the dark ages

ugh...no facebook. i guess i'll just blog. apparently somebody hacked into my facebook account and was asking people for money. one of my friends called to tell me...he said he was worried that i was in trouble until i asked for money...then he knew something was up. he said, "can't she just call joe's parents?" funny...
what should i blog about?? i guess i'll just a quick update on all of my kids.
daisy is in second grade and enjoying every single day of it. i am so proud of the little lady she is becoming. i've caught some glimpses of some negativity creaping out in her and i know it comes directly from me. i know they are words i have spoken and am now trying to change. i want to be a great model for her. daisy is quick to make friends and wants to make people happy. she is also really good at standing her ground if she knows something isn't right.
tucker is in 4 year old preschool. he will be 5 in january and is finally coming out of the f'ing fours. he has been a trial this year to say the least. learning how to push people's buttons is one of his specialties. we are seeing his kindness coming back and i love watching him take care of his sisters. he hates to see anyone upset. he loves school and God...he especially loves learning about God in school. i am toying with sending him to the private school he is attending now for kindergarten next year. i think he would really do well with a smaller class size and in a calm atmosphere.
lucy (deep breath being taken) is lucy. she is completely wonderfully hysterical and weird and mean and nice and entertaining. whew...she is an emotional roller coaster. she is gradually learning how to listen and obey but she is exhausting. she can make me scream and laugh out loud all in the same minute. she keeps us on our toes and i LOVE her for that! she is a challenge for me but i have a sinking feeling this is only the beginning. we will probably have a few great years and then BOOM in comes a lunatic teenager. i could be completely wrong about this but who knows...i am preparing myself as best i can.
joe and i are doing great too. his practice is booming and we are starting some home improvements in our family room this month. after daisy's last diagnosis of pneumonia we decided to rip up some carpets and install hardwood. that is being done over thanksgiving. after much discussion we decided to rip out our trim and repaint also. it will be a long time project but worth it in the end. i will have to post some pix through the process.
we are very blessed and we know it. we praise God all the time for the wonderful gifts he has given us.

family

my mom just left today after visiting for a week. we had such a nice visit which makes it that much harder to say goodbye. i love when my family comes to visit but it's a tough reminder of how much i miss them. my brother who was just here for a night, managed to make me laugh so hard i couldn't breathe. we fall right into step when we are together. my dad makes me feel like his little girl again and i can't help but have a little pity party when everyone leaves. here i am all along in pa.....
i'm not really alone here because i am blessed to live near joe's family. i always cringe when i hear couples complaining about splitting holidays between two families. i would love to have that opportunity because it would mean that all of my loved ones were close. it's hard to be away...it's hard to not let my kids know that sometimes i'm sad.
right now i'm hearing crazy playing and laughter in the other room and that's all i need to cheer me up right now.

sick kids

whenever one of my kids is sick, it's such a nice reminder of how lucky i am. for the most part, they are healthy, happy little kids. my mind always goes to parents that have to deal with sick kids ALL the time. hospitals, doctors, tests, bloodwork...ugh...so far so good for us that we don't have that on a daily basis.

check out this blog
http://half12.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-know.html
this is a lady that is really hurting. she lost her daughter, tuesday, months ago. tuesday was one of her twin daughters. it's a heartbreaking blog but she needs prayer right now.

i think i'll go and hug my kids.

the poor store

so today i had the chance to go to what my dear friend carrie calls "the poor store." she calls it the poor store because you can shop there even when you are poor. it really is called BB's grocery outlet. it is about a half hour from our house and is self labeled "off the beaten path." carrie has been raving about this place since the day i met her last august and i've wanted to go along but it just hasn't worked out. so we made a date of it this week because she really wanted me to see it.
the store carries bent boxes, dented cans, even cases of drinks where the outer plastic, that holds all of the drinks together, has come loose.

it was more than i could've imagined. it rocked!! there were rows and rows of groceries all at major discounts. i was nervous that i wouldn't be able to find organic stuff...i had no need to be nervous. there was organic stuff everywhere. i got Annie's mac and cheese for $.50 a box!!! i stayed away from things that were expired and none of my boxes had smashes or dents. needless to say i loaded up my grocery cart with boxes of snacks, drinks, taco kits (for $.50), and even personal hygiene products all for $56!!!!! i was amazed. even joe couldn't believe how little everything cost when he saw it all laid out on the counter tops.

anyone that knows me knows i love a good sale and a great deal. This store calmed the sale beast inside of me for a long long time. but i still can't wait to go back!!

a lump in my throat...

when i consider this upcoming school year coming towards me at the speed of a jet at top speed, i get sick to my stomach. i can't believe that i will have all three kids in school for three mornings a week. this day seemed so far away only a few years ago and now that it is upon me, i don't want it! i love having my kids at home. i do know that it will really only be 9 hours a week that i will have to find something to do with myself. i also know that finding something to do will not be that difficult. it is my goal to get things done so when the little ones come home my attention is all theirs.
i've toyed with putting in an application at lowes. i want a job that doesn't require training and that i don't have to take home with me. i also want a discount at a store that i frequent. i don't think this is the year for a job but i know that day is coming and i am ready for it. i am not a good stay at home mom if there is nobody here. i will be bored out of my mind.
anyway, when i think of how little i will see my precious daisy is makes me cry. once we add in piano lessons and brownies for her, then choir once a week for joe and i, it makes for a very busy week. last year daisy was in our church AWANA group and she loved every minute of it. she would learn her bible verses and sing fun songs. i am selfish with my time with her though so after much prayer and discussion we've decided not to send her back there this year. instead we purchased a couple of dinnertime devotional books that we can use everynight with all the kids around the table while we are eating. i think it's something important and it's even more important that we do it together and are home and not rushing around to the next thing.
some days i am ready for school to begin.....and then others i get a rising lump in my throat. i just have to trust in God's plan for me and where he will lead me. i know i am meant to be right here right now and i have to be open for what's to come! change is good....

toys

i hate toys. whew, i feel better now that that's out in the open. i think toys are ugly, and dumb. i love my toy room but i hate cleaning it. when i start to go through it i realize how spoiled my kids are and how much we have that we really don't need. if we just had pots and pans in the toy room...that's what they would play with. if we had cardboard boxes...that's what they would play with. but for now the room is filled with dolls, and castles, and puzzles, and a whole bunch of stuff we don't need. i don't feel like any of what we have inspires creativity!!

every three months or so i go through everything and get rid of stuff the kids don't play with. usually it is about 4 huge trash bags full that we pack in the back of the car and head to the mission with. sometimes i imagine how full our house would be if i NEVER got rid of anything we have. ugh....

i know this post is kind of boring but i happen to be sitting in a spot where i can see directly into the toyroom that needs desperately to be cleaned....here we go again....

missed moments

i tend to rush out of the house when i decide i need to do something. when i have a mission it's go go go until it's done. yesterday i was trying to get lucy dressed and rushing her along. finally it dawned on me, we had nowhere we HAD to be and nothing we HAD to do. i waited patiently for her to finish putting her jessie doll to bed. it had to be one of the cutest things i've ever witnessed. she was such a good mommy to her jessie doll, speaking softly and telling her she was a good girl. it was too cute for words.

it did make me wonder though. how many of these moments have passed me by because i was rushing to get to the next thing?

note to self: live life in the moment and don't worry about what's coming next.