O.K. one more separate entry for today.
I have been meaning to blog for over a week and kept writing down different things I wanted to blog about. I had the most amazing day the on Thursday. It started out getting Victoria to school and Sebastian to the Miles'. O.k. so I had to wake Adam up to take Sebastian to see Luke. I guess when my friend offers to pick my kid up for a play date I should just let them. Victoria would have been late for school, but there was a late bus so she got to go to class without a pass from the office. Grace rocks! I was volunteering for the day and joined the other mom helping get the kids hand print and name on orange construction paper. I didn't reallize exactly what was being done and having seen the finished product I reallize that all the kids I helped including my own did theirs upside down. Oh well, they made cute black cats anyways. After we finished inking and washing the ink off the hands of all the kids we did some photo copying for the kindergarten. The paper cutting job I started last week had already been completed. I LOVE CUTTING PAPER! I was kind of sad, but ended up having a really cool conversastion with the other mom that I volunteered with. I also learned some copy machine stuff that I'm sure will come in handy in the future. (The other mom had 3 older kids.) We talked about our families, our faith, and some other stuff. Victoria had her first school program and Adam was able to join me. She is so prescious! We had a nice refreshment time after the program and I finished some stapling. After school I met my friend at home dropping off Sebastian, after the play date, who asked if Sebastian was always so easy going? Yep, pretty much. The only problems I really ever have with my kids is the sibling thing, and 98% of the time they get along great. My girlfriend and I had a great conversation that was sparked from something I had said pertaining to feminism the day before. We also talked about other stuff. With some convincing she stayed for lunch though I could only get her to eat PB&J. It was a nice conversation. At that point I was so greatful for the investing in relationships with others for the day and then I got a call from Sara with whom I had agreed to an experiment and we had been reading Hebrews simotaneously. Jessi had asked if I was doing the experiment, which was a challenge by someone in our church. I have so enjoyed the experiment and it has sent me spiraling off on other little journeys along the way. I was excited to say yes and looked forward to completing this weeks portion by meeting with my friend Sara. Sara was equally excited to work on the experiment with me. However, she received a call from her dad in Iceland whom she'd been playing phone tag with so we didn't have long to talk because I had already gotten there late. However, what we did talk about was really interesting. We had some of the same things to share and questions to find answers to. We put a to be continued on our conversation hoping that some time this weekend we might even be able to get away without our children somewhere comfortable and quiet to talk. I left Sara's to go meet my friend in line for a yummy dinner at Russels. Unfortunately dinner wasn't as yummy as it usually is, but the company more than made up for it. We spent dinner with 2 very good friends. After dinner we adjourned to their home where we met up with the 3rd member of their family. We haven't been able to spend much time with these friends lately, but love them dearly and miss our more frequent times together. Victoria ended up spending the night and Adam and I went home refreshed in a bit of a rush to see my one show I wait to see all week at 10 on Thursday. I had actually forgotten all about it until he said if you hurry you have a little more than 10 minutes to get home and watch ER. Yes, I am pathetically enough still watching, but I really don't think it's pathetic. I really enjoy it. Thursday was such an awesome day. I felt like each of the people I spent time with enriched my life more than they could ever know. I learned things about them, about myself. I was able to talk about God comfortably and it wasn't something I set out to do. I am convinced though that when we arm ourselves with the word of truth that God will give us even more of a desire to continue in that work. I am hungry for God's word and I have learned, been reminded, encouraged, and worshipped while spending time with God this week. It's funny how much of ourselves and our worries fade away when we focus on Him. I am thankful for this challenge that was presented to me and for all the people God allowed me to spend time with today!
We had 2 major break throughs this week.
This week I am proud to say that I had an entire day where I didn't have to change a single diaper. No, Adam didn't take off work and stay home. No, I didn't go anywhere. I was home most of the day, but like most days I had some errands to run, and through it all Home Depot and all Sebastian used the toilet. I am and was so proud. Now the next day the trend did not continue, but I have tasted the easy poop free life and though I was sad at the end of the diaper free day I will be glad when we are diaper free entirely!
Our second break through came while I was taking a quick nap. The kids were in their room having quiet time because they were driving me nuts and need some down time themselves to gather their thoughts and composure. I awake to Victoria handing me a letter addressed to me love Victoria. Inside were all the letters she has been working on including her name starting with a capital "V" and ending in the miraculous lower case "a". She was so proud and excited to share this letter with me. I don't want to forget how excited she was or how it made me feel that she wanted to share them with me and the acceptance and acknowledgement she sought. I lavished her with kisses and praise. I want my kids to know that I love them and am so very proud of them for who they are, and though I might be sad to change a poopie diaper after a diaper free day or receive a scowl for suggesting a lower case letter in place of a capital at the end of a name of Victoria's name I am so proud of the progress they have made. I am hopeful for them and excited for when they will achieve what I know they are capable of in so many areas. I am also excited to be suprised by what comes to be that I know I am not expected. I know my children are beautifully and wonderfully made and I am so thankful for the time God has placed them in our care. A continual prayer I find myself repeating is God make me the kind of parent you would have me to be.
My daughter is only 5
Wednesday morning my daughter woke up and said mommy I have to write Jake a letter. She told me that she had to let him know that it doesn't matter who he marries. "If he wants to marry Emma or someone else that's O.K." she said. She went on to say that if he wanted to marry her that would be O.K. too. There was such urgancy in her voice and it was almost unsettling. I don't know if she had some crazy dream or what. I had told a friend about this and she said I don't know that I would be so cool about it(someone else marrying her prince charming), you see although she is only 5 she thinks she is going to marry Jake and by no encouragement or discouragement by us. Lately though I try and remind her that she is only 5 and there is a lot of time to decide who she'll marry. She still seems pretty set on Jake though.
The day before she told me that when she grows up and has kids that she would like to name one of them Michelle. I didn't say anything except thank you. She had told me a few weeks ago that she was going to name one of her kids Mrs. Bayer (which is her kindergarten teacher's name) to be put in the same ranks as Mrs. Bayer means a lot to me. I don't know that if I had homeschooled her (no reflection on any other homeschoolers, just myself and who I am and how I interact with my children) that I would have been payed the same compliment. I love my children and it's nice to know that while I know they love me that they like me as well!
Yearning for my sister
I am so blessed by so many wonderful people, and really have want for nothing, but I have a yearning for my sister to be near. I don't know that we are super close, but we have some kind of bond that I can't explain. Maybe she doesn't feel what I do, but it is a real feeling. I went to put some of the kids clothes away and the top drawer was cracked opened and I opened it. It was empty, which I knew it would be. We had emptied it before Beth came to visit. The house didn't feel any more full nor was I overwhelmed by a visitor while she was here. It was so comfortable, so natural for her to be in and around our lives. Although we didn't DO anything while she was here, I am kind of glad even though I felt bad that she spent the money to come out. I guess if we lived in the middle of nowhere and not Vegas she would probably still come to visit and expect to be entertained. Something about having so much around you to be entertained by makes you feel obligated. We didn't even make a single trip to California while she was out which we usually do when she comes to visit. I won't say I didn't feel bad that we just kind of hung out, but it was nice just to spend time with her. I suppose our house is probably a little quieter than her own, and probably more boring. I always say though that a bored person is only bored because they are boring and she never really seemed bored. It was nice to see her drawing/sketching. I enjoyed hearing what she shared about her life and ideas of plans for the future. I often wished I lived in Wisconsin, and while I would love to be there for the 5 seasons (yes, there are 5 in some parts of the world), I would love to be chilly more of the year than warm, because I tend to get more snuggly with my husband (which he loves), I would love to be around for all of my already present and the up and coming neices and nephews, I mostly would like to continue the relationships I have with my siblings that I have but grow so slowly through the miles. Yes, I would have to deal with family politics, and learn to love them and they me through our short comings, but that's what I do with my friends I have here. I wouldn't trade a single relationship I have here for all the tea in China, but I do wish sometimes that the investing I was doing was in my siblings with whom I will grow old no matter what. Friends even in my few short years have come, become so close that they almost felt like my shadow, and have moved on and sometimes so have I. It doesn't matter how many miles, days, years, or any other obstacles stand in the way my siblings are still my siblings. Some day we'll have to figure out together what to do with mom and dad and a few other issues, but I don't just want to be a phone call they have to make to make me feel a part of it, I want to be a part of it, now and forever.
Recognized As A Runner
The other day I went to pick Victoria up at school and her teacher asked me if I was a professional runner. Really it was probably because of all the running themed t-shirts that I have been sporting lately, but it was nice to hear asked of me. I answered honestly, "No, I am by no means professional, but I do love to run." I have been running a lot lately and some weeks I feel like maybe it's just a bit much, but I usually do it anyways. However, I have been cutting out one run almost every week. It's usually a 6 or a 4 miler. I figure that running 4 days a week and having a pilates day is probably enough training. I just don't want to get burned out. As it is I think that after the marathon that I will run, God willing. I might, if I can ween myself off of running go back to walking. I do love to run, but maybe I'm just addicted to the miles. It is nice to get through the miles faster while running vs. walking though. I do know though that running isn't very good for a woman's body. We just aren't built to be taking on all that strain on our joints :( My knees feel the miles I have been accumulating as of late. Tonight we took our kids to King's Fair at Canyon Ridge Christian Church. On our way out, after a very delightful evening with my sister-in-law and her husband, as well as moments spent with a plethura of friends I was crossing a short span of river rocks in my platform clogs and grabbed Adam's arm which I have in the past refused so often that he seldom offers it anymore. I need the stability of my spouse to keep me safe and make me feel secure crossing the river of rocks. I said to him, "Can you imagine all my training down the tube because I sprain my ankle in silly shoes crossing these rocks. People would ask about the marathon and I'd have to say, Well, this year..." I hope I am able to run this one!
Nanny, Wife swap, and other such nonsense
O.K. I will admit that I do on occasion watch this nonsense on television, like Nanny(not Fran) and Wife Swap. Sometimes I even learn something. I learned from an episode of Wife Swap that I am SOOOOOOOooooo...glad that I am a stay at home mom. I have the luxury of time that a lot of other moms do not have. I love the fact that if Victoria wants her hair braided that I can sit down and do it. This morning it was only she and I awake. I had to wake her up twice the second time after I fell asleep on the toilet. I was so tired and really wanted to crawl back into bed next to my peacefully sleeping husband. However, I made myself go in and wake her up again. She really wasn't dirty at all, but tangles are so much easier to deal with in freshly washed hair. I ended up helping her wash her hair. We made pancakes, and she chose to eat carrots with her pancakes. I poured maple syrup on them and made smoothies when I heard the shower going knowing that Adam was up. We got all the tangles out and put her hair up in her choice hairstyle for the day (a pony tail, the low one). I love my life and appreciate the fact that God has provided my husband with a job that allows for me to be home with my children. I am only twenty,ten (thirty) and I have a lot of life ahead of me. Although I would someday like to finish my degree and teach, I know I'll only be 46 when our children are 20 and hopefully in college. Maybe I could knock out my education slowly when both of our kids are in full day school if that is the direction we end up going with their education. I guess I could sub until they're out of the house, and maybe teaching isn't God's plan for me. Who knows. I figure one day at a time. Today Victoria went to school and I spent some one on one with Sebastian. We'll pick Victoria up from school, hit the Walmart for material for her costume, and some odds and ends. Then cross the street hopefully without any difficulty with the flooding I'm sure is out there since our city is built in a desert with poor drainage systems. Heck, who expects it to rain more than half an inch in less than 12 hours in the desert. When we successfully cross that street I mentioned earlier we will stop at Michael's and Bath and Body Works to help contribute to a gift basket to be raffeled off this Friday at Victoria's first Fall Festival, with cake walks and all. Yes, I am baking a cake, but that's not until Thursday night. Tonight will be comprised of sewing, eating out with a gift certificate, fixing my brothers' birthday presents, and some bill paying. I'll probably fold the last of the laundry I didn't finish yesterday, walk to avoid the injury I feel coming on, stretch with come pilates, and either watch a movie or play a game with my family, which will become one less this Saturday when we take Beth to the airport. I sure have enjoyed having my sister here and will sure miss her when she goes home!
Let up already!
I was feeling a bit burned out with my training this week. It's good my sister is here. Although I wish she would have brought her shoes, I am glad she is here to encourage me and kick me out the door! I received an email from the marathon training schedule planner today and due to some over-use injuries popping up our long runs on Sunday are being revised. Yahoo! Although I always feel good running them, I know they affect my mid-week runs. I had almost felt a tinge of shin splints coming on. However, after making the decision last night to go back to last years training schedule and taking advantage of an extra rest day today's 8 mile run went well. I was just a little hot. Boy you run in 100 degree weather all day and suddenly you get a break in the weather, then back to the high 80's and I am dying???!!!! Anyways, I ran out of water. I was glad to read yesterday that there will be water stations every mile and not every two for the marathon. At least that way there will be a face to look forward to every mile marker and maybe I won't have to carry water :) Well, I better go shower. My sister read a magazine on the plane about how the bacteria after you work out triples every so many minutes making one more prone to infection. Yuck!
