Friday, March 28, 2008

Ugh! Soccer mom I am not!

I feel like a "soccer mom". Someone once said that being referred to as a soccer mom isn't a compliment. I actually didn't know that. I actually thought it was an aspiration of every suburban mom to be a "soccer mom." I did know that I didn't want to be one - basically a chauffeur shuffling your kids from activity to activity. I have done it while we were homeschooling and it was a miserable semester. I got convinced by the emotional saboteurs in my life that Tay needed more socialization. Wrong, wrong, wrong! But it bought me a semester of exhaustion.

This week, I went back to work after Spring Break (being interim director and 4k teacher for my church's small mdo). I have been thrilled to see the kids again. I do love them like they are extended family. I do love teaching my own dds. I do not love the millions of admin duties nor do I love dealing with adults who act like children. I am tired from the emotional draining that comes with working out of the house at a fast pace surrounded by children who are not my own. It drains me.

To top it off, Tay has had track practice two days this week and a track meet one day. I kept my nephew 3 days instead of the normal 2 since his mom/my sil was trying to get ready for his party. And Tay and I are in the church play (which is to raise money for missions) and have had rehearsals every night this week. Not to mention, dh was out of town one night this week. Lastly, I like a dummy, got suckered into keeping nursery for the mother's group (of course this means I am with my girls) because they never have enough nursery help. I don't know what lapse of judgment I had in committing to any of this, much less all of this, but I clearly don't make wise decisions.

Today I worked nursery, had to come home and bathe the dog and her crate because she had diarrhea from the meat dh fed her against my pleas, had to get the girls ready for their first Upward Soccer practice (daddy is the coach) tonight, had to get Tay's and my costume/makeup/hair stuff ready for tonight and as soon as Tay gets home, we leave to go to the church to get ready for the show. Dh will pick up the girls from church to go to soccer.

It is also my nephew's birthday today and I haven't even started making his gift (a mickey mouse height chart) for his party on Sunday. But I did purchase a mirror since I will be doing face painting for his party.

I sound very much like a person I am not.

I just want to stay home, read my Bible, teach my girls, clean my house, etc. so why do I keep making choices that are counterproductive to that goal.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Just can't do it today...

I went to bed with such positive aspirations, but awoke in the middle of the night to Tabby telling me she was throwing up. I held her on the couch all night and when she finally felt better this morning, I went back to sleep. So I got a very late start on everything. I did make delicious french toast for a late breakfast, complete with syrup and powdered sugar. I had been craving it for a week and since Tabby was feeling better, I decided to do it. Can you believe I have never made french toast for the girls before? Taylor and I used to eat it weekly!

After breakfast I did the girls' Bible reading and devotional (we are currently doing Right Choices by Kenneth Taylor) and then we read a couple of chapters out of the latest chapter book. Then they wanted to paint.

I tried to get to either the garage (yesterday's assignment) or the bedroom (today's), but I just couldn't motivate myself. So I had a cup of tea and brought out the laundry basket. I normally sort, fold and put away all of the clothes immediately. However, there is one exception. When we are changing seasons, I tend to not sort, fold, and put away the girls' clothes. This is because both girls share one tiny closet (no bigger than a coat closet) and they have too many clothes anyway. So there is no room to put anything but the current seasons' clothes and I still haven't boxed up their winter clothes yet. Why? Because it periodically is still winter here. But it is also spring here half the time. So the new (to us) spring clothes have been piling up in the laundry basket waiting to be put away.

I am reluctant to put up the garage stuff also, because there is no room in the attic and it is going to be a huge chore to get space in there for it. So I have at least folded and hung up all the girls clothes that were in the laundry, and maybe tomorrow I can tackle the rest.

Btw, dh was surprised that the girls were wanting to learn to ride a two wheeler, so he made them change into jeans and worked with them for over an hour last night.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Forgot to say...

I did finish my Bible study and at least part of my Beth Moore study, and I even prayed. I even did Bible and devotion with the girls. Tomorrow, I might even get further. ..

Spring Clean 2008 Day 1

Today I have to tackle the car and my part of the garage. The car is just filthy and in desperate need of a hard scrubbing more inside than out. The garage is just cluttered with my stuff from the garage sale and it needs to be moved to the attic, since the garage is dh's space and needs to be returned to him.

I do have to finish cleaning the upstairs carpets since sil wants her carpet cleaner machine back today. So that is task 1, then the van (since that also uses the cleaner), then the garage. Meanwhile I have my nephew with us today, and ds is out of school for spring break, so I have 4 kids racing about my feet while I get this done. Tabby is running a fever, probably from one of the millions of viruses running about at church. All this amongst my normal chores and I cannot even get my Bible study done. I am currently following Anna's suggestion of writing the Bible out by hand. I try to do a chapter a day, but almost never accomplish it. I am in 1 Corinthians 14 today. Plus I have to do my daily work on my Beth Moore study. And pray.

Here is the before of the van (the outside got a good cleaning last week so I didn't tackle it):
My dh makes me keep it tidy, but it is usually filthy.

And here is the after:
I took out the mats and shampoo'd them. I vacuumed everywhere. I cleaned the seats with upholstery cleaner and sprayed down the entire van with lysol. Then I sprayed and wiped down all the plastic parts and put the removable trays through the dishwasher.

Not much difference that you can tell, but it smells way better. I had a number of catastrophes happen while trying to clean. The carpet cleaning machine was lacking one piece to do upholstry so I just ended up getting water and some dog hair (spit out by the machine - sil and bro have two Westies that really shed) on the seat and floor. I ended up using some Woolite fabric cleaner and a sponge. I also used Glass Plus all over the plastic parts, but the spray nozzle broke and I just had to drizzle it everywhere. Most of the time I was cleaning I kept poking my head up and yelling, "Where's Harper?" or "No, Harper!" at my nephew. A two year old can be quite a challenge to clean with.

Meanwhile we started a new batch of egg salad as we ate the last bit we had left for lunch (we made some last weekend with the eggs we dyed at school and it has been a big hit at lunch around here). Notice anything off about the stamp on these eggs we got last week? "Best by Apr 04" I hope that was a mistake or we might all die from this batch of egg salad.

Tab was finally feeling better so she came out to join us. Then the girls worked together to teach Tabby how to ride a two wheeler to "surprise Daddy".

I still haven't tackled the garage. I have too much daily stuff left to do. I think I will have to work that in tomorrow, since the day is almost up. BTW, sil forgot to pack extra clothes or wipes so poor Harps is half naked and has been wiped with wet paper towels all day. Sigh...

Spring Clean 2008

Post your schedule and your progress and enter to win a purse, an apron, and a Pledge duster, Crock Pot recipes from Gooseberry Patch, a homemade dish cloth and some Satin Hands.

Here's my schedule. I direly need the motivation since I just want to lay in bed for a whole week and veg.

Spring Clean 2008
My part of the garage and van (not allowed to mess in dh's part) - March 17
Master Bedroom - March 18
Master Bathroom and closet - March 19
Kitchen - March 20
Den and Dining Room - March 21
Hall, foyer and stairwell - March 22
Kids' Bathroom - March 24
Tay's Room - March 25
Girls Room - March 26
Attic (this is a disaster!) - March 27, 28, 29, 31

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Simple Woman is having a giveaway!

http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/2008/03/spring-nest-cleaning-gift-away.html

Post your favorite chore and you might win a beautiful apron, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day dish soap, a cute wood knob scrub brush, and a subscription to the Simple Woman's ezine. That is worth a few moments surely!

Quilt and Gift Certificates Giveaway at Old Red Barn Co.

http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2008/03/giving-away-quilt.html

Check it out and enter to win.

Friday, March 14, 2008

One last thing...

After explaining the true meaning of Easter during chapel, all the kids wanted to talk about why we hide eggs. I explained that eggs are a symbol of new life, and how Jesus came back to life and how we have a new life through him. My daughter had her own a-ha moment, however imaginary. She said, "I know why we hide eggs, it is because they hided Jesus in the tomb!" I said yes, because it was just so sweet.

A modge podge of things...

First off, I finished Before Green Gables, which was a wonderful book. I haven't been able to read a book through in a long time due to stress, but this book was so easy to get into and allowed me to escape into Anne's world for a brief time each evening. I am now ready to reread the original series to see how well the author did of capturing the "true Anne".

Sunday, we went to the church Easter egg hunt. I was grateful that we buy all of the girls' clothes used since they got filthy after the hayride (the tractor was covered in mud). During the egg hunt, Taylor took some of the eggs that the girls found and rehid them for some of the kids who didn't have as many. I was really proud that he was that thoughtful. The girls got their faces painted as a kitty cat and a puppy dog. They had a trampoline, games, snacks, and pony rides. It was a lot of fun.

My second week as director ended with me exhausted. We had a wonderful Easter party for all the children.
We had Easter stories, both the bunny kind and the "true Easter story". We dyed Easter eggs, painted salt dough crosses the children had made and baked the day before, and each child got their faces painted (by moi).
We ate lunch and sang chapel songs, then we went outside for the Easter egg hunt (the eggs were filled with gold coins which the children exchanged at the end of the party for a goody bag filled with candy and treats). I tried not to include pictures that would show other children. After the hunt we had a party complete with parachute games, bubble blowing, snacks and treats. I sent the teachers home afterwards and cleaned up alone. It took forever and I was exhausted. So much so that I cried last night to my dh that I just didn't think I could do this. He did his best to encourage me, because honestly we really need the money right now. I am hoping to just fulfill my commitment through the end of summer, then come home and hopefully homeschool the girls. I am essentially doing so now, though I am not doing it at home and I am also schooling the other 7 children in class.

Taylor is doing well in track. He came in 3rd in his first race at the first meet (he's in blue), but last in his second race. I spent the entire time before the meet preaching to him and his fellow teammates, that it takes no character be the fastest, but it takes lots of character to finish when you are last. The fastest runner won't necessarily be the most successful in life, but the one with the best character will be. I think Tay heard me. He clapped and cheered for the last runner in every race, and kept a good spirit even after finishing last in his race. Some days I find him intolerable and on others he can be such a joy. I guess that is part of being a teen.

I have a small brag that I don't think I posted about yet. He was one of twenty students from the entire school invited to a writer's workshop last week. He was chosen by his GRC teacher (gifted class) for his skill in writing. I was really encouraged to hear someone else recognize his ability to write. He hates to read fiction and hates to write essays, but he really gets into writing fiction. When he has to turn in 2 pages, he will write 10.

Things are really tough since I have turned over all the money dealings to dh. We don't exactly see eye to eye on what is important enough to spend money on. Currently I have to call and ask whenever I spend money. It makes me frustrated. I hope that he loosens up a bit when things become less tight. I had to get some white sandals for the girls for Easter. He wanted the cheapest, but they had a tiny heel and were open toe-$4 each. I thought they looked a little grown for them. Since I made a profit on the garage sale (sold more than I spent), he let me get the slightly more expensive ones for them with a flat heel and closed toe (perfect to wear with lacy socks on Sunday morning) $12 each. It was really hard walking through Target with no money to spend. I saw a pretty skirt for me for only $10, but I didn't even call. Maybe he will take me shopping this weekend and I can find a couple of things since spring weather is upon us (when it doesn't schizophrenically switching to freezing). I only started wearing skirts/dresses only in September, so 90% of my dresses/skirts are fall and winter. I haven't worked a real job since 2001, so I really had no need for dresses/skirts since then. Oddly enough, dh just realized that I was skirts/dresses only. It wasn't something I discussed with him. And he only noticed because he felt I was "outdressing" him.

I am looking forward to Spring Break next week. I will be able to get some hours in at work, but without all the other children(my kids, of course will come and help me), so maybe I can get the place into shape before school gets back. I am most excited about the bookcase I bought so that I can organize the school's workbooks and storybooks. Maybe after this week, I will get things so organized that it won't be so hard on me. The point was made that I was really taking over for two people who didn't do their job since the previous 4k teacher hadn't really been teaching the kids much and the previous director had let everything go (and I do mean everything- she didn't check the voice mail two weeks before she quit)- the previous director taught the babies which is infinitely less work than teaching 4k. I am going to get off the computer now and get this house in order. I suspect dh will want quesadillas again tonight so I need to be ready. He is taking ds to OmegaCon this weekend and I am hoping he will let me take the girls to see "Horton Hears a Who"- we have read the book twice this week at school during storytime. I also need to start one of our new books I just got for the girls and I to read together (by exchanging a book I bought earlier that was the wrong book)- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh and The Tale of Despereaux (there is a mouse theme here). I also have a week's worth of Bible study lessons to complete since I am totally behind (I am doing Beth Moore's Breaking Free study). Adios!