What a Day!

Everyone has good days and bad days...it just comes with life. I am finding though that I have more like a good day/bad day/good day/good day/bad day/good day...maybe I shouldn't be someone who quantifies in terms of "day"...perhaps it's more like moments...I wish I could say that I were a more "stable" person, but I'm more like a roller coaster. I so often let my emotions get the better of me...I can crush my girls' spirits in a blink of an eye, but I can get them laughing even faster with my craziness...I'm working on it though. They are my legacy...and I strive for more good moments over the bad...and with that:

I will say, that we had quite a few good Moments today...and I thought I would share!

Gotta love the tongue action...

or perhaps a game of "peek-a-boo"?

This is our little "pig snorter"...she does the BEST pig impression!!!

Here is one of those "bad/good" moments...my husband decides to teach littlest munchkin (who happens to only be 1 year old) to go down the 10 foot slide with her hands up...

Momma's not havin' a "good moment" here

This last picture will have to do, because the REAL photo I want to put here, isn't a photo anywhere but in my mind...you see, today, my little angels were all swinging while Mommy was
"reading" in her little chair in front of them. Sweetpea decides that she wants to read too, so she goes to get her book bag full of books from the library earlier today...once she comes out, Peanut decides she wants to read too, which leads to Little Munchkin choosing a Curious George book to look at whilst in her bucket swing...To say that my heart swelled with pride and love is an understatement...I wanted to go inside and grab my camera, but I chose to soak in the moment and continue reading/swinging my girls as we ALL read our books together on the swings!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...good moments today!

Date Night

Well...not really...I mean if you want to actually "call" it that...it was more like spending an evening in "Hick-ville" (not referring to any directional or global location, you'll get what I mean in a sec)

So, we dropped the older two off at AWANA...yes, freedom for just a few wee hours. We still had little munchkin, but that's not a big deal...heck, what were we thinking when we only had one...man, to go back in time and not feel stuck to a nap schedule...ANYWAY, I digress...

We dropped them off and we had a couple hours to do whatever we wanted...we could:
* go out for dessert
* head to Barnes N Noble to catch up on some reading
* take baby to the mall play place and sit for awhile
* go home and relax together on the couch
* surprise some friends and pop over for a quick hello

NOPE...what do 2 thirty-somethings do in our "out in the boonies" country town???

They head to the grand opening of MEIJER to walk around! Yep, that's how we spent this evening folks...walkin' the aisles of Meijer...for "fun"! I'm feeling a little old!

Not Me Monday

A friend on facebook today said, "MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!"

Yep, it's THAT kind of day! And so I begin with Not Me! Monday...MckMamma is the start of all this...so I need to give credit where credit is due...check out her blog here

I did NOT just spend an entire hour screaming my head off at a 7 year old soccer game...I mean, come on, they are ONLY 7, why would ANYONE need to scream the entire time...NOT ME!

I did NOT allow my children to eat goldfish crackers and cheese curls for lunch and deem it nutrious because of the "dairy" content of the cheese...nope...not me!

I did NOT loose my head completely and drag my kids to 3 different stores because I was in such a hurry and then buy them big hug pops to pacify them...come on, think of all that high fructose corn syrup...no GOOD mom would do such a thing!

I did NOT tell my children that I threw away all the candy in the house and then secretly stash it for myself...

My children did NOT whine or argue at all last week when I asked them to finish their work and help me clean the house before the weekend...nope, they are angels I tell you!

A couple weeks ago, I most certainly did not NOT change my daughter's diaper before we went to Costco even though I knew she had loaded it...and then I did NOT feel the poo running down my arm...and of course, I most certainly did NOT leave the wipes in the car and have to strip her down and wipe her with the stiff, coarse paper towels in the bathroom and proceed to then allow her to sit in the one diaper I had left for the remainder of our shopping trip. And I did NOT smell of poop, nor have a large yellow stain the entire length of my arm on my long sleeve WHITE tee shirt...nope...no siree!!!


I did NOT just send out invitations to my daughter's birthday party that is THIS Saturday...I"m a planner...I've had the party details set in stone for months...I mean, who would wait to the last possible minute to plan such an important event as a 5 year old birthday party...not me of course!

Well...I'll leave it at that for now...thanks MckMamma for the idea!

Soccer Games

So, what is it about little kids' sports games that gets everyone RILED up???

I have to really be on guard with myself at these little "soccer games"...good grief! I find myself yelling and cheering...runnin' up and down the side lines...snappin' pictures left and right...I want to encourage those girls and I get so excited for them. They are trying so hard. I think I must drive other people nuts, but I'm just so into these games...anytime they pass the ball or dribble it just a few feet without it being stolen...man I'm cheerin' them on like nobody's business...and I have a BIG mouth!!

"You can do it"
"Dig deep girls...GOOOOOOOOO"
"WooHoo...You Go Girl..."
"AWESOME....You are GREAT...Keep it up!!"

And then...(there's always an 'and then'...) inevitably, there are those older, bigger girls from the other teams that tower over my baby like giants. Their coaches are in for the kill, they are in it to win...they post those giants in front of the goal with the goalie and camp out there until our little girls come down the field with the ball...and the ATTACK SWARM begins...I've got to believe it's intimidating for our girls...but what gets me is the "meanness" that ensues...

Here are the "other" things going through my head during these types of games that I do NOT say out loud:
"Get your elbow OUT of my girl's face!"
"Push her back sweetie, knock her down!"
"If you so much as touch my girl again, I don't care that you are only 7 years old...(insert mumbles)"
"trip her trip her trip her!!!"
"Don't let her grab you sweetie, pull her shorts down!"

Now really, lest you think I"m some mean spirited mother who wants to "seek and destroy" all other opponents to my OWN daughter..please understand, that is NOT the case. I know those other little girls on the opposing team are NOT evil, nor do they really have "HURT THE ENEMIES" in their mind...it's just that Mama bear in me and perhaps a "tad" of a competitive spirit???

In the end, I join the parent tunnel line and I yell and cheer for ALL the girls...I recognize a good shot (even from the other team) and I let them know...once the whistle blows, it's all over. My adrenaline kick subsides and I'm back to breathing normally!

I don't even think the girls care that much whether they've won or lost, they all slap hands, hug, poor water on their heads, giggle...and then look for the snacks!

Only 3 more games to go...whew...I can only handle so much! :)

Tongue in Cheek

It’s getting to be that time of year…the rain is falling, the air is fresh, the birds are singing and that grass is growin’.

Since moving ‘out to the boonies’ which we affectionately call our dwelling (although it’s really not all that far from anything, just depends on what you compare it to), we inherited Italian Stallion's dad’s driving tractor/lawn mower.

It’s his “baby”. I’m not quite sure what it is about a driving mower that causes such pure devotion, but it does. Other men, that don’t have one, come over and salivate over it. The men in the neighborhood stand around and discuss their mowers…do you have the riding John Deere or perhaps those lever/two handled/look like you are in construction type mower? To see the looks on the faces of those men as their turn the key for their “babies” and take to the open….grass?

Every spring, it’s the same thing…it’s like they’ve been waiting all winter to get out there and mow…and mow they do…and often! Anthony is not excluded.

I used to think it was a horrible chore…I mean, he’d come home from work and say, “Oh Honey, I gotta mow the lawn tonight” (read: exhausted, lamenting tone) I thought, oh my poor darling husband…so tired from a long day at work…and he’s going out to mow the lawn…to take care of our house, our family…etc etc…I would make him up a big jug of ice water and come out and check on him every 15 minutes or so. I felt so bitterly sorry for him…that is UNTIL…

There was one week where I just felt so overwhelmed with sympathy for my poor husband that I told him that I was going to learn to drive the tractor and take over some of the work for him. He was so “protective” of me…He didn’t want me to “have” to do that…but, I insisted…I’m not going to let my husband take the brunt of taking care of all this yard by himself…
So, I got on, learned the buttons and took off…

Wait a minute…all I’m doin’ here is driving back and forth…where’s all the sweat and tears? I’m sitting there waiting for the aches, the pains, the hard turns…I’m not sure what I was expecting, but definitely not this…

Turns out…Mowin’ the lawn on a tractor ain’t all the bad…infact, it’s quite peaceful for about the 2-3 hours it takes to cut all the grass in our yard…NO WONDER he protected that job so ardently. My goodness, it’s like a little bit of heaven out there on the open green, just mindlessly going back and forth…sippin’ on that cold water, not a care in the world (except to maybe watch for any toys or rocks that are hidden)

Honey…I’m callin’ your bluff! May have to get me some “tractor time” this summer! But, I will leave the bulk to you…you deserve it after all that you do for us anyway…but I do reserve the right to tease you about it!!!

This "may" be disgusting to some...

If you know me at all…or have read my blog in the past you must know that I am an extreme pack rat.

Now, I come by it honestly…both my parents “save” stuff. My dad has an entire barn filled with all the old copies of some Newspaper Gazette…my mom still has all my old baby clothes up in the garage…and me…well…here are some winners that I located tonight!!!

How many of you remember these?

They are called UNDEROOS…I specifically remember the night that picture was taken! My brother and I came “flying” in to save the day…you can see the window blinds on the floor that my parents were trying to install. I know that I have the undershirt to go with these little bottoms, but I only dug “so far” in my piles… And then I “happened” upon these little gems…oh the memories…Here we have my 2 retainers that I have worn in my lifetime…can’t imagine WHY I would “save” them, but low and behold, here they are…they’ve already survived a couple of moves…CRAZY! And my husband’s personal favorite: my baby teeth…yep, here they are, still my little tooth fairy container, all safe and secure…it’s disgusting, I know…but, well…that’s just me… What is funny, is that my girls are always asking for “stories when I was a little girl”…I gotta admit that it was quite fun to be able to “whip out” the ole underoos after the story was told…and much fun to show my teeth each time my eldest looses another one of her own!!!

So let’s hear it… “three cheers for pack rats!!!” YIPPEE!

On a Mission

I'm not sure if it's because I went to that nice little Christian College in Ohio where the President gave a speech EVERY spring about the destruction of the lovely plant...or maybe because I'm just perfectionistic at the weirdest times...or perhaps it's a way to vent out frustration??? I don't know, but I AM ON A MISSION...

to KILL THOSE DOGGONE DANDELIONS!!!

I had my Weed Be Gone out E.A.R.L.Y this morning...I was ready! I went around shootin' everything that had a speck of yellow...anything that looked remotely close to that flowering weed!!! My girls were sad...I tried to explain, "Honeys, this beautiful "flower" eats our grass...now do you want to run bare feet in a field of yellow or in a plush, green meadow?" M understood (she usually sides with me anyway:) Oh, but E, not so much..."I like the yellow Mom, I don't mind...why do you have to KILL them?"

I'll tell you why...because they annoy me! And inevitably, this summer, I will be walking barefoot through our yard and step on one, and there WILL be a bee sittin' pretty on top...nope, not gonna do it!

You better believe that it's WAR here at this house...ME vs. YELLOW! And I OWN the house, so I AM winning this battle!

My girls watched as their Momma went sprayin' all through our yard for about an hour this morning...this was the 3rd time in the past 4 days. They keep sproutin' up...but, I will not give in...

never mind that our neighbors have colonies of them in their yards...
never mind that the girls like to pick the bouquets for Mommy...
never mind that no matter how much I spray, they keep coming back...
never mind that when the "seeds" blow from the neighbors yards, I'll be doing this forever...

I know that it's probably a no-win situation here, but I have hope...it's only April, though...I wonder how I'll be feelin' come June...