Today's the Day!!!

I have been trying to avoid this subject for quite a while, praying that not talking about it would make it appear less in my mind than it really was. Okay- didn't happen. In fact, somewhere in my mind, this dratted tonsillectomy has taken on Godzilla size proportions and is crashing through my mind taking prisoner any good sense that I may have. I know that I am going to be okay- eventually. It is just all this thinking about it! When I had my surgery this past August on my leg- it was emergency- no time to think. It was a matter of saving my muscles in my left leg. Then, with my appendectomy it was definitely a matter of survival! I was so thankful to have that fouled up appendix out that I could have kissed Dr. Reinhardt (thank God for good drugs- I don't think that I could have spelled my own name at that point so no worries, people- I couldn't make up who he was to kiss him!) Today's surgery is something that has to happen (so that I might sleep sometime in the near future without keeping my whole house awake) but it doesn't mean that it makes it any less scary.

My teammates at school have been generously trying to allay my fears. Yesterday they gave me this:

How sweet are my friends? I bet that I have better co-workers than you do- just saying.....They have to be the best looking at this gift basket- and they included a card that had a $40 gift card to Fatz- yep right about now you are wishing that you worked with them. Well sorry- you don't- I do! They were extremely sweet (which I would like to say is not uncharacteristic the rest of the time- not just when someone is facing surgery with extreme recovery). Everyone cross their fingers, say a prayer, and do a little dance for the surgery gods- here goes nothing!

How to deter all those pesky phone calls...

Picture it: (channelling Sophia from The Golden Girls- one of the best shows of all times!) You are sitting at the table, enjoying a nice supper with your family. Your children are perfectly behaved (I mean, while we are dreaming- I say DREAM BIG!), your gourmet meal is on the table, and everyone looks like they are right from an episode from Leave It To Beaver. Then the incomprehensible happens. You find your dinner interrupted by a phone call! At the dinner hour? Whomever would call at this time? And then, your answering maching slips on and you are reminded, as you listen, of the perfect way to deter those rude-mannered callers. This is what you hear:

IF YOU UTTER SO MUCH AS ONE SYLLABLE, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH! If you'd like to fax me, press the star key.

(borrowed from How the Grinch Stole Christmas(2000))

Seriously- is that not the best message on an answering machine ever? I LOVE IT! Of course, it could be used for all sorts of fun- like those horrible voting reminders, family you don't like but who don't get the message, and those phone marketers. So, if you call my house, and hear this message- don't take it personally- I still love ya!

* (Think it would work against boys who tried to call my girls? Or would that be to in-your-face? Interesting thought- might have to experiment with that when they get older!)

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Today is My Abby's 6th birthday....how time flies! It seems just yesterday that she screamed for six months straight (the evidence of colic and reflux) and slept little at night....but now, she is reading, taking some cute pictures (she's always ready for a pose) and something that surprises me- she is a GREAT big sister. Not that I didn't think she would be good to Sophie, but they are not but a little more than 2 years apart. (I know- WHAT WAS I THINKING???- we can cover that later), but Abby has such a caring and compassionate spirit and loves her sisters. She is also bright, funny, and a great friend. So, I am so proud of who she is, right now, today, and I can't wait to see the lovely woman she will one day become! Happy birthday sweetie!

Love,

Mom

This is how we roll (on a Saturday with FIVE baseball/softball/t-ball games)!

Our Saturday, in pictures....

Sophie taking a swing at the ball (an obvious miss- but they can't all be Babe Ruth at their first game, can they?)

Sophie and her new boyfriend, Alden. (He is the son of a friend of mine that I have recently reconnected with- he declared his love for Sophie on the way to the ballfield that morning- how cute is this picture?)

Sophie getting to "catch" a rolling ball.

Sophie standing on first base- What you are missing is the whole snot flinging, full out crying that was going on- it was 32 degrees on Saturday morning, and she is only 3!

Sophie going to third base.

Savannah contemplating her game. I am not sure if she was nervous or not- it was her first fast-pitch game.

Okay, so not so nervous, we found out that not much excitement goes on in fast -pitch, the kids are either getting hit by the ball, or walked.

Savannah's turn at bat (that stance is something to be proud of, yep, and she did hit the ball!)

Interject a cute photo of Abby- she likes having her picture taken too!

Caitlin getting her first game hit ever off of a pitch- see that ball sailing off that bat- she is a natural!

Abby looking good out near third base.

Only Abby could make a batting helmet look cute (do you notice a pattern here?)

Abby striking a pose on third base (she is serious about her softball now- notice the batting gloves!)

I wish....

I have been feeling a little down lately....and I can't seem to come up with reason why. I look around me, at all the people that pass by, all the lovely people whom I am lucky enough to call my friends, and I think about all the things that I could be.

I wish I was a better wife (sorry, Steve)...you know- the kind that can keep six kids all organized, who wears high heels while weeding the flowerbed (and let's not even get into the flowers- my black thumb means death to all involved!) and presenting a gourmet meal 6 out of 7 nights a week (everyone is allowed at least ONE night a week to not have to be in front of the stove- you people are slavedrivers!) in a perfectly clean house with not a speck of dust anywhere!

I wish I were a better mom (sorry, kids)...the one that didn't get upset about the little things, who never raised her voice, whose children all looked poised and together and weren't like the Herdmans in A Christmas Story. The one who didn't let her emotions get the best of her sometimes (reference previous post), who made sure to be at all the Terrific Kids and the programs and never missed anything because she had to work. The kind of mom who could plan a wonderfully fun birthday party for each child and never minded the hours involved to make it happen.

I wish I were a better daughter (sorry, Mom and Dad)- you know maybe if I was a better daughter you might like me more (haha!) I DEFINITELY need to be better about bringing the kids to see you, but sometimes, after having an exhausting morning or afternoon running around with all those kids- it is hard to make myself load them BACK in the car and make them behave like the little angels they may not be so inclined to resemble- excuses, pitiful though they may be, sometimes are the TRUTH.

I wish I didn't have kids- HA! You probably thought I was serious! The thought might enter my mind when I hear them verbally beating one another to smithereens (which I DETEST) but on the whole I don't mind them.......Those weekend mornings when they come slide in the bed with me, wrapping their little arms around my neck and whisper, "Good morning, mommy" seem to make up for the other times.....

I wish I were a better friend- the kind that didn't get caught up in the EVERYDAYNESS of everyday, that could look beyond my own life to remember birthdays, hard days, or even remember to call you when I may not have heard from you in a while. Sometimes I SUCK at that! (Sorry to say the word suck mom, but the truth is what it is....)

I wish I could look at my feet without sucking in my stomach. And while I am wishing, I wish that I was as thin as my high school self who never worried about one ounce that she ate, I wish that I was effortlessly beautiful and unafraid to let my freckles show, I wish I could stay at home so that I could have some control of our crazy schedules, I wish that I had the patience to stay at home, I wish I was better with money.......

And then, after all that, I am left with the fact that I can wish all I want, but guess what? I am still stuck with just plain ole me. What's wrong with that?

The Bitter Taste of Rejection...

Walking by a kindergarten class in our hallways at school, I am reminded of the unconditional love and acceptance of a child. Unfortunately, my sweet Abby has been at the receiving end of some “Mean Girls” experiences. Some girls in her kindergarten class formed a “club” and told her that she wasn’t pretty enough and didn’t wear cool enough clothes to be a “member”. Of course, I was filled with anger when she told me. It doesn’t matter one tiny bit that I am a teacher, in that moment I was a mother, wanting to protect her child from the useless heartache that happens when you are rejected and humiliated by those with whom you want to be friends. Just because we are friends, I will let you know that I wanted to hurt some kids- like go Rebecca-De-Mornay-The-Hand-That-Rocks-The-Cradle on them! I sat and told Abby that she needed to tell them that they were ugly, to which she replied, “I can’t do that, Mommy.” (I have a feeling that you are thanking the Lord that she has more sense than I do when mad!) Then I told her just to beat them up (I am not sure if I really meant that or not, but just to inform you I wouldn’t be that sad if some misfortune struck and they tripped or something!) to which she replied, “Mommy, I will get in trouble!” I found myself at the mercy of the classroom teacher. Abby’s classroom teacher is beyond excellent, and I know she would handle the problem, but I was so infuriated and I hated knowing that I couldn’t do much to solve her problem. When she came home on Tuesday she let me know that the little girl had apologized, but I am keeping my ears peeled for any more of that mean girls conduct. I would hate to have to bust up in a kindergarten class!

Crazy Thinking...

Over the past few months I have been taking notice of my life. Not in a “I can have more” way, but in an “I have so much that I am not sure what to do with it” way. I am blessed by God, I know that. And luckily, I have never had to go without. I won’t tell you though, about those hard times before when my children and I have had to spend the night without power, or when our natural gas has been turned off in the middle of winter because I simply couldn’t find the money for the bill. That is not what I am talking about. I look around my house and I see STUFF everywhere. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a clothes hound necessarily- I usually end up purchasing for the kids. But the thought hit me- Why do I need it all? Why do we need it all? It is actually pretty grotesque when I start looking around. So many toys and so many clothes. I asked the kids to go through their clothes. Anything that they wouldn’t wear or use they had to bring it to me. It is going to Goodwill. But my feeling of unhappiness didn’t stop there. Why did I always feel as if I had to buy something? Which led me to think about consumerism and my feelings of unhappiness- someone makes it shiny and pretty and we think we are supposed to have it. It is our destiny, calling to us, promising to make our lives better. But will it really? These thoughts led me to talk to Steve about not purchasing anything for 30 days. Now there were some exceptions- I knew that the kids would need some things for baseball and softball, and I knew that it was time to buy Savannah some shoes (she has had the same pair since last May). But no new clothes. Only groceries and essentials. I could do this, right? Then, to top it all off I watched a documentary on tv titled “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price.” And so I took on another challenge. I wasn’t going to be shopping at Walmart anytime soon. That documentary has sickened me. If you haven’t watched it, or read up on Walmart and their practices- then you need to do so. One thing that I have really taken to heart is to be an educated consumer. Our economy is in the toilet, to put it mildly, and the government is not going to be bailing US out. You can read some more about Walmart and their shady practices here and here or take it upon yourself to google “the truth about Walmart”. And for those of you that are environmentally friendly- check out Walmart’s policies on being “green.”

One thing that I have realized is that by not shopping, I don’t want it! I don’t fall into the advertising ploy of someone telling me that I need useless items. It felt really good to walk into Target the other day and cruise right to what I needed and right back out again! I feel as if I am embarking on a personal journey, and I am sure that my husband probably feels like I am crazy- but I feel that I need to be responsible for how we spend our resources, the greatest of which is our time and our hard earned money! So here is to my new, responsible, 30 year old self!

Snow Day

I love the peacefullness that comes with the falling snow. A hush always falls, the snow muffling out the sounds of the cars and other noise. It makes it look like a winter paradise outside! We loved the two days out of school, but spring ball has started and the warm weather has been just as welcome! After looking at our schedules, I believe that you can find me at the ball field every Saturday from now until May! Today is so beautiful- it makes it very hard to believe that we were covered in snow this time last week! Get outside and enjoy it while you can!

Special Thanks to my "Extra" Friend...

Okay, I admit, the header had me stumped, and maybe a little defeated. I wasn't caring so much after fiddling with it for such a long time last week. And then, in her Super(wo)man Cape, in swoops my great friend, Kelly, (who also happens to be my co-worker) to help me solve the problem. I won't bore you with such things about how I was working with code when there was a much simpler explanation- but what I will tell you, that thanks to her we have this super cute header to look at! What do you think?

P.S.- I am going to post pictures from our snow day this weekend!