A weekend of music

AMAZING weekend I must say! Mom Dad, Meg, Shell, and I, with spouses in toe went Friday to see Jon Schmidt and then on Monday to Michael McLean's Forgotten Carols.

Jon Schmidt was as always funny, charismatic and incredibly talented. He played with his hands, his feet and sometimes even his head. He interacts with the audience so well through out and there was a moment that he told us all to look at our chairs and if there was a red sticker on it to come up. A little family of a mother and children came up and Jon proceeded to tell us that this woman's husband was serving in the military and that she was left raise her children alone until his return. He was due to be home on Christmas. Jon asked the kids if they missed their dad and then out from behind the curtain walked a soldier. Their dad. I can't describe the emotion felt in that room while we watched such a beautiful homecoming. The mom had planned this for her children. We watched as the kids embraced their father and all the audience was forgotten.

I had never seen the Forgotten Carols and when we arrived Meg handed us our tickets and we had front row seats!!! It was awesome. We were so close the actors could spit on you. And they took the time to do so! While singing, we could see the tiny flecks of spit flying from one of the lead singers mouth! Michael McLean was amazing. There was a choir seated facing the audience on stage that sang during the play and each time Micheal McLean got up and faced them to lead them, or to play the piano, you could see the love on their faces toward this man. He has been writing music for 25 years, is grey haired now, and I couldn't help but think of what a blessing it was that I had a chance to see him and his masterpiece up close.

He's right. For once.

As I set the wrapped preschool present on Jason's video game shelf, he quickly walked over and moved it to the shelf above. Really? I can't place anything on the beloved shelf?? No, you have plenty of other places to put it, he says. In finding out why, he commented that I was disorganized.

ME???

Oh, he was in for it now. I steamed for an hour laying in bed thinking of all the ways to help him take his foot out of his mouth. And when I woke up, I was still thinking... As I scanned the room I realized he never left anything out in that room. So, I moved to the next room in my mind... I felt like Cinderella trying to think of something nice to say about Lucifer the cat...

Well, he always leaves out the.... nope.

He never puts away the... nope.

Well, surely I can just throw all of the laundry I usually do all over his side of the bed.

No, that would make me disorganized..... I sat down at that point and scanned the master bathroom. 6 shirts of mine strewn across the bathtub to dry. 2 Q-tips on the counter. Mine. A roll of packing tape next to the sink. And at least 6 articles of clothing randomly placed throughout the room that belonged in the hamper. Holy cow, the man is right!!! I do leave a trail wherever I walk.

• Pick up a book from the hallway and set it on the kitchen counter.
• Open a piece of gum and set the wrapper on the shelf in the pantry.
• Wrap presents in the bedroom, carry tape to bathroom and leave on the counter.
• Sit on couch, remove shoes and leave them.

I am disorganized!

My Yammy

While dancing and singing along in the car, Lainy always thinks too hard about the lyrics to really enjoy the song. Such was the case today.

Bouncin' in the club where the heat is on
All night on the beach til the break of dawn.
I'm going to miami, welcome to miami

"What is your yammy?"

First comes love...

Lainy is a lovable kid by nature. But when she runs into another such child, the friendship seems to explode with joy. Lainy and her friend Bo are quite a sight when they spot each other from across the room. Squeals and running, then the embrace. As if the time passed in absence was 2 years and not 2 days. Bo and his darling little sister Katy visited for a few hours last week...

Playing House:

Bo: You be the mom... "Hey honey..."
Lainy: No, I'm the mom.
Bo: I know, you're the mom and I call you honey sometimes.
Lainy: No, I'm the mom and you call me babe.

There wasn't a single squabble to be heard that day.

Monsters

Disney cartoons seem to have more of a handle on political issues than some might assume. Our energy crisis has come into focus quite clearly the past few years and the same questions raised by consumers mirror the issues that the creatures of Monstropolis face. Shortages. All monsters are working their hardest to make ends meet and yet ‘children’ keep getting harder and harder to come by. I have always thought that there are things being hidden by the higher-ups, our very own ‘scream extractors’. And yet, right under our noses is the laughter of children that is more valuable and powerful than any screams of fright will ever be. We just aren’t willing to try for it, or know it’s there, but collecting screams just creates more money for the big wigs. If you think about it, monsters are everywhere. Competing for our ‘screams’, our energy to keep the world moving forward. It is our job to make sure we give them laughter, the best and most powerful energy they need.

Shoo fly

Doing haircuts this afternoon, I called Jayce in to come swat the fly that kept landing in my clients hair. I told him to kill it and... whack! Ow. I neglected to mention to hit it when it wasn't on my back. At least it's dead.

House of Order

While I was doing laundry this morning it occurred to me that I enjoy things that are complete. I know, it seems a given. I love when my van is freshly filled with gas. It seems to run better. I love when laundry is done, folded and put into drawers. It makes life in the mornings easier when I know there is nothing missing to complete an outfit.

I remember as a teenager that I was taught that our homes should be in order. It stuck with me. And when I had one, even two children, my house was usually clean. But once I had 3 kids, I found that keeping my house clean was getting to be a bit of a challenge. I'm not gonna tell you that my house is always clean and in order. It's not. But I do understand why we are asked to keep our homes in order. There is harmony and a more peaceful feeling when it is. I just know that when I get up early and get myself ready 'down to the shoes' and 'shine my sink' (fly-lady), my day goes smoother. When my house is clean and things are in order, my brain takes a bon-bon break.

"Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" (Doctrine & Covenants 88:119)

Tree of Thanks

A new tradition in our home is the Tree of Thanks. One family home evening before Thanksgiving we all tell what we are thankful for and form our tree. I will save the leaves each year for memories sake, and to watch how the our gratitude has grown.

Black and blue Friday

This was the first year I attempted the black Friday crowds in the wee hours of the morning. I left at 3:30 am and headed for Kohl's. The line to get in the door was at least a quarter mile long. Then when I finally got inside and found the few things that were left that were on my list,

I headed to the front of the store to get in line.

Then I headed toward the back of the store to get in line.

Then I headed to the back wall and wrapped around a few loops to get in line. I stood at the back of line for about 15 minutes, picked up all of my things, set them on a nearby display and went home to go back to sleep. Around 9:30 Jason and I packed up the kids and headed back out to Kohl's. I found most everything on my list, it wasn't nearly as crowded, I had make-up on this time, and was well rested. My good friend Laurie thrives on this kind of adventure. It must be her competitive side. Ü She braved Walmart and picked a few things up for me this morning. Thanks Laurie!

Thanksgiving weekend

This thanksgiving was a pretty quiet one for us. We spent Thanksgiving Day at Grammy and Poppy's. Mom always uses grandma's china, a crisp festive tablecloth, and an incredible feast.

A few years ago Grammy started a tradition that I am assuming was derived from flipping ice cream and sometimes cool whip from a spoon at one another. Marshmallows is cleaner. The kids loved it. Although Jared was found in the middle of the battlefield holding an umbrella to ward off an incoming attack.

And in lieu is pie, we made apple crisp together. I think we all enjoyed the making part almost as much as the dessert itself. Yet another grand holiday at the Osmun home.

Turkey trotting

Ah, there was no trotting done this day with the exception maybe of Rhett. I ran my very first (yes, there will be more) 10K! 6.2 miles and it was awesome. There is nothing like running shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand people and feeling the adrenaline all around you. Thank you Laurie and Glade for the invite to join your family in this event! I will say I did better than I anticipated, coming in 555th out 2,141 people. Thanks Laurie for posting all the times on your blog... Saved some time! Here are the times of those who ran from our ward. Holy cow Jake.

Jake - 47:06

Rhett - 1:01:05

Julia - 1:01:32

Nick - 1:02:28

Glade - 1:03:16

Laurie - 1:10:35

Stephen - 1:16:50

Sammy - 1:17:16

Brett - 1:23:19

I found Rhett (10 years old) around mile 3, and we stayed somewhat near one another for the remainder of the race. This kid was part of the reason I kept the pace I did. Weaving in and out of the orange cones together, running backwards, and just having a friendly face to keep me going. He would sprint ahead a few hundred yards and then walk and when he saw me catching up he would take off again. There was a moment around mile number 5, when I looked up between the sweat, and saw Rhett skipping along the sidewalk, and just as I saw him, a man who had to be at least 95 came 'trotting' along in his blue sweat suit and sweat band, right past me. So off I went again!

Singin' in the rain

We were pulling to onto our dirt road this morning and usually I let Lainy jump up into my lap and help drive home. It had been raining and I told her no this time. She asked why.

M: Because, Lain, it was rainin'
L: 'ing' mom
M: What?
L: Rain-ING. Say it with me. Raaain-in-g.

Nice. Thanks Lainy.

Happy birthday Lainy!

It was Lainy's and my birthday this week!
Lainy turned 4 and she makes sure everyone knows it.

"I'm fow now."

"what?"

"I'm fouuwwwrrrr."

She tells me that some days she feels four, and others she still feels 3.

Thank you Grammy for her beautiful Christmas outfit, and of course her boots!

Here's Lainy's version of a Barbie drive in. I found most of it on Craigslist and bought new clothes for all the dolls. Can you tell she was excited?

All the kids played barbies most of the evening. Jayce has been regularly asking for 'the boy ones' since then. I had the hardest time finding anything modest for these dolls...

Thank you grammy and Meg for dinner and my white cake, (I LOVE white cake). And thank you mother for my...

JET STREAM OVEN!! This thing is so cool. Fast like a microwave, but oh so much better! Meg, you were right, pizza IS better in the jet stream.

Happy Birthday Lainybug!

Silly songs

Thank you Kathy for this CD. It has been a lot of fun. The song 'everywhere that we go' is a favorite of my kids. It has about a dozen different places that they are from. (Sidney, Phoenix,Paris etc) Here is how I heard Jayce singing the Hong Kong verse:

Everywhere that we go
people always ask us
who we are
and where do we come from
and so we tell them
we're from 'honk honk'

Little man

After a night of elephant sized nightmares (see Zoo post) , and Jared kicking me in the back most of the night, I wondered tonight how I was going to get him to sleep. I didn't have to. Jayce took on that role tonight. My little Jayce grew up a little today. While I was doing hair earlier this afternoon Jayce brought Jared in fully clothed (diapers are his fashion choice these days) and casually said that Jared had a poopy diaper and he had changed it and got him dressed. What?? I checked, the diaper was put on correct enough to do the job. Tonight Jayce crawled down onto Jared's bed and laid there for a good 45 minutes until Jared fell asleep. I came in to check on them and Jayce was still awake. He never had fallen asleep because Jared fell asleep on his arm and he didn't want to move so as not to wake him. He is a great big brother and such a help to me. Love you Jayce.

Get a grip

I was reading Codie's blog about her son chewing on a tampon. And I forgot I needed to blog about Jared's encounter with a tampon at the zoo, which in turn reminded me of my sister Shelley's unconventional use of pads.

Ew. I should begin with ew. I took the kids into the zoo bathroom to pee, and Jared just sort of hung out in stall and followed me over to the sink while washing hands. I looked down and saw he had found a treasure. Tampon! Ew ew ew. I grabbed and threw it as far from us as I could, realizing I could have used the trash can didn't occur to me. Needless to say, we washed and rewashed hands.

When we were kids, mom used to keep all the extra 'girl' stuff in the garage cupboards. Shell was too young to know what it all was, and one day realizing how uncomfortable her handlebars on her bike were, decided to take action to remedy that. When mom found her she had pads stuck all over the bike. Handlebars included. She was so proud and comfy to be riding such a padded bike.

Zoo

We hit the zoo today. 4 moms and 11 kids. It was quite fun. Meg had zoo passes and allowed the kids and I free admission! Thanks Meg! Here are some highlights:

I just really like this shot of my good friend Laurie and her tall dark and spotted friends.

Lainy wanted to be holding one of these two boys hands at all times. Looks like her lucky day.

I loved seeing these very cool spider monkeys up close and personal. They have this exhibit where you can actually go in and get close enough to touch them, although we were prohibited from doing so since they bite. They jumped into the trees right over our heads. I was afraid to get pooped on.

I think it will be a while before I take my kids to see an elephant up close and personal again. I didn't think much of it as Jared spotted this giant hairy creature, and took a few very slow deliberate steps backward. He mentioned the 'ew-fent' a few times throughout the day, and it took me 2 hours to get him to bed tonight, since every time I closed the door I heard blood curdling screams and the word 'ew-fent' intermixed. Poor kid. He stayed pretty close to the stroller and had a very mellow zoo trip.

Toy tactics

Here's what I've learned about getting free time when you need it.

Always pack and put away at least half of your kids toys. Put them in reasonably small boxes. A few months pass by and you find yourself in desperate need of some free time. Pull out one of those boxes and your children will feel like it's Christmas. I like to put them with the box in a bedroom where you can shut the door so the kids aren't distracted by you having your alone time.

Tactic #2- Tell the children that certain things are off limits. For me it's my hair supplies. That room is off limits. It remains locked. Once in a while when I need quiet time, I pull something spectacular from my forbidden room. For some reason, they love whatever they aren't usually allowed to have. I make sure to let them know just how lucky they are to be playing with whatever it is.

Not dead yet

I just ran 4 miles without stopping. Yeah baby.

Celebrating the 80's

We are nearing full winter in AZ and it's not anywhere near a winter wonderland! For 7 years I have complained my way through 6 months of scorching summer weather and vowed to leave this desolate place the next time an unbeatable job offer came around. (ha!) But each November, as I pack up the swimsuits for a few months, and think about what I am thankful for the WEATHER always come to mind! I stop complaining that I want to move, and enjoy the days of children playing outside all day. I love being able to go running anytime of the day, and it be comfortable. I love that my kids asked what earmuffs and mittens were. I love that I get to wear my slippers around the house and that my kids say I sound like Grammy when she walks in her slippers. I love that when I drink my hot cocoa, it actually warms me. (I drink hot cocoa year round) I love taking a hot shower and not feeling like I am sweating while I do. And as much as snow on Christmas would be nice, I love Christmas in a t shirt and jeans, and my kids being able to go ride the new bike they got without bundling up and shoveling the driveway first.

Share and share a bite

This is a common sight in our house, Dad eating ice cream out of the carton with a fork and three small children waiting for their turn to have a bite.

All we need now are three wagging tails.

Simple civility

"It is in the home that our behavior is the most significant. It is the place where our actions have the greatest impact, for good or ill. Sometimes we are so much 'at home' that we no longer guard or words. We forget simple civility. If we are not on guard, we can fall into the habit of criticizing one another, losing our tempers, or behaving selfishly. Because they love us, our spouses and children may be quick to forgive, but they often carry away in silence unseen injuries and unspoken heartache... When we feel anger or contention in our homes, we should immediately recognise what power has taken control of our lives and what Satan is endeavoring to accomplish. Solomon provided us with this wise formula: ' A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.' (Prov. 15:1) Our home should be a refuge where each member feels safe, secure, loved, and insulated from harsh criticism and contention that we so often encounter in the world."

I have no idea where I got this from, but I found it in my 'keepsakes' file and want my children to know how important it is to work on creating harmony in our homes and our lives. I have learned from experience in watching the atmosphere in my home change dramatically as I paid attention to what I was saying and how I was saying it, to my children. I am so sorry to them for the times I didn't work hard enough to choose my actions and words more carefully. I pray that our home will always be a safe, secure and loving home.

January 2006

Grammy has a very short list of things she hates in life and bananas might very well top that list. Jayce does not have a wide array of food choices, but I am always trying. So, imagine my surprise when today, as I cut up a bananas for Lainy I asked Jayce if he wanted a bite and he happily answered 'sure mom'. I was a bit startled but went with it, and stuck it in his mouth. I have never seen a banana shoot out of someones mouth with such force and so fast. It must have hit the floor 4 or 5 feet in front of him. I laughed of course, and then he started to spit. And spit and spit until he gagged. He gagged, I am assuming until he was sufficiently satisfied that every morsel was gone. Your Grammy would be so proud.

Playing in pecans

Shelli and I headed to a nearby park today to get the kids out of the house and out of energy. It was in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by pecan trees. We got to walk through one of the houses Matt was working on, and I will forever remember it as the castle house. Doors disguised as bookshelves, a washer and dryer for every bedroom, a butler's pantry, a whole back wall that slides open to the backyard, not to mention all of the cabinetry and crown moulding...

The park was fun, the boys played a little football, the little ones did a little flirting, and Shelli and I got in an adult conversation!

Thanks Shelli!

Voices in my head

A few weeks ago...

Lainy: "Dad? How come my voice is copying me?"

Today...

Lainy: "Mom, watch me while I talk in my head"

Adult owie

I had this on a scrap of paper and wanted to make sure it was documented properly.

2/16/06

Well, you know Jayce and his little comments- today's was especially humorous. He had been out back with Jason this evening while he burned some weeds. Jayce got scared and ran inside complaining he had an 'owie' which of course, he did not. In effort to explain just what an owie was, I leaned over to show him a pimple on my face, before I could explain that it was my owie, Jayce got a terrified look on his face and said "Mom!! Your-your-your face! Your face is breaking off!" I had to laugh.

Crayola at it's best

Themed costumes have become an obsession with me the last couple of years. I ran out of time to paint the wagon like a crayola box... Thanks Heather for the great idea of the birthday hats wrapped in fabric!!

Still holding tight in first place in my love of costumes is the patriotism we had last year...

Oh Crap.

A quote I love and recently ran across...

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says 'Oh crap, she's awake'

Words to live by

"Better a nudge now, than a wedge later"

Spoken by my insightful husband today after I thanked him for a 'nudge' in reminding me that something I was thinking of doing was unnecessary.

Just be happy

"Cultivate a cheerful attitude and the ability to laugh, even at yourself. A sour face and grumpy disposition are truly a gruesome burden to impose on others. Get a handle on your moods. Learn how to act better than you feel. Some might ask, 'Isn't that hypocritical?' Certainly not. You might not be able to choose how you feel, but you can choose how you act." - Elder Eric B. Shumway

Thank you Mom and Georgette. Two women in my life who live with this kind of attitude and are a great example to me.

Normalcy

I think many of us have heard Lainy's 'accent' by now.

(cracker=crackow stairs=stows car=cow)

People notice it more these days as she gets older, and Lainy is beginning to catch on. Just this morning she was saying 'apple juice' over and over, which happens to be a phrase she does say well. But then she said "Yup, I speak nowmally"

I am woman, hear me roar.

I have been putting off blogging my camping trip and if I don't do it now I will never document it. Here's the bulleted version.

Camping in payson with 2 amazing women and 12 children

Wood. Chopped at endlessly, sword fighting, timber!, and balanced on

2, yes TWO taranchulas

2 trailers (thank you!!)

only having to pack food and clothing (again, thank you!)

walking sticks (check out Jayce's walking log)


being able to bundle up

And the reason we left a day early.... BEES! The kids had a great time even in the campers avoiding the bees.

And the best thing about camping? My super happy kids!

Every night when we sit down for dinner, each person at the table takes turns telling what the best part of their day was. Tonight:

• Mom- I got to watch the entire movie Kate and Leopold (love!) while sewing costumes.
• Jayce- Seeing mom after school
• Lainy- Eating

Before dad could say what the best part of his day was Jayce blurted out, 'Please don't say kissing' He has a newfound annoyance with us kissing.

Cinderella

I was sweeping the floor this morning when Cinderella taught me a valuable lesson. Aside from the obvious following orders from a grumpy stepmother without ripping her own hair out, and trying to find something nice to say about lucifer the cat, and making little clothes for mice, I learned I have a long way to go in learning to be unselfish.

First, when her fairy godmother was bibbity bobity booing, she was so humble about not having a dress to wear and kept quiet about it until her fairy noticed. That would have been the first thing I asked for. Then as she realizes it's midnight, and after the dream come true evening and meeting the man of her dreams, she apologizes to all her little animal friends for making them run and stress because she lost track of the time. I would have been whining it was all over too fast, not worrying about my friends and their sore feet. And as if that isn't enough to make her your daughters role model, after she calms down, she sits and talks about how wonderful the evening was and how she was grateful for even just one night. Then her friends point out to her that she still has the glass slipper. She sighs and thanks her fairy godmother for the gift to remember the evening by! Seriously, I would have been sobbing, begging my fairy godmother to give me another chance! Who wants a stupid shoe made out of glass when you know this lady has the ability to make all your dreams come true??

Still still still

There is nothing like a morning filled with the stress of life and chaos, being replaced by the quiet moments spent with a child. My morning was one such as this. The never ending list of cleaning chores, children playing, fighting, yelling, and running, bills to be paid, finances to stess over and more cleaning. Jared wanted in on half of my earphones so we sat down on the bed to listen together. "still, still, still" was the song being played by Jon Schmidt. The peace quickly overtook the chaos and all was well again. Blessings of the highest quality.

Leading and guiding

2 days can be long

I am sure that you all feel the same as I by now, that my posts are getting a bit repetitive... But for the sake of teaching my children later in life what monsters they had the ability to be, I will post another...

2 days. What can you fit into 2 days and still keep the sanity of a mother?

• Poppy diaper removed and strewn about the house.
• New diaper removed and pee on the floor.
• 10 DVDs removed from their case and placed into pee on floor.
• cushions removed form couch and chocolate milk squeezed out of box onto couch.
• Water dispenser on fridge pushed until large lake is located on kitchen floor.
• Water filled in cup and dumped while running through kitchen and living room.
• A 6 year old requiring an enema
• Finally loading children in van to take 6 year old to school....

The van was dead.

As I drove the kids packed like sardines into Jason's school commuter car I asked for silence.

Lainy began to sing... Onward ever onward as we glory in his name, onward ever onward as we glory in his name, forward pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing, God our strength will be press forward ever called to serve our King!

Jelly Bean Chronicles

We knew where she hid them. 3rd shelf up in the cupboard by the fridge. She just never gave us enough it seemed. I can't remember who decided it was a good idea to start sneaking a few extra jelly beans that day, but I can imagine I deserve the brunt of the blame. I'm sure mom knew from the beginning, mom's just seem to see everything. When she called Julie and I into the kitchen we knew we were had. But what came next was pure genius, and seemed a delightful solution to us. She took us to the nice dining room table, sat us down, plopped the entire bag of jelly beans, (which was if I remember correctly, huge) and instructed us to eat them all.

I am sure we must have looked at one another in silence not wanting to disturb the momentary insanity of my mother's choice of discipline. And we began to eat them. I remember requiring, no allowing Julie to eat all of the black ones, since they were the best ones. And somewhere between shoving as many as we could into our mouths, and trying to pass off as many to the other as possible, we realized the brilliance of my mother's plan.

I don't know about Julie, but I couldn't eat jelly beans for years after that day. I learned a valuable lesson. "Don't steal. You'll get way more than you bargained for." And of course, that a mother is all knowing.

Floor flying

Classroom chatter

When your small and in grade school you tend to have (at least I did) a lot of anxiety. Spending 2 hours the night before setting out everything you will wear the next day, right down to your socks, fretting whether or not the teacher will call on me the one time I don't know the answer, praying they don't play dodge ball for P.E. that day, or ever. I got a chance to work in Jayce's class last week and as soon as I walked in, I actually felt those familiar feelings returning. But this time I was feeling them for someone else. As I was stapling papers, I got to take in the classroom setting and watch the kids in action. It was mathematics, and they were learning a new concept. She showed how to do it on the chalkboard a few times, and then picked a stick out of a can with a child's name on it to come up and solve the problem for the class. I felt myself stiffen. Of course, I quickly reminded myself there was no chance of me being called up there and went back to stapling. Then I heard it. "Jayce, come show the class how to solve this at the board." I heard a choking noise escape from my throat. I looked behind me to see an enormous smile plastered on the front of Jayce's face. I have a feeling that even if he had messed the problem up, he wouldn't have cared! How cool it must be to know at such an early age, that it's perfectly acceptable to make a mistake. Some of life's biggest lessons can be learned from a child.

Our Primary program

I found my self waiting too long to get to where the stage is to set up chairs. We were supposed to perform in the chapel, but somehow ended up on the stage in the cultural hall. I am alone, unfolding chairs as fast as I can, and look behind me to realize the congregation has already been seated, and are patiently waiting and watching as I frantically set up chairs for the children to sit in. Heather, the primary president arrives! She is smiling and not at all stressed. She has forgotten the poster prompts. It begins, I am in the wrong seat. Someone hands me a beautifully iced double layered chocolate cake and a large spoon. They begin with a prayer, I look down to realize I am sliding the spoon across the side of the cake and then into my mouth and repeating the process. Shelli, the pianist is behind me and disrupts the prayer with her giggles making fun of the person in the congregation eating cake and has it all over their face. I suddenly remember I am eating cake too. And I'm in the wrong seat. As I get up to walk across the stage, cake in hand, Shelli has not finished what she began to tell me. I find my self swatting her away reminding her she is pianist and she is on. I find my seat only to find a highly attractive man whom I have never met, sitting there. He strikes up a conversation. They skipped my part in the program! The program is over. We never sang any songs! The kids never said their parts! I look at Heather and the unstressed smile previously plastered on her face has vanished. I woke up at this point, grateful for once it was morning.

Out running the storm

First, thank you to Meg, and ultimately my mom for inspiring this line of thought. I hope Meg doesn't mind me repeating this little smidge of info on here as an intro...

"Being the great Grammy that she is, my mother had taken Andrew out on a walk to the park. She apparently didn't see the storm coming because it came from a different direction in the sky than it usually does. They were at the park playing when the wind picked up. Shelley got a little worried when they weren't home yet so she went out to look for them. There she saw Grammy holding Andrew running down the street as the wind was blowing with the lovely dust pelting their skin. Shelley then says Mom stopped, pointed to something, and then kept running Andrew home.

What, you may ask, possessed her to stop in the dust storm, point, and then proceed.......it was a cat! At first I found this very funny and it must have looked quite entertaining watching my mom running down the street carrying Andrew through the dust trying to get home. But today I talked with Shannon about parenting and this story came up. Mom is one to not let the little things pass by. To me I would have seen the cat and ran right by, not mentioning the kitty to Andrew since it was so dusty and stormy even though I know he loves animals, but my wonderful mother took those two seconds to show Andrew the cat. I need to remember to stop and show him the kitty's, flowers, planes, etc...not just when we have time and life is sunny, but when things are crazy, a little hurried, and maybe a little stressful. I need to just take a little more time...time to appreciate life and remember to look at things through a child's eyes. Thank you Mom! "

This has been rolling around in my head since I read it last night and and as the original thought was dissected and sifted through, I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to start looking for these things my mom has stopped in a storm to show her grandson, and realize them for what they are. Answers to prayers. If you are a regular pray-er you know that prayers get a little repetitive some days "thank you for... and please bless us that we may find financial freedom in some form, and bless my children to do whatever it is you aspire them to do, and as a mother bless me with not so much to do so I don't go crazy." Generally speaking. From Meg's post I realized that the Lord IS answering those sometimes frivolous and ungrateful prayers. I just have been to selfish and self indulged to recognise them.

• -Children sleeping just long enough for you to finish paying your bills in peace
  
• -Finding the sock stuffed in the toilet before I flushed it.
  
• -A 6 year olds freckles to soften the scolding
• -A word popping out of a book that reminds you of something very important that would otherwise be forgotten
  
• -crayons left in a pocket found before thrown into the dryer
  
• -uninterrupted sleep

You will be surprised at the blessings that pass by unnoticed.

Coloring in the carpool lane

I have been blessed with a fantastic carpool taking Jayce to and from school. I drive to school every morning and I am done for the day! There are two high functioning autistic boys and since one of them has a muscular disorder I get the pleasure of chatting with him each morning as he can only get in and out of the front seat. This 10 year old boy has the most interesting brain. Most days I need a translator and often ask for a simpler version of his most recent invention. He has constructed whole buildings in his mind alone, and never a detail is missed. His current brain storm is the 'Calvinator' it (from what I can tell) is a car and has a motor to match it's title. I always try and ask questions to keep the conversation going and today asked

Me: So, what color will the Calvinator be?

C: Color?? Why would the color matter?

Me: I just wondered

C: Motor's don't care what color they are.

Oh. Of course they don't. Silly me. Just one more thing that is a natural difference between male and female. Color matters to us.

How do I love thee... let me count the locks...

Routine when I have to do something that requires my eyes to be off my children for more than 10 seconds (i.e. take a shower, do someones hair)

• lock front door and flip top latch
• lock master bedroom door
• lock both laundry room doors
• lock both kids jack & jill bathroom doors
• flip lock pantry door
• remove handle from back door

There is but living space and one bathroom left accessible to my two smallest children. The bar handles are removed from bottom drawers in the kitchen to prevent from using them as a ladder to move about the kitchen countertop at their leisure.



After a record breaking 5 minute shower this morning I encountered the one bathroom left unlocked flooded (again) this time the water reached the ceiling in some places. They each had a soccer sock presoaked in the toilet and like a sling flung it wildly around their heads.

They were of course, soaked. I thought I had made myself quite clear about not playing in the toilet after this nose in the corner session, followed by a swat on a bare butt each. But soon after it was quite forgotten. I am in the market for a new camera. Jared thought it appropriate to dip my camera in the toilet.