Long Time, No Blog, Part XXIV

I know you haven't seen me around these parts in (looks at date of last blog post) six months, so this is what we look like circa May 2014. None of the females in the picture are wearing heels of any sort so, yes, the girls and I are pretty much the same height. In addition to my make up and hair products they are now stealing my shoes. My clothes are safe for the time being. 

Also, look at my time-share bebeh boys. They are too presh for words. Their mama is kindly giving birth to another bebeh sometime around the beginning of December. This makes me happy for several reasons, but mainly because I will get the enjoyment of a baby part of the day without the pesky task of raising and paying for it! After three boys, we would all be happy if NEW BEBEH were a girl, but what are the odds?? ( I know, 50/50.) 

Life in south Georgia continues to be predictably unpredictable. We've been in Albany nine years. NINE YEARS. That is the longest I've lived continually in one place my entire life. Come August, we will have lived in this house for eight years. Sometimes I look around at all the stuff we have aquired in that time and panic slightly at the thought of having to pack it all up and move. That was one good thing about moving on a semi-regular basis- it forced you to travel light and constantly re-evaluate the necessaties of life. Now, we just stick it in a closet or under the bed or in a shed and resolve to think about what to do with all that 'stuff' later.

One shed has become my office/creative space. Dad and James electrified it last year, and James spent Spring Break this year insulating it, putting up walls and giving it a lovely coat of paint. The office has two loft areas where we store decorations, camping stuff, seasonal items, etc. Just the bottom part of the office (i.e. the space that holds my stuff) filled up an entire trailer and then some. So yeah, moving it not something I want to ever do ever again.

But look how LOVELY my space is now!! Sometimes I just go out there and sit and enjoy how quiet it is. 

Three years ago we had no dogs. Now we have three. Allie is a Chocolate Lab who joined the family in April. She's so incredibly sweet and laid back, so I can forgive the loud snoring, awful gas and huge dog poo I have to scoop out of the back yard daily. 

After we discovered a termite infestation in the house back in February, we decided that this year we needed to put some serious $$$ into some much needed home repairs. We've been throwing money all around town as a result, but when everything is finally finished, we will have brand new windows, a new French door on the back of the house, new trim and siding, fresh looking brick exterior/sidewalk,/curb/driveway due to an intense pressure washing and all the rotted wood replaced. If we could just get some new carpeting inside, it really would be like living in an all-new house.

 I have two, TWO children in high school. Next summer will be twenty years since I graduated myself. I can't decide which fact is more unbelievable. The children both delight and infuriate me on a daily basis. 

  

If anyone would like to help teach Madeline how to drive I will gladly give you gas money.

That's about it for now. We still miss Jed dreadfully, but he's almost down one year! At some point I may update this blog again. We'll see. ;) 

My Vitality Does In Fact Leap In The Autumn

“September has come, it is hers

Whose vitality leaps in the autumn,

Whose nature prefers

Trees without leaves and a fire in the fireplace."

It's September and October that makes me sad that I don't live in a part of the US where there is a noticeable difference in the weather and the leaves actually change colors instead of one day being a vibrant green on the trees and the next dirty brown and dead on the lawn. I try to make the best of it by enjoying every minuscule  drop on the thermometer and reminding myself that cold COLD weather is only fun if you don't have to leave your house. 

It's taken all of August to come to terms with the fact that I have a child in high school and who is also eligible to get her learner's permit in two weeks. School started way back on August 9th. 

Madeline loves high school so far. She's doing home study seminary for a year because of transportation issues. (Getting her set up to do that pretty much required an act of Congress for all the hassle it caused.) Isabella is enjoying 8th grade. By some crazy fluke, she got all of the teachers Madeline had last year. The middle school split into two schools this school year, and Isabella was assigned to the new school, which used to be a former elementary school. She said all of the toilets and sinks and water fountains are very low, so she feels like a giant when she uses them!

James had been under government-ordered sequestration since the beginning of July, but it *finally* ended last week! Hooray! It's a very rare thing that you will hear me complaining about James' job and/or the fact that he works for the government. We went too many years without stable, reasonable employment to complain about anything, really. I have to say though, this furlough with the close to 40% pay cut was a tough one to deal with. But it's over, we survived and all is well. 

Jed has been gone TEN WEEKS today! He's still not in Brazil, though. He's hanging in Pleasant Grove, UT while waiting on that dang visa! I just love how confident and enthusiastic he sounds in his letters. 

I turned 36 last month. That sounds very different from 35. The family I sit for gave me a very generous gift card to a local restaurant, and I nicely took James and the girls with me out to dinner. I just love spending time with them! Mom and Dad came over a few days later and took me out to lunch. Clearly, I like my birthdays to revolve around food. ;)

I love the time I'm spending with "my" boys. They are such a treasure! It's also a good reminder why I personally was smart to have my children while I was still young and stupid. I'd be so lazy as a parent of young kids now! 

Christopher is in school during the day, and I pick him up in the afternoon. He goes to a private Catholic school, and the it was SO FUNNY when he was telling me about his first Mass.

Michael is getting so big- sitting up by himself, eating solid food and trying to scoot around. He just gives the best smiles and snuggles. Nature's Prozac, I'm telling you!

Nic is too funny for words. He's constantly trying to figure out ways of outsmarting me, and only occasionally succeeding. 

I think the best part about getting older is figuring out what you really care about, and ignoring the rest of the busy work. Right now my life is so busy work free and I'm so much happier for it. 

Your Monthly Post

You know what bites? School starts in less than two weeks. Sad panda, indeed.

Usually by this time I've moved into school mode, buying supplies and getting lesson plans for my class ready. Not this year! It's weird not to be worrying about any of that stuff, since I'm not going back to preschool. I'm sad, but not all that sad.

Summer with the this little boys has been fun. For a small town, we have a great library system and a kick-a children/youth librarian. Miss Erin put together some great summer programs plus a storytime, so we took full advantage of going to the library at least twice a week. This last program was Egyptian themed, so we had two pharaohs in the house!

I'm not kidding when I say they wore those ALL DAY!

The Bebeh Boy continues to delight us. He really is the smiliest baby I've ever met. He's even smiled in the middle of crying! It's like he can't help himself. He's rolling over and trying to sit up and we just love him to bits and pieces. It also makes me very glad I'm done having babies, because babies are a lot of work.

Madeline went to youth conference in Macon a few weeks ago and had a ball. Evidently her number was given out several times over to various "new friends". Oh, it's good to be young! She printed out several copies of this picture to send to Jed so he could pass them out around the MTC.

Isabella has been busy earning money and seeing movies and crafting. She also keeps talking me into taking her out to breakfast when Madeline is gone. 

I've been crafting too. 

Doctor Who felt people! (Including this badass River Song of my own design!)

Sherlock Felt People! (again, my own design!)

I made several different characters to send to Jed. He loved them, as I knew he would. 

James' sequestration finally started and it suuuuuuuuuuucks. Every Monday of since the beginning of July till the end of September with no pay! Sweet. I don't know which is worse: having a *severely* reduced paycheck or having him around on Mondays disturbing our routine. It's a toss-up really. 

And now I leave you with a picture of the cutest bebeh evah.

What I've Been Doing

Did you know we went to Disney World back in February? We did, and it was awesome. I didn't talk about it here because I didn't want to make you super jealous. Cousin Sarah is officially the Numero Uno Maker of the Disney Magic.

As you can tell by our attire, we had a day of chilliness. But anyone who has ever almost sweated (swat?) to death in the Orlando heat and humidity will tell you that a bit of chilliness is infinitely preferable. As per our vacationing preferences, it was all about the food. We ate our way through the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and it was GLORIOUS. Cousin Sarah advised purchasing the prepaid meal plan, which was a wonderful suggestion. We could order what we wanted without regard to the price. It was simply delightful to get a check for $130+ and say the magic words, "We're on the meal plan" and POOF!! The check disappeared. Bliss....

Earlier in the month of February, Frodo received this in the mail:

I've pretty much been trying to come to terms with the fact that he will be gone for TWO WHOLE YEARS ever since then. I will probably be okay with it about a month before he gets home. IN JUNE 2015!!! By which time Madeline will almost be 17 and Isabella will be 15. MY LIFE IS FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES. At least I won't be 40 yet. When he gets home, I mean. 

I also started a new job. In addition to my old job of teaching preschool, I'm watching three little bros in the afternoon after school. Which basically means I'm working almost full-time. It's a good thing I love teaching and that I ADORE the boys I'm watching. Their ages are 5, 2 and 10 weeks. Yes, WEEKS. I am going to watch them over the summer as well, with the help of the girls. I figure it will be better with 3 VS 3 defense. 

The girls are in love with the boys, too. On the first afternoon, I got this text from Madeline:

The smell of a bebeh's head is a powerful thing, no? Speaking of the bebeh:

I'm spoiling him rotten and loving every minute of it. 

School is over in two and a half weeks. Not that I'm counting down or anything. You can probably expect another update from 'round mid July. 

Twelve

We haven't had any babies around here for a long time, and that's been cool. Our family is awesome just how it is. Yesterday, though, I kind of wished we had some short people running around.

You see, my baby turned 12 yesterday.



With her big sister getting ready to turn 14 later in the year, it's clear to me that I might not be ready for these girlies to spread their wings as soon as they might want. In fact, that are both preparing to spend almost the entire summer away from us, their parents. Bella is going to a horse camp in Utah with a friend and Madeline is riding along so she can be dropped off in Arizona with their Sauls side of the family, and then she will FLY HOME ALONE. o_O

I guess I better be getting ready for those girls to fly.

The end is just a beginning of something new...

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
- Dr. Seuss

Freedom

Wanna know what's awesome??
Doing something you really, REALLY want to do.

Wanna know what's not awesome?
Doing something only because it's expected of you.

I didn't realize it 10 months ago, but this has been destined to be the year of me stretching my wings in a way *I* want to rather than doing the same old, same old out of a sense of obligation.

OHMYGOSH It feels SO good. This isn't to say I haven't had challenges or struggles, because I have. The point is that the challenges are making me a happier, BETTER person instead of a resentful, bitter person.

In other news, Seussical Jr opens in three weeks (*cue screams*), I think I might have developed adult-onset allergies (BOOOO!!) and the air finally smelled like Fall tonight.

I haHad A Witty Title Planned But I Forgot It.

1. Hey look- school started!



Two middle schoolers. 6th and 7th grades. *sigh* School started for me, too. But no one took my picture on the first day. (Actually, a lot of my parents did, but no one has sent me those pictures so you are out of luck.)

This is my 5th year at Covenant, 9th altogether. I have decided that I have worked long enough in this field that I have a CAREER as a preschool teacher. Makes it sound more interesting at least. I hgave 16 kids this year, which is more than the 9 we had last year. (Because I have a CAREER as a preschool teacher I know that 16 is WAY A LOT MORE than 9.) New challenges, to be sure.

2. Is it weird that Lulu LOVES ice as a treat? If so, don't tell me. Ice is cheaper than Milk Bones, Beggin' Strips or Denta Stix.


3. Over the summer, I developed a guilty, GUILTY pleasure. Two actually.

UNO:


The TMZ television show is AWESOME. It's funny and snarky and everything Entertainment Tonight wishes it could be. I feel guilty for loving this show as much as I do. Wait, no I don't. It makes me laugh, so there.

DOS:


I am seriously addicted to this show! Animal Cops: Houston is the bomb. The other Animal Cops permiations (Phoenix, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia) don't even compare.



This is Jim Boller. He used to be the Senior Investigator for the Houston SPCA. I like to think of him as my reality TV boyfriend. Why am I so attracted to this man? I don't even like moustaches!

3. The girls are doing a fall community show through their old elementary school. James is still on sets while somehow I got roped into being on the executive committee??!?!? I am hoping this translates into me being all-powerful and getting a name badge.



4. I can't think of a fourth right now. I'll get back to you on that.

'Twas the Night Before the Night Before School Started...

The girls had open house at their school last night. We were SUPER LUCKY that a torrential downpour started just minutes before the start of said open house, so we met the new teachers with mascara running down our faces, clothes throughly soaked and hair that was literally dripping.

On the bright side, we weren't sweaty!

I think we are going to have a great year (she said optimistically). Middle School is old hat to Madeline, and Isabella seems to be taking everything in stride. Her teachers were the great unknown, but we've heard glowing third-party reports from people we trust.

Two middle schoolers. TWO! I can hardly believe it.

My class roster arrived on Monday, and I have sixteen little darlings this year. That's a big jump from the nine I had last year! I've been switching to a bigger classroom over the past few weeks, and I finally got around to working on some nitty-gritty stuff today. All of the kids but two were at our preschool last year, so I'm hoping for a smoothe transition to my class.

Have I mentioned that we are doing a fall production of Seussical Jr.? Because we are! The director is the same one we've been working with for the past few years. The fall show is open to kids up to age 15, so even though the girls are no longer Twin Oaks students, they can still be in the play! YAY!! Auditions are this Saturday. James will be building sets again, and somehow I ended up on the Executive Committee in charge of Communication. I'm still not sure how that happened! We've never done a fall show before, so there will be a LOT of adjusting around here the next few weeks as we get back into a school routine AND a show routine!

I see lots of sleep deprivation in our future.

They say all good things must end, someday...

For all intents and purposes, summer vacation is over. *sad face*

The girls came home today after being in Tifton for almost two weeks. I'm pretty sure they were gone more than they were here this summer. We checked the mail and found postcards from the school with their teacher assignments on it. If that's not a sign that summer is over, then I don't know what is.

Technically school doesn't start for them until the 12th, but there's already a shift in the winds. Earlier bedtimes (for me especially!), sorting of school supplies, back-to-school haircuts and picking out back-to-school clothes; all rituals that tell you that the long lazy days are over.

I'm pretty sure this is the fastest summer on record. It was busy, but not in a really-great-we-had-so-much-fun way. We've had TWO car accidents to contend with (did I forget to mention here that a window in my van was broken the same week James wrecked his car?), which meant a lot of hurry-up-and-wait-ing all summer long. We purchased two vehicles to replace James' car (it's a long story). It seems ridiculous that we now own four vehicles for two drivers. (Two and a half of those vehicles work, but that's another long story.) People keep telling me that having four cars around is a good thing because Madeline will be driving in just three years.

Three years?!!??

It seems like a long way off *now*, but if this summer is any indication on the passage of time, then it will be here before I know it.

P.S.- Could this post HAVE anymore parenthesis?? I think not.

The Things We Do

I'm sitting at the library using a public computer because Bella wants to go to the Anime/Manga program starting in a little bit. The lady two seats down can't hear that her phone with the world's most annoying ringtone has been ringing for a solid minute because she has headphones on. I'm still trying to get past a migraine that hit me with a vengeance yesterday afternoon. Madeline wants to make a robe for the Harry Potter premiere on Friday and begged me to take her to Hobby Lobby to buy some black fabric. I'm just as interested to see how this project turns out because 1) I don't sew and 2) she doesn't have a pattern. She's ambitious and confident, though. More power to her.

So while I'd like to be home in a semi-dark room with a hot rice bag over my eyes, instead I'm being a mom.

GAH! The cell phone just went off AGAIN. I may commit murder and plead temporary insanity and show the judge this blog post as proof of the duress I was under.

Life With Tweens

I love my girls. They are truly awesome. If I could have hand-picked my children I would have picked them.

Our relationship is changing. Madeline is less than three months away from turning 13. Isabella will be 12 on her next birthday. They are closer to being adults than they are to being babies. I see them stretching their wings, finding their own way, making their own choices. And I'm happy for them. I really am.

I've always tried to be aware and appreciate whatever age they happened to be at, so I don't wish that the time hasn't passed as quickly as it has. I just want them to be ready to face what's ahead of them. I'm proud of the way they seem to be walking the narrow bridge between childhood and the teen years; not too fast, not too slow, and with confidence and determination.

I see more of THEM and less of me and their father. Sometimes when I see "us" in "them" it makes me sad and frustrated, because it's not the qualities I wanted to pass on. (A little more determination and a little less stubborness would have been nice.) Mostly I feel happy, because they are MY PEOPLE, and they always will be. But they are their own people too, and that's a good thing.

Suuuuuuummmeerrrrrrtiiiiiiiiiimmmeee.......

(Imagine me singing that in my best Lena Horne voice. Sounds, amazing, doesn't it?)

--- The girls have been out of school one whole week and we are in FULL-ON summer mode. Lazy mornings, good books, cold drinks, late dinners, getting in some body of water as often as possible. I feel bad that Jaws has to go to work. Oh well. Someone has to bring home the bacon (although I will happily fry it up in the pan. It's BLT weather, baby!).

--- Speaking of babies, Madeline is headed to Girls Camp next week for the first time. GIRLS CAMP PEOPLE!! I feel old. My other baby brought down the house and slammed the door on Fifth grade by bringing home STRAIGHT A's on her final report card. BOO-to-the-YAH. After all the struggles we've had this year I feel gloriously vindicated.

--- I just looked at the temp on Weather Bug. It's 101 degrees today. On June 1st. Breaking records all over the place. Luckily the humidity is only 28%, making it feel like "only" 104 degrees. I shudder to think of what the weather will feel like on Friday when it's supposed to be hotter and humid-er. (Or MORE HUMID for you grammar nuts.)

--- My brother and his family are moving to Alabama this weekend. Boo! Why does he need a "career"? I need my nieces and nephews around to amuse me!! Luckily, I like the state of Alabama, redneck-married-cousinss-jokes aside. It's a pretty state, it's not landlocked, and you can buy fireworks year round.

--- I have read nine books since school ended for me on the 13th. Deeply, deeply satisfying. I love reading. It's so entertaining! I have also cleaned out my pantry, closet, playroom and dresser drawers. Also satisfying, but not nearly as entertaining. (Although re-reading notebooks and journals from high school is ALWAYS entertaining. I had forgotten how much bad poetry I wrote at one point. Did I throw it away? No way, Jose!)

I think I'll go eat some watermelon before I take the girls to church tonight. Then I might eat some ice cream. Because it's summer and all.

Guys and Dolls

Last night I took the girls to see Theatre Albany's production of Guys and Dolls. It was actually the dress rehersal, and we got to go for free. The music teacher at Bella's school was the Musical Director for the show. We ran into him at Sam's Club last Saturday and he invited us to the performance. How awesome is it to know people who know people??!!?? Benefit of small town living, indeed!

The show started at eight and the curtain didn't come down until almost 10:30, so they are probably pretty tired today. Oh well. They can just sleep through whatever movie is being shown in class today, because heaven knows they probably aren't doing anything with 2 1/2 days of school left! ;)

The Clines came with us, but Jaws stayed home to enjoy a much-needed "All By Himself Guy Time". I keep trying to think of thing for the Clines to do here in town so they won't move to North Carolina. ;)

I had seen the show before, but the girls hadn't. It was fun to listen to their reactions, and even MORE fun to hear them make suggestions/compare it to the two shows they have been involved in. (They're seasoned vets, you know. ;D) The best part was when it was time for intermission and Bella asked me what we were supposed to do during intermission. At first I was confused, but then I realized that she had never been in an *audience* during intermission- she had only ever been in the cast! Hee!

Keeping It Real

Ahhh....Sping Break. I've been waiting for you too long and now you're finally here! We tentively had some plans as a family, but Madeline got a better offer from a friend and she abandoned us. Bella decided she would head over to Tifton since Madeline was gone, because Tifton is always more fun that Albany! I thought we had at least another year or so before we became obsolete, but the time is here, I guess. *sad face*

I decided to take advantage of having two less people in the house and do some deep-ish cleaning. James cleaned the carpet and I attacked the kitchen. However, in the interest of KEEPING IT REAL, I took pictures of things I haven't done (and to be perfectly honest, probabaly won't any time soon).

I hate dusting. It's a waste of time. It just comes back and this time of year it brings pollen with it(especially if you like to keep your windows open, which I do). DOWN WITH DUSTING!!!




The food side of the laundry room is pretty organized, but the laundry/storage side? Not so much.


I despair of the craft closet. In spite of my best efforts, it's always messy. Darn kids, it's their fault!


Preschool books in the playroom I need to put away. These are the books I've ordered and/or used since December. I'll probably clean it up in June. There are probably two hundread books in those stacks. I have plans of cataloging them all, but probably won't complete that task until sometime in 2015.




It took me ten minutes to find a pair of matching flip-flops the other day. Pitiful.


I seriously have no idea why all this STUFF is piled up on this shelf. It has no business being there. But Have I done anything about it? No.


Other things I haven't done but should? Windexing the front windows where the cats and dog press their noses, mopping the kitchen floor (the red clay blends in with the tile quite nicely) and cleaning the shelves in the top of my closet.

Just keepin' it real.

Beauty and the Beast

Now in a limited engagement....



P.S.- James' sets are A.MAZ.ING!!!

I wish it was raining today so I could title this post "November Rain"

Sadly, that awesome title will have to wait for another (non sunny) day.

I think our Indian Summer might have finally left south Georgia this weekend. There were days last week when it was in the mid-90's with crazy high humidity. How insane is *that*?? It about killed me. Today the high is only 81, and the low tonight will be in the mid-50's. This weather is bearable, but I'd prefer some high in the low 70's, maybe high 60's?? Is that too much to ask, Mother Nature??

I don't like to brag, but the girls looked pretty awesome for Halloween this year. You don't believe me?









A friend of mine gave me some clothes her daughters had outgrown. When I saw these dresses (which I knew the girls would never really be able to wear anywhere else) I immediatly thought of Halloween.

Madeline decided to be a 'Snow Queen' and Isabella decided to be an 'Undead Beauty Queen'. She wanted me to attach knife to her dress so it would look like she had been stabbed, but I thought that might be going a little too far. James took the girls around while I stayed home and handed out candy with Gertrude.



We have enough leftover candy to feed a third world country. It's not that I bought too much, it's that we were light on Trick-or-Treaters this year. James' crew at work will appreciate some of the leftovers, I'm sure.

So it's on to November. Three weeks until Thanksgiving holidays. Oh crap, I just remembered we have to pay our car registration this month. Why is your birthday so close to the holidays Jaws, why??

Speaking of Jaws, we've been asked to team teach the CTR 7 class at church. HAH! Can you believe that?? These are the kiddos getting ready for baptism! We're responsibe for making sure they know what they are getting into. ;) Who thought it was a good idea to let us teach that class??

Also speaking of Jaws, he just walked in the door, so it's time to eat some dinner.