slow.  It could be fun...for my mom and my sister-in-law.  They feel my pain. 

This might sound silly, but I also believe that at the root of my problem is a spiritual issue.  I know how to talk the talk and sound like I know what I'm talking about when it comes to being a Christian.  But right now it's mostly talk.  The computer and the blog, while offering me a great way to stay sane in many ways and being a fun outlet for my desire to write, have also been consuming way too much of my time.  I know this, and yet I choose to sit in front of this screen for too long each night.  I check on everyone's life under the sun yet neglect the one that lies just behind me.  In this regard, I am not a victim, but an offender.  I do want to change that.  Getting back to the spiritual stuff...the Lord has given me responsibilities, ones that I accepted.  When I make those things priorities, then I honor Him with the work that I do.  And I haven't been doing that.  I've been running away instead.  Ooh, like Jonah.  And hopefully I can learn my lesson from his experience instead of being so stubborn and hard-headed and selfish that I have to have my own lesson. 

There are so many things still percolating (to keep with the analogy), but you know, when you don't let it steep long enough you end up with a weak brew.  I'll end for now.  Sorry to ramble on, but maybe by getting it out in the open (so to speak) I will be motivated to take those first steps.  And then the next!  And then some more!  Until I can walk a straight path in any direction through my totally ordered and spotless house! 

The End, For Now

Christian's soccer season is officially over...early on, several games were rained out, so the season lasted a bit longer than it normally would have.  The weather for the last couple of games was beautiful, though.  Their final game was last night and they played so well.  The boys really put forth a great effort each game; they played as a team, passed the ball, and worked together for the most part.  It was wonderful to see them improving all the time.

The last three games Christian came out of his soccer shell, so to speak.  I think it was the game before the last one that he scored a goal right off the bat (oops, wrong sport!) and after that it was like someone lit a fire under his rear!  He was never far from the ball, and he tried hard to get it out from the middle of any given pack of boys (when first-grade soccer turns into rugby...) and then kick and dribble it down the field in order to score.  He would slide into the ball to avoid colliding with fellow players.  He would put his foot on top of the ball and pull it backwards (I'm sure there's a technical soccer term for that maneuver, I just don't know what it is).  It was so fun to watch him play aggressively and have such a good time.

Here are some pictures from the last game.  Grandmas and Grandpas, enjoy!  Other folks can enjoy, too, if you are inclined to continue!

Watch carefully...

Did you notice?  Yes, he kicked his shoe off, and kept right on playing!  He didn't stop to put it back on for a couple of minutes...the coach actually brought it over to him and made him stop running so he could slip the cleat on.

One thing I heard several of the other parents say is,"He's so fast!" 

He is fast...he would zip down the field ahead of everyone...

and he could control the ball pretty well, too.  His skills improved so much this season; it was amazing.  I didn't get any great shots of this, but he really seems to like, and be good at, defending the goal.  At this stage there is no official goalie, but there were several times when he literally came out of nowhere appearing right in front of the goal in order to knock the ball either out of bounds or to the side.  He was so speedy! 

Like each boy, he received a medal and a trophy...he was so proud.  This was his best season so far, and I'm looking forward to many more years of shin guards and cleats! 

Kick a Girl When She's Already Down, Why Don't Ya?

I have been looking back through all of our pictures tonight, checking out face pics...PW has a fun contest or challenge going on over at Shutterfly, and I was entertaining the notion of setting up a photo book to enter.  Anyway, I came across these photos, and was astounded at how much difference a year makes.  (This is so silly, considering I have seen this happen as my two older kids age...but it still shocks me every time!  Especially between age 1 and age 2.)

What really struck me, like a slap across the face, is that these pictures were taken almost exactly a year ago, at the same park I was at today.  The date on the older pics is November 3, 2008. 

Those cheeks haven't changed much, but look at her hair!  Can you believe it?!

I know!  Neither can I!

Where did this baby go?!  And when?!  Because now I'm taking a big girl to the park...

A big girl with cheeks that look like they're storing up for winter...they're made for kissing!

She has big ideas and opinions...like,"Don't take my picture, Mommy."  (She really did just say that here.)

Sliding all by herself, climbing ladders, speaking in complete sentences...how did this happen?!

I just don't know!

But time, it keeps on passing.  And since I can't fight it, I'm going to enjoy it!

A New Plan

As I headed up the sidewalk to pick Christian up from his piano lesson I thought to myself,"This is the kind of day when I really wish my parents lived here..."  The sun was shining, I knew I needed to go grocery shopping, and I thought it would be so nice if I could call them up to see if they could watch the kids outside while I ran to the store.  It was a blip of a thought, though; the reality is that I can't just call them up on a whim and do anything at all...they are a thousand miles away. 

I decided to take the kids to the playground this afternoon instead of to the store, after Christian's piano lesson.  It was a beautiful day, and they were being a bit ornery...I figured they might as well be that way at the park rather than in the house driving me crazy.  The girls and I were waiting outside while Christian got his shoes on when my phone rang.  It was my mom.

We do that a lot.

My brother was at her house for a visit (he lives not too far from them) and they all wanted to get on Skype.  Since I hadn't left, I told the kids to head back inside and that we would go to the playground after we talked to Uncle Matt for a minute. 

We had a good time catching up with him, and talking to my mom as well.  It's so fun that we can see them on the computer in between our in-person visits!  After talking for a few minutes they had to go eat and get ready for something this evening and I needed to take the kids out before it got too late.  We said our goodbyes, we got our shoes back on, and headed up the sidewalk.

As we walked I felt an even greater pang of longing to be near them than I had earlier that afternoon.  It made me so sad to think that Matthew was eating dinner over there, everyone sitting around the table together, and we weren't there; we couldn't be there, just any old time.  It didn't seem fair.

I know that we are where we are for a reason.  We are very blessed that Mike has a job, that we have a home, that we live in a neighborhood with a great park a block away, and that we are in a city where the weather is so mild in the beginning of November that we can head to the park in shorts (well, not me...I hate wearing shorts even when it's 90o outside). 

It is still hard to be far away from my parents.  I want them around for these kinds of things...

We arrived at the playground and the kids immediately got to the business of playing. 

Christian almost always finds some boys to run around with, chasing a ball, making up some action-packed scene.

Eliana and Michaela hung out on the small jungle gym.

Eliana climbed these bars again and again; when she was pretty much at the top of them she smiled and said she was up high.  Then she grinned and said,"Monkey!"  I thought that was pretty funny; I said,"Up high like a monkey?!"  I was thinking she was pretty smart!

Then I noticed her looking past me...at the gorilla on the twirly thing-a-ma-bobs on the playset!  Oh, that monkey!

Christian was playing keep-away with another little boy and an older fellow.  I think most of the time he was having fun and some of the time he wanted the bigger boy to stop chasing him around.  He can dish it out, but when it comes to taking it...well, not so much!

It was a beautiful day.

They love to play.

I just want to say

Mom and Dad should move this way!

I am starting a petition to this end.  If you think that my parents should move to Dallas and live with us (yes, even in our house!) please leave a comment saying so.  Maybe if thousands of people sign then they will feel compelled to leave the life they've known for the better part of their time on this earth, the friends they've made over the last 35 years, and cram themselves into our house in order to fold laundry, help with meals, and watch the kids when I want to go get a haircut.  Oh, also in order to laugh so hard we wet our pants, play Scrabble until 2 a.m. every night, and eat a lot of chocolate.  We would also exercise together. 

Don't you think it sounds like an excellent plan?  This may be the best one I've come up with...and there have been some doozies!  You know how I love to make a plan...