Are you kidding me?!

Someone PLEASE fire me from the volunteer list.

PLEASE.

The great blonde has struck again! I have been helping plan a mother/son event at the kids' school. I don't feel like I should get any credit for it because my co-chair is a whiz on the computer and much more together than I am (aren't we all glad?!), so she has done almost everything. I have been more like her assistant.  I have been uber impressed with her organization and delegation--she takes charge without taking over and being bossy. It's a rare gift that I don't possess . . . at. all.

I was supposed to call the school and ask about the tables . . . I did call and make sure the school remembered we were coming and would have the doors unlocked. (The custodians still looked confused as they were setting up, but I KNOW I reserved the gym because I have an email.) The tables, however, I KNOW I forgot. Oops. Really oops.

Everyone has been really nice about it, but I HATE HATE HATE feeling irresponsible. UGH.

So, blog friends, when August rolls around and I make some mention about going to registration, I expect all you loyal followers to flood me with reminders NOT TO SIGN UP TO BE THE LEADER OR PLANNER OF ANYTHING!!

Please.

(I may be black listed anyway.)

Serious thinkin'

It's not all fun, games and shenanigans around here. (Although, not for lack of trying!)

Lately, I have been having some deep thoughts as well. Perhaps my budgetary decision to cut back on tabloid magazine purchases has paid off in more ways than one!

Lately, I have been reflecting on the gift I have been given to stay home with our kids.

Truth be told, I posses no skill that translates into a vocation that would pay enough to cover child care. So, me staying home actually saves us money. (I can "save" money other ways too, but that's another post for another day!) Seriously, not only do I want to be here with our kids, but it makes sense for our family. (This is not the case for everyone, nor will it probably always be the case for us.)

I have been overwhelmed recently by how God has blessed my being home in ways beyond fulfilling my childhood dream of doing this. I love that the kids are my job and that I get to launch them (hopefully prepared) into this world. I have also realized that because I am not committed to a job, I have opportunities to do things with and for others that I could not do if I had to work somewhere else full or part time. God calls us all to different things in different seasons, and I am trying to embrace where He has me now, excel at it, and enjoy it . . . even when it's hard, even though it comes without a paycheck.

He's also given me a new goal . . . it's not about getting them all in school so I can breathe and have a little more "me" time (although, let's be honest, if that ever happens, I could learn to enjoy that too). My goal as a mom is to equip my kids--sometimes that means having them with me and sometimes that means sending them off to learn, but the purpose is the same . . . to raise kids who love God, love others, and use the gifts and talents He has given them.

So, I just wanted to say publicly, since I complain publicly too, that there is no place I would rather be during this season than home. And I want to thank Josh and God for allowing me to do this.

(It kind of sounds like I think I am accepting an Oscar or something...)

Mommy vs. Nature and The Dynamic Duo

I am pleased to report that we survived the storms last night--they sort of scooted around Little Rock. I was prepared though . . . we had flashlights and water and snacks and blankets and our DS's, phones and computers were all charged up.

You're welcome, Little Rock. I'm sure my preparedness was a factor in the diverted tornadoes.

The morning started off great; I snuggled with Bo before Sascha woke up . . .

Then she got up and we hung out (with baby Jaguar)

Then Brittany needed to swing by and pick something up from me and as I ran outside to take it to her car,  (dunh, dunh, dunh . . . ) I was greeted by this fella

Now, at the time, he was NOT all the way out from under the concrete and brick and he quickly disappeared. But I saw him.

And I couldn't quit thinking about him . . . seriously, I was freaking out!

Josh was in DeWitt for the day and I knew that I was powerless against the slimy, slithering thing so I texted Mandy's husband (Russ) . . . long story short, I gladly accepted his offer to come over and kill the sucker (who by now was boldly sunning himself in my front yard).

While I stood frozen in fear on my front porch, ole snakey thought about making a run (slither?) for it and in a moment of concentrated panic, I chunked at brick at him and . . .

 . . . pinned him down. The picture doesn't really show it, but he was less than pleased with my action. His coral tongue was going crazy and he was whipping his tail and head around trying to get free . . . I may or may not have screamed like a girl.

THANK GOODNESS Russ arrived shortly thereafter and killed the nasty thing, tossing his carcass in the woods. (Hopefully, any other snakes around will see what we do to unwanted visitors and not try to take up residence in what I hope was a bachelor pad, not a home with family or roommates!)

Once I had use of my legs again, I offered to trade Russ his snake killing skills for a half hour with Major  (shh . . . he thinks it was a fair trade, but I won twice!).

So Bo and his best buddy got to fight crime on our street (where were they 3 weeks ago?!)

(COULD THEY BE ANY CUTER?)

The day would take a turn, however, when this dynamic duo decided to take Mommy on . . .

After playing outside for a while, we headed in to put on our civilian clothes for lunch at Chik-Fil-A. I was bringing the last toy down when Sascha got a determined look on her face. Before I could even register an "Uh-oh!" the house door slammed and I heard 2 clicks.

That toot locked me out!

I usually keep a set of keys in the car, but she locked me out of it twice, so I quit doing that, and instead found myself standing in the garage begging a 2 year old to let me in.

I ran around to the front door and banged on it. Sascha quickly ran to it and the following conversation occurred: 

Her: Hi, Mommy!

Me: Let me in.

Her: I t'ant.

Me: Go get Bo and have him open the door.

Her: Otay.

(She runs off and comes back alone.)

Me: SASCHA JANE . . . Go Get Bo!

(She runs off again and comes back alone again.)

Me: (Ringing the doorbell over and over again) Go get Bo, Sascha.

(FINALLY, Bo rounds the corner with her!)

Me: Bo, open the door for Mommy!

Bo: HI, MOMMY!

(Door unlocks.)

Me: Thank you, Bo.

Bo: (head tilted back, mouth wide open) Yook, Mommy!

Me: What do you have . . . oh, of course, chocolate.

Those stinkers locked me out of the house and dug into their Easter candy.

Well played, duo, well played.

Why Jim Cantore is NOT welcome here . . .

Alternate titles . . . The night I spent hunkered down in Izzy's kitchen or Kansas, just because we are similar in name doesn't mean we should be similar in weather.

I don't want to be too trite, because there is much destruction and devastation in Arkansas today. Lives were lost and homes leveled; schools were torn apart and sweet families huddled together in bathrooms and closets and laundry rooms praying and fearful.

The tornadoes were bad last night. I have not yet heard a final number of how many there were or the rating they all received, but I do know that as I was huddled under a prep table in the restaurant's kitchen, the weather guy I was listening to on my God-send of an IPhone said, "Just to let you guys know how serious this is, the people at the National Weather Service are leaving their commands to go to a safe place. This is bad, folks."

We were already convinced.

Let me back up and tell you the whole story.

Several moms and I are planning a mother/son event for the kids' school. It's scheduled for this Friday night and we felt we needed one more meeting to get our little duckies in a row. We have been meeting at Izzy's because the food is good, they are accommodating, and it smells better than the dining room (aka, cafeteria) at the school!

So, last night, a brave (crazy? in denial?) 5 of us met to go over the details. We were seated by a row of large windows and even though we knew it was supposed to be bad, a couple of us were convinced that it might scoot just north of us. Nevertheless, we got right to business so we could get home as quickly as possible. We met at 6:30 and by 7:00 we knew that we weren't getting out of the severe weather. In fact, from what we were seeing out of the large windows, we were smack dab in the middle of it.

Now, being mommies, we were all used to remaining calm for the little people and having a tornado plan in mind for our homes. But it didn't take long for us to realize we had no plan and no little people to be calm for and the nervous giggles and chatter of unsettled women set in. All of us wanted to rush home for two reasons . . . (1) our sweet babies were alone with our poor husbands and we wanted to sit on our nests and keep everyone safe and (2) we were feeling a little unsafe as we looked around and realized there really wasn't an interior wall to speak of, the trees outside were doing toe touches and the hail was loud and plentiful.

We paid for our (untouched) food and asked the manager what he had heard and where we should go. He suggested we go in the kitchen and hang out near the pizza oven because it was actually secured to the foundation. At some point during all of this, Jamie Garner laughed to me, "I guess you'll have something to blog about tomorrow!"

As we were walking into the kitchen a very loud whooshing roar could be heard. I'm not gonna exaggerate and say I'm sure it sounded like a freight train, but it didn't sound like regular wind either.

Needless to say our pace picked up a little.

The next 45 minutes or so consisted of us taking cover, heading to the exit to see if we could all dash home, and then returning to the shelter of Izzy's VERY clean kitchen with their VERY sweet staff. The teenage servers would open the side door and report back to us chickens what was going on. At one point they even looked a little spooked at the FUNNEL CLOUD they could see.

Here we are under the table and here is a picture of one of the waitresses holding up a piece of hail:

Finally, around 7:50, the rain and hail and wind slowed down a bit and the weather experts and radars seemed to think we were either in the clear, or at least had a break in the weather to make it home. I held my breath as I rounded the corner to our house, waiting to see if one of the hundreds of trees surrounding us was on the house. Everything was fine, though. I am so thankful that we were protected at Izzy's and that Josh and the kids and the puppy were ok. It was hard to not be with them during that and I was beyond relieved to find everything was good and they were on their way to bed.

Jamie and I are supposed to get together again tonight to decorate posters . . . I'm thinking I will get the supplies and do them at home . . . from our tornado safety place . . . since we are expecting ANOTHER night of bad weather. This morning Jim Cantore, the guy from the weather channel who goes to the worst storm/weather places and reports in the middle of it all, changed his plans to be in Memphis and Birmingham and came to Little Rock instead. He joined a guy from the weather channel who is already here. And the TLC show Storm Chasers? Yeah, they came yesterday and are planning to stay the day. Sweet. These are celebrities I would rather NOT meet.

Stay safe, friends. Download the B98.5 app to your smart phone so you can hear the weather no matter where you are! It was a great source of information and comfort to us last night. And eat at Izzy's . . . not only is the food good and healthy, but the kitchen is clean and they take good care of you!

Easter Weekend

Our weekend was wonderfully packed! And I have woken up this morning a wee bit tired.

I am also confused as to why my computer continues to throw in the occasional number 3 while I type. It could be in my bleary eyed state I keep hitting it, but I didn't think I was that tired.

You may recall my Friday of nothingness. I did manage to make myself shower (8 hours post spray tan) and we all went to Good Friday service. Tru took his first communion and the symbolism may be a little lost on him . . . I believe his two most memorable comments were, "Wow, the juice really DOES look like blood!" and "Can I have some more of the juice?"

After the service, Josh and my dad took the 3 older kids to African Cats where they saw hyenas eat lion cubs and Mom and I went to Target with Sascha where the only time Sascha wasn't talking was when she choked on a Dora fruit snack.

Saturday was one of those days that got off to a slow start and then never stopped. Caroline's soccer team, the Lady Charge (I don't know where the name came from, but it was given to us) remains undefeated and I am starting to worry about how much I enjoy that stat. It's an Upward league, which means that it is supposed to me more about sportsmanship and Jesus then the game. I support both of those causes wholeheartedly, but man it feels good to watch them win! (Refer to this post to learn why.)

We celebrated their 4-0 season with some hot dogs and ice cream at Brewster's and then ran home so Josh could mow and I could shop. 

So glad to see our priorities and tasks are exactly as they should be!

We both finished in time to shower and get ready and meet the Matsons for dinner. Tru has a friend, Emily, whom we ADORE (I promise I will always give her back, Robin!) and turns out we really like her parents, too! The food was good--although, we found out the rude way that they do NOT serve black beans there. Or at least the black bean nazi told Robin, "No black beans for you!" (well maybe not quite like that, but it was close) Then Sascha poured out all the salsa and Tru crawled under our table and another table, so we left Senior Tequila to the applause of the other patrons.

Ok, not really, but I bet they were clapping on the inside.

We ended our time together back at Brewster's. And yes, the ice cream is good, but mainly because they have a nice deck for the kids to run around on and my kids managed to meet (or annoy) a few other families while Robin, Tracy, Josh, and I talked. It was a lovely night.

We swung by Kroger on the way home to grab what Caroline and I needed to make an Easter Bunny cake and look what I picked up as well . . . 

Because guess what's over!! Lenten fast has ended and Rachel can have the bottle again! (I am sorry? happy? confused? to say that when I opened it Sunday morning, the taste was not as good as I remembered . . . I don't know what to do with that . . . )

Anyway, you may need a little caffeine to make it through this post.

Easter services were glorious! The worship was amazing and the sermon was amazing . . . I wish I could have gone twice!!

The kids even cooperated for a half-way decent picture

And look at this cuteness . . . I did not birth him, but I don't think I could love him much more even if I had

The rest of our day was spent decorating our bunny cake, hunting eggs at Nana and Papa's and eating much more than we should have. It was a great weekend and I am feeling abundantly full in faith, friends, and family.

Happy Monday, y'all and happy new year, Tracy!

Good Friday

Can I say that I have no semblance of balance? Yesterday was beyond crazy and can I add to my co-pay total the expense of gas driving that guzzler all over Little Rock. Today, I have been a total loser. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

And I don't even care. (Well, I do, I'm just too tired and lazy to do anything about it today.)

I take it back. I have done something productive. I got a spray tan, so at least I look better laying around.

Tonight we will go spend some time reflecting on the sacrifice of Jesus' life at our church's Good Friday service--a gift that I am so thankful for. I love the phrase I keep seeing on Facebook . . . "It's Friday . . . but Sunday's coming!"

I hope you all have a chance this weekend to think about the unconditional and undeserved love and devotion that God has for us. May you experience the joy of this season because . . . He is Risen!!

The short and full of it on a co-pay kind of day

When I think of the things I could have done with the money we have spent on co-pays at the doctors’ offices today I could cry. The pedicure, the clothes, the shoes, the date night that we could be enjoying. Sigh. Oh well. 

Such is life with 6 people in a family. I was pondering today the things we are always short on . . . sleep, time, money, time, did I mention sleep? It is a phase of life, a short season, but sometimes it can really ware on you. (Or is it wear on you? I looked them both up and couldn’t decide. Too bad . . . it makes you tired and weary . . . how about that?)

There are things that make life full in this season as well . . . there is abundant noise and laughter and stories and hugs and kisses and love and fun and joy. All of which totally make up for the other.

But can I be honest? Today, I am feeling the shortness and the things I feel full of are anxiety and busyness. 

I have brought on much of the busyness. And there are only a couple of the many things we are doing that I am wishing I wasn’t. But days like today that start at 4:45 am and go strong until bedtime are long.

I am honestly not complaining--just recording it. Because, I know that like all weary seasons before, there will be an end to it. I want to remember how I feel now for 2 reasons-1) as a reminder to say no to some things (and by the way, if you are reading this, you are not one of the things . . . I promise . . . the busy choices I mistakenly made are not the friends in my life . . . they are activities that sounded easy and good in August and are kicking my tail in April) and 2) so I can celebrate and thank God for the victory.

As for the anxiety . . . some of it is personality and some is situational. If you would have told me that after our house was broken into I would be more fearful to be gone than to be home, I would have told you that makes no sense. Why would I want to be where the “bad guys” came?! But the truth is, I feel like somehow I can keep it from happening again if I am there. (Control freak much?) So, on days like today, when it is impossible for me to be there, I am freaking out on the inside that it might happen again. I am sure time will lessen these feelings, but 2 weeks out, they are fresh and strong.

Well, there you have it . . . we are single handedly helping several doctors pay off their schooling as I have mild panic attacks in all the waiting rooms and parking lots. Yeah, you might want to let my call go to voicemail today :)

I’ll end with a cute story because I want you to come back tomorrow!!

Last night we called Bo upstairs for something by saying “Bo, come here!” and Sascha decided she wanted to see what was up so she started following him saying, “What, Racial?” (Yes, occasionally she tries calling me by my name) “I toming!” Bo did NOT want her coming upstairs with him so he turned around and yelled to her, “NO, SHASHA! YOU ARE NOT COME HEREING!”


See . . . full of laughter. Even today.