A Day Off, SAHM Style

Everybody deserves a day off from time to time. Even a stay-at-home mom deserves one. The bad thing about it is, you can't just call off or play hooky. The kids are ALWAYS there. There's no such thing as weekends or sleeping in as a parent, stay-at-home or not. Am I right? But yesterday I got a half day off and I can tell you I needed it! I am rejuvenated, and re-energized this morning! Hallelujah!

It all came about in the daily morning email my husband sent me. He mentioned that he was not feeling like being at work. My husband works hard, let me tell you. He works 7 days a week, 10 hours through the week, and 6 hours on weekends. Rarely does he take a Sunday off, and I can't quite remember the last time he took both a Saturday AND a Sunday off. It had been about a month and a half since he had even taken off a Sunday. So I knew that he must really be burnt out to mention that he didn't feel like being at work at all. I emailed him back and suggested that he just take the day off after lunch. Being in a union he can miss 2 days every month with out any repercussions, so going into his boss's office and saying "Hey I'm not coming back after lunch." is perfectly acceptable, no questions asked. He did exactly that.

He got home, and stretched out on his recliner. Ducky was napping, Punk and Twinkletoes were each on separate computers playing computer games, a rare treat for them. I spent about 2 minutes talking with SB, and then said "I'm going to sit in the sun!" I took a book with me and didn't move for over 3 hours except to refill my ice water. It was heavenly! SB got to doze, I refreshed my tan, the kids felt spoiled, and all was calm!

Then Ducky woke up and our world turned upside down again, as she is officially into her "terrible two's", but for those few hours, SB and I were able to recharge and hit the ground running this morning. Again, Hallelujah!!

I Need A Recharge!

I have been under a lot of stress lately between money concerns, and Twinkletoes' poop..I am a tearful mess about 45% of the day.

Twinkletoes' got "backed up" again this past weekend, and this time, she just COULD NOT get it out. She would scream, cry and smack me whenever I made her sit on the potty and just TRY to go. She was traumatized, I was traumatized, and SB kept Saying to me, "it's okay baby, I know how you feel".

"Really? You know how I feel? Were you the one in there watching our 3 1/2 year old baby girl in PAIN? No, you weren't, so don't even think you can tell me you know how I feel! "

And yes, I really said that to him. I was very stressed out and sick with worry and I didn't care how my words, and the tone I said them in hurt him.

But yesterday, an old acquaintance of mine, and now new long-distance true-blue "mommy friend" gave me advice via Facebook messages on a plan of action to take. I had Twinkletoes on laxatives, I had given her glycerin suppositories, and had just bought a bottle of mineral oil. All good approaches, but she needed that blockage out NOW before the laxatives would really be of help. So this friend of mine..suggested using an enema, and using is RIGHT AWAY!

Off to Kroger we went. When we got home, I explained it all to T, and she was nervous, but she was willing for me to give it a try. She was tired of being in pain. And it worked! She was thrilled, I was thrilled. And my mom, Grammy, came and picked her up after work and bought her a Barbie for being so brave.

I spent the morning, emailing back and forth with SB about what was going on and that I was going to do this enema. I told him how stressed I have been and how sorry I was that I had been taking a lot of it out on him. I know it wasn't fair to him. He was just trying to be encouraging with his words over the weekend, but I was worried sick and tired of being the one traumatizing our baby, and I felt like a HORRIBLE MOTHER for not being able to know how to help her without casing her so much pain.

I got an email in response and here is a little tidbit:

Babe, you are not a failure. YOU ARE A GREAT MOTHER!!

I really do hope you have a good day, you deserve it. Once we are caught up again I would like you to take a day and go pamper yourself with a massage and whatever else you want to do to relax. I mean it, I really think you could use some me time for yourself.

He most certainly is right about THAT..and I am going to take him up on it. I haven't had a massage in years. I haven't taken a lot of "me" time..I mean what mother does, really? And so, once we get our finances back into some sort of order, I will be taking a "Jen Day" and will probably even see if a friend would like to tag along. Massage, lunch, shopping..something like that. I need to recharge, and this sounds just about right! And..I even told SB last night that this could be my birthday present from him to me. And what a great birthday present it will be!!

A Time For Quiet

I love spending time with my husband. We usually sit outside together in the evenings after the kids are in bed, talking or playing Cribbage. It's good to sit together and unwind while enjoying each others company and conversation. We'll usually head inside around 10 or so and watch an hour of TV before snuggling down for the night and falling asleep. I truly love this time with SB, and couldn't imagine my life without him as my companion.

But then there are times when we're stressed and tired, and just not much fun to be around. Not that we're fighting or anything, just not really in the mood to talk. Last night was one of those nights. We put the kids to bed, I took a shower, and SB pulled out the laptop and started playing Texas Hold 'Em on Myspace. He never does stuff like that, and I know for him it was nice to just do his own thing. I had a book that I was trying to finish up ("Northern Lights" by Nora Roberts"), so I sat across from him at the table on the breezeway and fully immersed myself in the story.

We were comfortable. We were quiet. We were happy. Neither of us felt like we had to entertain the other. Neither of us felt like we had to sit and chat about the stresses in our life. We just enjoyed the peace and quiet, together, but separately. It was a great "re-charge". I looked at SB at one point and just felt this overwhelming rush of love. So I told him. He smiled, and I knew that he felt it too.

Sometimes when you've been with someone for so long, you just know what they need. Last night SB needed quiet. Last night he needed to do something indulgent, that as a father of 6 and sole provider for our family of 5, he rarely takes the time to do. And I was okay with that. More than okay really. It's nice to know that we can be together but still do our own thing without feeling left out.

Marriage is so awesome. You learn new things every single day. You go with the flow. Roll with the punches. And if the love is there, as well is should be since you decided to spend the REST OF YOUR LIFE with that person, you can be happy doing just any small thing as long as the love of your life is by your side!

Wow..My Busy Life, In Pictures

Where oh where have I been? Let's see if this is any explanation...



We spent a rainy day at the Muirfield Golf Course for a practice round of the Memorial Tournament to celebrate my dad's 55th birthday. This is SB & me!



And here is the "birthday boy" my dad and my brother.



We got to watch Tiger & Jack Nicklaus play in the Double Skins Tournament. (Tiger was the winner!)



We had our driveway widened and re-gravelled.

BEFORE

AFTER

We've enjoyed many evenings on our breezeway playing with the kids..here we were letting them be photographers.




We've had water fights.



We've played in the sprinkler.



Twinkletoes had her dance recital.


And of course we have had many, MANY bonfires. (The man in the picture is my 20 year old stepson, J.)

So I have been trying to be online..but it hasn't been happening too much. I do promise a more "wordy" post tomorrow!

SUMMER ROCKS!!

TGI - "Date Night"

Can I just shout, at the top of my lungs...TGIF!!!

Seriously! I am SO SO SO excited it's Friday. SB and I succeeded in having a nice, calm week, and I think we all are finally feeling refreshed around here. The kids are not nearly as crabby. I am not nearly as bone-tired. And SB seems to be in a more sociable mood than he was at the beginning of the week. In fact, just last night he asked me if I'd like to sit outside with him on the breezeway, after the kids are in bed and play Cribbage tonight. You're probably thinking, "big deal, your husband wants to have a game night, so what?" But this really IS a big deal! I LOVE to play games. If I had my way we'd play Rummy, Cribbage or even Go Fish, every night of the week. And then on weekends have friends or family over for Euchre or Monopoly on the weekends. But my husband, well, although when he does play games, he enjoys himself, he usually opts not to play any of the games I suggest when I suggest them.

So for him to come out and ask me if I want to play a game and even make a "date" for it. Well I'm pumped!! It's a break from the normal, "put the kids in bed, get showers, then lay in bed and watch TV until bedtime" routine that we normally are in. I thought about pressing my luck and see if he wanted to invite another couple over and play Euchre instead, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized, after last week, a night playing a game and talking to each other, ALONE, sound much more fun! Maybe next month..

Our days of "date nights" are pretty non-existent these days. I have no desire to go out to a bar like we used to. And 9 times out of 10 when we do get a night alone without the kids, it turns into a quick dinner out and then a movie night in our house, sans the kids bedtime ritual, which to be honest, is the perfect date night for me now that I am a mother of 3. And a STAY AT HOME mother at that! Kids really wear you out and make you appreciate quiet moments at home, ALONE, with your husband.

What do you do for date nights? If you get any at all.

I'll try to post a bit tomorrow morning, but it's going to be a bit of a busy day. We've got Punk's LAST t-ball game, and then we have to get Punk and Twinkletoes ready for an overnight camping trip with my mom. So, if I have a spare moment, I'll pop in, if not..well I'll see you on Monday!

Have a GREAT weekend..and seriously..let me know your own date night ideas! I may have to put them to the test in upcoming weeks..and you never know..it may make the blog! :)

What A Week!

Well, a day later than I had planned..but I'm back! I will try to make this post not go on and on, but that may be hard considering how much I have to share!

Last week was TREMENDOUSLY busy! Let me tell you all about it!

Monday: SB and I attending the calling ours of my dear friend's husband. He died too soon, and too unexpectedly. He was a 35 year old father of 2 young children ages 5 and 3. He had a massive heart attack brought on by an undiagnosed condition that he was born with. My friend and her children (along with the rest of his family and friends) are completely devastated by this loss. I pray for them daily. They need peace, understanding of why this happened, and comfort as they approach each new day on a journey to a new "normal". Please send prayers and good thoughts their way.

Tuesday: SB and I attended his funeral in the morning. SB called his son (my stepson!) to wish him a Happy 22nd Birthday! That evening Punk had a t-ball game. My dad and aunt who live 2 hours north of us, met us at the game to kick off the beginning of their 3 day visit to celebrate my dad's birthday. We then went back to our house where my mom and brother met us, and we cooked out and had a bonfire. It was a very happy and joyous end to a very sad day. My mom and aunt took the kids back to my mom's house for a sleepover and my dad, SB and I sat out by the fire until almost midnight sharing stories and catching up since we hadn't seen my dad since February.

Wednesday: We woke up around 6am and enjoyed warm coffee on the breezeway while waiting for my brother to meet us at 7am. This day was also my dad's 55th birthday! We then headed off for Dublin to attend the Double Skins Game at Muirfield Golf Course as part of the practice round for the Memorial Tournament. This was our gift to my dad. We stopped and had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel on the way. We had hoped for a hot, sunny day. Instead it barely reached 60 degrees and poured down rain on us the entire time!! But we did get to see Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus (along with many other PGA pros) up close and even got ourselves filmed on national television during the skins game! Luckily we had recorded it on our DVR and were able to watch it and see ourselves and laugh! SB called his daughter (my stepdaughter) to wish her a Happy 8th Birthday! We ended the day with a cookout at my mom's house, and stayed there until 1am drinking wine and enjoying good family time!

Thursday: The guys all went golfing. Us girls and the kids stayed at my mom's house and rested up from our busy day the day before. My mom wasn't feeling the best, and my aunt was exhausted from helping her with the kids the day before. I made my "famous" Garlic White Lasagna and everyone enjoyed it for dinner that evening. Twinkletoes had her dance rehearsal that evening and after we made it back to my mom's house, my mom, dad, aunt, SB and I all played Scrabble until almost 11pm when SB and I decided it was time for dad and us to take the kids back home since SB and my mom had to work the next day.

Friday: SB was at work before I was awake, but then Dad and I spent quiet time sitting on the breezeway, drinking coffee and chatting while we waited for my aunt to come and pick him up so they could head back to their houses. It was sad to see them go, but our visit was wonderful and we gave my dad a fantastic birthday. I spent the rest of the day working on my mom's birthday gift! We went to bed early that night trying to get some rest!

Saturday: We drove and hour north to pick up SB's mom so she could attend Twinkletoe's dance recital that evening. I called my mom to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY since it was her 55th bday! We went to T's recital at 7 and got home around 10. She danced beautifully and was thrilled with the miniature rose bush her dad and I got for her and the tulips my mom got for her. Since this was her first time doing something like this she had NO IDEA that she would be getting flowers! The smile on her face was brighter than the sun.

Sunday: SB drove the hour to take his mom back home and I stayed home with the kids to make up the food for my mom's birthday celebration at our house. My mom and brother came over in the afternoon and we had artichoke dip as a snack. We broke out the beer and champagne and watched one of the home videos that I copied for my mom (which she said was the best present she had EVER received) and then spent the rest of the day outside playing Mexican Horseshoes (a game sorta like Cornhole, but 1000x better!) We then grilled shrimp skewers and had those over salad w/ garlic bread for dinner. Then we sat by the bonfire and chatted until it got to be almost dark and my mom headed home. Twinkletoes gave us a scare at bedtime. She stopped breathing for a minute or so. We almost had to call 911. We are starting to wonder if her going unconscious awhile back after her fall, was not due to the fall. My husband had a form of epilepsy as a child so we are going to have her checked out to see if she has been having seizures. Please say a little prayer for her.

So THAT was my week last week! Obviously the busiest of the year, thus far. Hopefully the busiest one we'll have for a long while. I had to spend the day recovering yesterday. I sat on the breezeway reading and just letting the kids run wild in the yard. They all even napped in the afternoon, and Punk NEVER naps!

It feels GOOD to be back to normal again!!

The Sickbed

Last night, SB and I loaded up the kids to head out on our hour journey to the town where my stepdaughter lives to watch her school play. We got about 15 minutes into our drive when SB said he wasn't feeling well. He felt like he could throw up and was very light-headed. We decided to turn around and go home because it would be a very long night if he ended up getting sick at the school play and I was left to wrangle all of our kids and then drive us back home.

We hit the McDonald's drive-thru on our way back into town because nothing had been planned for dinner and as soon as we walked in the door SB headed for bed to rest and told me to wake him up at 7:30pm so he didn't sleep all evening.

Hmm.

Now I was supportive that he should rest. Anyone with whom you love, when they're not feeling well you want them to rest, right? But I couldn't help being a little upset. There are many many times when I've been sick. Really sick. Not just feeling sick. That I have felt so much guilt over just going and laying in bed, behind a closed door and leaving SB to take care of the kids alone that I just don't do it. I suck it up and wait until the kids are down for the night and THEN I get my resting in.

Maybe I need to be less self-sacrificing and start following his lead. He seemed to have not one ounce of guilt that I then had to sit with the kids, alone, while they ate their dinner. Then I took them outside so their screeching and fighting wouldn't disturb him. And then I had to fight with each one individually when it was time to go in the house to go to bed. Ducky I put to bed at 7pm, Twinkletoes at 7:30 (she normally goes to bed with Ducky, but I was feeling nice and let her stay up a bit longer) and then, Punk was off to dreamland at 8.

Spoiled Housewife, my ass.

I did indulge in 2 glasses of chilled wine and finally got around to reading my April's edition of Family Circle and after I got all the kids tucked into bed I took a hot bubble bath. But frankly, I earned it.

I'm curious. How do YOU as a mother deal with sickness? When you're sick, do you take the time to nap and rest once your husband is home? What about your husband? Do you allow him to take that time to himself even if you don't do it for yourself? Let me know by commenting here, and if you're lurking around the shadows..come out come out wherever you are! I want to know who's visiting so I can visit YOU!

And if you noticed that you used to be on my sidebar, but are no longer there, please leave a comment. I lost my blogroll when I switched names, and now..I am having trouble getting everyone added again.

A Poem For My Love

I haven't written poetry since I was assigned it in high school. But this morning I was inspired to send a poem to my husband through email since he is off working on this cloudy Sunday morning, when I know he'd much rather be home with me & the kids.

Kids, kids, everywhere.
Make me want to pull out my hair.

Ducky peed all over her bed.
I seriously have no more hair on my head.

Please come home.
I feel so alone.
Come on baby, come home, come home!!

Yeah, not so romantic. But I figured, it sure is a sweet way to complain, right??

I've Been Stereotyped

This weekend, after an awesome day at the ballpark watching Punk take part in his first Opening Day ceremonies of our town's baseball association and his first t-ball game, I was excited to come home and relax. One of our neighbors came over, someone with whom I believed I was becoming good friends with, and we decided to have a cookout together. We combined our food and my husband did the grilling while we waited for her husband to come over and join us.

We had a few drinks and the night was progressing nicely. Lots of stories being shared, lots of laughs, and lots of good food!

Not long after putting our kids to bed, my neighbor's husband went home as well because he had to get up early to go to work, but left us his cell phone number with the warning, "Call me if my wife pisses anyone off, she has been known to do it before, so in case you need me, just call!"

We laughed it off. She's always been so fun and nice!

But. Then. Something. Changed.

She started attacking me, verbally that is. I don't know what happened, but one minute we were talking about kids, and the next, she turns to me and starts going on and on and on about what a spoiled housewife I am. How I take advantage of my husband. How I just live the life of luxury and don't know what it's like to put in an honest day of work.

"I've HEARD you sit there and say, 'Oh I'll just let SB do that', or 'SB can take care of the kids for a little bit, I'm taking a break.' Let me tell you something, (Insert a very explicit name that starts with a 'C'), this man (pointing at my husband) works all day, this man is the only one taking care of this family, and you have the NERVE to sit in your chair in the evenings and let him deal with the kids!? How did you become so spoiled? YOU DO NOTHING and yet you expect YOUR HUSBAND TO HELP YOU?"

Yep, she said all that...and then some.

I am not a confrontational person so I just sat there.

Bless SB's heart, he jumped in and said "No, Jen works really hard, we have a system that works for us and I actually want to help her in the evenings, she needs that break."

Well, that just was like pouring fuel on a fire. She continued to go on and on about how he shouldn't be helping me out. I am the one who "sits home all day and does nothing".

I finally managed to get her to go home. I then walked straight to the bathroom, locked myself in, and cried. SB heard me and made me come out. I informed him that I didn't know if I was over-reacting, because after all she had had too much to drink, but I was NEVER talking to her again. I would be polite if I saw her outside, but she was NEVER to come to our house again.

SB then reminded me, that yes, she had had too much to drink, but that was not the first time she had said that kind of stuff to me. That was just the first time she had been HATEFUL about it.

That got me thinking about the snarky comments she's made in the past few weeks. Like the day she came home from work and I was outside with a baby on one hip, and a bag of trash in the other hand taking it to the outside trashcan. She yelled across the street, "Must be nice to live the life of luxury." I laughed. I thought she was joking because, taking out the trash, while dragging an 18 month old around is definitely NOT my idea of luxury, but in hindsight, she wasn't kidding. She was referring to the fact that I was at home all day.

Then I thought about the exchange she and I had had earlier in the day, before our cookout. She had gone inside my house for something and then let me know that our big screen TV was left on even though we were all outside.

I responded "Oh, I TOLD Punk to turn that off when he came out to ride his bike, the little booger didn't listen!"

She replied, "Its YOUR obligation to take care of this stuff, you're the one who's always here. You shouldn't expect your kids to do things for you."

Hmm. So, I guess my kids should have no responsibility. Just me. Since all I do is sit around.

After crying myself to exhaustion on Saturday night. Waking up on Sunday morning and feeling very very down. Constantly tearing up all day Sunday. I've finally came to realize, that there is nothing wrong with me. There is nothing wrong with my life. I am not lazy. I do not overly rely on my husband. He does things for me and the kids after working all day because he wants to. Because he knows that I, too, have worked all day!

There is however something very wrong with my neighbor. She apparently is jealous of me. That's right, I said it. I still have little kids. Her kid is all grown up and has flown the nest. I get to be home with my kids. She worked while her kid was growing up and is still working. I have a husband who is willing to help me. She apparently doesn't.

Does this mean I'm spoiled? Maybe.

But does this mean I am not worthy of respect? No.

Does this mean I am not worthy of being treated kindly? No.

Does this mean that I am a lazy housewife who does nothing but lay around and leaves all of the actual work for my husband to do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I work hard. I love my family. And screw HER. I'm done. I have NO intentions of ever having her over to my house again.

My perfect, dream neighborhood just got a little stinky..but oh well. At least now I won't ever have to worry about being attacked in my own home like that again!

Not For The Faint Of Heart

It's been a wild week, that's for sure! Monday was fairly calm, a lazy day due to below normal temperatures outside and snow showers.

Tuesday, topped the chart for the scariest day of my "mommy" life. I was in the living room with Twinkletoes and she was explaining to me how she was going to teach, Tag, the dog, how to play hopscotch. I laughed and told her I had to go potty, but would be right back.

No sooner did I get to the bathroom I heard a VERY LOUD THUMP, a quick scream from Twinkletoes, and then an eerie quiet. When "T" gets hurt, she usually screams forEVER and makes every little injury a dramatic event. And due to the fact that she is about as coordinated on her feet as Bella is in the "Twilight" series, I'm used to her always being bruised or bandaged. The quiet following that scream indicated to me that this was NOT her usual fall.

I took off running to find her. She was laying on the kitchen floor completely still, face down. I pulled her hair out of her face to see what she was doing, hoping beyond hope that she was joking with me. When I saw her face, I knew this was no joke. She was gray, lips were turning blue, and her eyes were rolling back in her head. I started screaming for my 5 year old to bring me the phone. I was ready to call 911 immediately.

I quickly turned her over onto her back so I could start CPR if she needed it, which she looked like she did, only to have her eyes pop open and she started SCREAMING AT ME!

"LEAVE ME ALONE, I'M FINE, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!"

I was in total shock, but I knew if she was screaming and running away from me she must be okay. That's when the adrenaline that I was running on when I was ready to save her life, left my body. I started shaking from head to toe, tears pouring from my eyes and sobs wrenching my body.

Punk was standing there with the phone still in his hand and just said "Is she okay? Because she really made my heart hurt!"

I went and found T and started asking her, what happened? Are you okay? To which she responded with more yelling to leave her alone.

I called my husband sobbing, barely able to explain to him what was going on. He told me to call my mom, who is a nurse, to see if I should still take her to the ER. Although, every instinct in my body told me she was okay. She HAD to be okay!

My mom told me to check her pupils, she explained that if they were different sizes she had a concussion and I needed to take her in right away. And of course if anything, ANYTHING in my body told me something was seriously wrong, not to hesitate to load the kids up and GO TO THE HOSPITAL!

T finally calmed down enough to let me hold her and check out her eyes. They were fine, as beautiful as ever. She showed me where it hurt. A huge goose egg on her forehead with so many broken blood vessels showing through.

She curled up in my lap for a couple of hours as I cried and prayed, and prayed and prayed.

Thank you Jesus for protecting my sweet baby girl. Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength to be prepared to save her life if it would have come to that. Thank you Jesus for providing me with the support and love to carry me though even if she wouldn't have been okay.

I spent the rest of the day pampering to T. I took her and bought her new shoes like I had been promising for weeks now. I bought her (and Punk) a Happy Meal from McDonald's. And I read her what felt like 100 books, made up songs with her, and tried to keep myself from breaking down every moment that I looked at her.

Last night I had a nightmare about it. Just me kneeling down beside her and pulling her hair back and seeing that face. I woke up screaming and crying. She seems to have forgotten the whole ordeal. I however will never be able to forget it, and am thankful I am the only one who saw her like that. I never would want my husband to have that image in his head.

Yesterday we colored Easter eggs and played outside, today we'll be outside again. Life is back to normal, but I still can't shake the feeling of how different it would be if Jesus would have chosen to take her from us.

Everyday miracles surround us. Some days, Lord, they don't have to be quite so scary!!

He Lets Me Cry

This toothache I have is the worst I have ever had in my life. And let me tell ya, I've HAD toothaches! Apparently, after seeing the dentist yesterday, the tooth that broke has an exposed nerve and that is the reason for the intense pain. He prescribed me a pain killer to take until the tooth can be removed on Thursday, but it's really not helping. At least not at the dosage that he has prescribed.

Last night after getting home I immediately took one and started to get some relief. I was thrilled! Only 45 minutes later, after eating dinner, the pain was back and it was worse than before. I think more of the tooth crumbled or something and more of that nerve became exposed. Well, I ended up being convinced by my husband to take another dose after just 2 hours of taking the first, even those I am supposed to wait a full 4 hours. He told me that with as close to bedtime as it was I would want to get that pain under control so I could sleep.

Thirty minutes after taking the second dose, I was in so much pain that I ended up crawling into bed with an ice pack and crying so hard I could barely catch my breath. SB came back and talked to me about how awful I felt and just let me cry.

Once I had held the ice on my cheek long enough to numb me up a bit, I calmed down and thanked SB for just letting me cry.

He looked at me and said "Why wouldn't have I?"

And it hit me. I have an AWESOME husband. (not that I didn't already know) But he could have either ignored me and stayed in the family room or told me to suck it up and be quiet. But he didn't. He loves me, he knew my pain, and he just let me cry until I wore myself out.

Things like that are nice reminders of why I fell in love with him in the first place, and why I will love him for the rest of my life.

Oh and by the way..I'm still miserable. But hanging in there..

So They All Rolled Over & One (almost) Fell Out

Have you ever woken up hanging onto the side of your bed for dear life. Afraid if you make one more movement towards the edge of the bed you are going to crash onto the hardwood floor. Risk knocking over your nightstand, and end up with a lamp being smashed to pieces on top of your head? Well..that's exactly what happened to me last night.

My husband is an awesome dad. So awesome, in fact, that he has trouble saying no. I am a very sound sleeper and hear nothing in the middle of the night. Unless our dog is raising all kinds of hell because hes seen a raccoon or deer in our yard, then I tend to jump right up out of a deep sleep. But otherwise, I hear nothing. So when out kids sneak into our room at night asking to sleep with us..I miss out on that whole conversation. I have a feeling it goes like this:

"Daddy, can I ..."

"Go ahead and get into to bed."

Yes, my husband is a sucker when it comes to sweet sleepy voices. (I assume.)

So back to why I was hanging on for dear life. I woke up at 4am, with a major backache, clinging to the edge of my bed, and no pillow under my head. I started to roll over and got a bony elbow right in the boob. I tried to push that little pile of bones (Twinkletoes) over to get some room and ended up bumping right into SB. I then started pushing on him to get him to roll over, only to find out that Punk was on the other side of him!

I was a bit irritated by all of this. I don't like my kids sleeping in my bed, unless they are sick. Then, I don't mind having them close. But otherwise, they have their own beds..they need to SLEEP IN THEM!

When SB finally got out of bed around 6:30 to head off to work the three of us remaining were able to stretch out a little. (I only have a queen-sized bed and am seriously considering upgrading to a king after our night last night.)

But anyway...back to the story.

So, I woke up about an hour later, and immediately called SB on his cell to let him know that I was NOT pleased that he allowed BOTH kids sleep with us. I need my rest!! And I have a bad back!! I can't sleep squished up like I did.. ANYMORE!

Turns out..it was all MY fault. Well he didn't say that, but after hearing WHY they came and got into bed I realized, "Oops". They were scared because their rooms were too dark. We have an angel nightlight on our bathroom vanity that gives off a pretty nice glow and if I leave all the doors open..well they get a soft light shining into their rooms. Yesterday I had unplugged it to plug in my blow dryer and flat iron and..forgot to plug back in that darn light.

So when the kids came in complaining about being scared of the dark, SB DID in fact try to get them back to bed, and plugged the nightlight back in. But it was too late. They were upset and it was just easier for the pushover him to let them sleep with us.

So I'm now recovering from a miserable night of sleep. I'm on my 8th cup of coffee, have taken 4 ibuprofen and am waiting for nap time. Oh that's right..I don't get to nap!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game..

Punk is starting t-ball this year. He is so excited and has been out every warm day this week practicing throwing and catching with SB. It's so funny watching him pick up on his dad's way of talking.

"Hey Dad, that had some 'gas' on it didn't it!?"

So cute!

We got the call earlier this week from his coach letting us know that practice starts Monday and that he was to go in on Wednesday(yesterday) to get fitted for his shirt. We were also informed that SB would get to be the assistant coach, and let me tell you that was so exciting for me!

I really want us to be active in our kids activities. Not just become the parents that drop off our kid and show back up at the end to take them home. So by SB getting to be assistant coach, I know that we are off to a great start in supporting Punk and letting him know we are there for him ALL THE WAY!

Anyway, last night Punk and SB took off to go get sized for shirts and Punk had the BIGGEST SMILE on his face. He looked so grown up it about broke my heart. After about an hour or so and they hadn't shown back up, I started to get a bit concerned and called SB on his cell.

Me: "Where are you?"

SB: "Oh, we had to go to the other sports store to get his pants & socks because the other place didn't have his size."

Me: "I didn't know you were getting that stuff today?"

SB: "Yeah..well..Punk can be pretty persuasive."

(tell me about it!)

So they finally get home and Punk starts pulling his purchases out of his bag. Out comes black pants and red socks.

Me: "His colors are black and red?"

SB: "Yep..lucky boy!"

Me: "Lucky MOMMY..I wont have to worry about buying stock in "Spray & Wash" to keep his pants white!"

Let me just add that Punk's FAVORITE colors are black & red. If he had his way we'd paint our house black.

So, he is happy, I am happy. Let's PLAY BALL!

A Good Day Turned Bad

Yesterday was a lovely/awful day. I woke up early with my kids as always and immediately started getting ready for church. I recently have recommitted to finding the right church for us so that I can continue my spiritual growth and raise my children up to love Jesus. SB informed me on the way out the door to head to work (that's right, my husband works on weekends..the OT is SO worth it!) that Punk had been up very early coughing and decided to head back to bed because he didn't feel well. I was concerned for him, but pretty upset. This meant that my goal to try a new church was squashed. I still went ahead and showered and got dressed "just in case".

At 9am, I called my mom, who had intended to join the kids and I on our new church adventure, and told her that unfortunately, it looked like I had to stay home. Once she found out that I was dressed she told me that since she hadn't started to get ready yet, she would come stay with the kids and I could go check it out and let her know if it was worth it to go back next week.

Let me just say, I was SO thankful for this and when she showed up at 10:15 I headed out on my merry way to attend the 10:30 service. It was WONDERFUL! This church does an amazing job at acknowledging visitors. They provide a packet of information on their church and after the service invite visitors to go to a reception in the church office where the Associate Pastor waits for you and answers all of your questions. (You even get coffee, doughnuts, and a coffee mug filled with Hershey Kisses to keep!)

Not to say I was swayed by the gift, but the other churches I had tried out last fall did NOTHING to acknowledge visitors. I had even filled out the visitor cards requesting more information and never received so much as a phone call! So THIS was JUST what I needed to feel comfortable and welcome.

I returned home so excited to share with my mom that not only did this church make me feel welcome, but the sermon was AWESOME, the people were friendly, and there were plenty of young families (which was majorly important for me since I have all these kids!). We then headed outside since it was warm and sunny and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around my yard checking out what plants were popping up. (This is my family's first spring in our new house so it's going to be surprise to see what landscaping we have.) Later, we decided to sit on the front porch to chat.

It was then that I started to get a few whiffs of natural gas. At first I just ignored it because I thought I was just smelling things, but then my husband came home and I asked him if he could smell it. He said no, but he had smelt it a few days before, but didn't think anything of it. My mom then said she could smell it and SB went to check the basement where the meter is and said there was an odor down there.

CRAP!!!!

So we proceeded to call the gas company's emergency line and they sent a technician out right away. Turns out our entire gas line from the street to our house needed replaced, as well as our meter. The man informed us that yes they would have to dig in our yard, but promised that it would be a small line dug and by the time they left we'd barely notice they had been there.

We spent the night without heat and hot water because of course they turned everything off, and awoke this morning a bit chilly, but otherwise okay and ready to have this mess taken care of.

About an hour ago the gas company showed up. With. A. BACKHOE!!

I now have a totally dug up yard, dirt ground into my carpet because they have to keep coming in to check things out in the basement. And a crying 3 year old because she is positive that the backhoe is going to crash through our house.

Fun times. Let me tell ya!