Rainy Monday

I woke up early this morning.  Five somethingorother.  Not sure why.  My brain was still going warp speed even though for all practical purposes. . . I can take a breath.

Last week was so "strange" with our wonderful school banquet on Tuesday night, a day off school on Wednesday, surprise "mixed bag of Winter weather" (where DO the weather men come up with these things?) day on Thursday, and road trips Friday and Saturday for basketball.

Saturday's basketball game ended our season.  I felt so emotional - which was unexpected.

Relief, yes.  I'll be so very glad to have the Coach back.  Not just physically in the evenings and on Saturdays, but mentally. . . in the evenings and on weekends.  No more film, scouting, plays scratched on paper everywhere.

But also sadness.  I'm learning that these years won't last forever.  Daughter (#2) is only a Sophomore.  I say "only" with a bit of a sigh.  It will be over before we know it.  And YES we have three more girls and surely ONE of them will love the sport as she and her daddy do.  But THESE days won't last.  And I want to soak them all in.

It's probably best that the season ended.  I think I ate my way through the last three weeks of it.  Literally.  Road tripping with seven kids will do that.

And to be completely honest, the comments I have been yelling at the games have gotten progressively. . . well. . . not nice.  I try SO hard (gave up on being quiet a long time ago - I can't do it) to be encouraging, but the season of officials and players with attitude was getting to me.  Glad the season ended before I got thrown out of a game.  I'm just kidding.  Sort of.

Then I was thinking about my sister-in-law whose kids are getting married - she has two weddings in the next few months.  We already have two great-nieces.  Doesn't seem like it's been very long since WE were having wedding and baby showers and now we are giving them for our nieces and nephews.  Wow.

Of course it could have been the thunder and lightening that woke me up.  It felt so good just to lie there all cozy and warm and listen.  Thunder is my favorite (as Son #3 and I like to say).

It's a rainy Monday morning.  I don't mind.  I'm grateful for the chance to slow down.  For no games this week (only volleyball practices for three - ha!).  For the Coach having a little less on his very full plate at school.  For a clean house from the wedding shower, yesterday.  For sweet times serving with my sisters-in-law.  This is a BIG family, but there are so many of us to pitch in.  It's something delightful to be a part of.

For fireplaces that are repaired, for 9 year olds who are master organizers (will definitely miss her next year!), for the chance of more snow later today.

For cozy kitchens, for The Cat in the Hat on PBS, for coffee, for Saturday Sam's trips, for my sweet Coach who will take me to Wal-mart late at night so I don't have to go in the rain, and the full pantry and freezer from which to feed the troops this week.

The Coach's first season back as Varsity Girls Basketball coach was a success - at least at this house.  We enjoyed 99.9% of it (it WAS a lot of time in the van on the road!).

I'm sad to see it end, but we are on to the next thing.

Science Fair, anyone?  

Happy Monday!

Thankful. . . just thankful.

I know it's Wednesday.  But if I don't get my thinking on track, I won't survive until Thursday.  Ha!

Today?

I'm thankful that we celebrated my sweet girl's SWEET 16 this week!  Love her.  And she loves her new car.

I'm thankful that my kind and thoughtful parents not only hosted us for the 16th birthday party, but also catered dinner from Ted's so I could just show up with cake.  Love them.

I'm thankful that the troops are all well and back at school after two weeks.  Yay!

I'm thankful that my house will be clean, today.  And thankful for help in that area every two weeks.

I'm thankful for my new washer and dryer, even if laundry is WAY piled up.  How do I get so far behind?

I'm thankful for the AMAZING beautiful snow ALL DAY yesterday and Little Man's tremendous delight it in.  And there is even some left, this morning.  Daughter (#6) said, "Looks like we might have a White Valentine's!"  Hmmmm.

I'm thankful for a friend to run with. . . and that we didn't just complete our seven miles on Monday. . . we conquered it!

I'm thankful I don't have a stress fracture THIS February like I had LAST February!

I'm thankful for Thieves Oil and that the Coach and I have stayed healthy even with the plague raging around us.

I'm thankful for this friend who has been my FB chat buddy, running buddy (virtual, that is) and fellow mom of many to commiserate with during illness, homeschool, and questions about running tights.(Don't ask.)

I'm thankful that the Coach's girls won their last home game last night.  WOW it's gone quickly.  Wow.

And you know what?  We've done just fine through basketball season.  We had one tournament weekend that all of the troops griped and complained about. . . but otherwise they've all been amazing.

For now. . . I'm off to get this day started.

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday at the Troops

I'm tired of desk work.  And I need a secretary.  Or an assistant.  Or both.

Online school enrollment.  For eight.
Club volleyball enrollment for Spring.
Ordering KT Tape for my basketball player.
Paying bills.
Mailing bills.
Searching and NOT finding Little Man's shot record for school enrollment.
(Although I get some credit for this being the first time I've misplace one!)
Filling out paperwork for our medical savings reimbursement.
Sorting through Christmas cards, changing addresses, putting family pictures on the fridge (thanks to Daughter #6) and filing them away.
Answering a bazillion emails.

Of course sitting down to do all of this means that the dishes aren't done from breakfast and the laundry isn't folded.  There is only one of me, after all.

And I'm pretty sure that my list is longer than it was when I started.

In the meantime, flu patient #2 (Son #3) and flu patient #3 (Little Man) had their fevers soar and intervention was required.

Along with Sprite, Bean Soup, Chicken Strips (this flu makes them HUNGRY!), blankets, wet cloths for the foreheads, and peppermint oil for the aching heads.

And it's not even noon, yet.

But you know?  I love this life.  I do.  I love being a stay at home mom (I will NEVER know how my working friends balance it all!).  Although I tire of the constant, "Mom! Mom! Mom!"  I am glad I'm the one caring for them when they are sick.

I'm grateful for the time to clean, wash, launder, and serve.

And my wonderful Coach who works so hard so I can do what I love.  And I'm grateful that his work IS doing what he loves.  I don't take that for granted.

I'm grateful that my kids are happy.  Even the sick ones.

That the day is sunny.  And warm for February.

I'm grateful for plenty of easy food to fix for the starving, feverish, sickies.

And old movies on Netflix that make me laugh when I walk through the room to plump a pillow or take a temperature or fill a drink.

I'm grateful for pansies that perk up when the sun shines EVEN after being frozen time after time.

And a fescue yard that is green all year, even when the trees are bare in the Winter.

I'm grateful that all eight kids are enrolled in our wonderful school for next Fall.  ALL EIGHT.  Wow.  Life will be changing for this momma.  A senior AND a Kindergartener.

And I'm loving these days at home with my kids even more because of it.

At this particular moment, though, I'm eversotired of sitting here at this desk.  So I'm off to see how the boys are and keep my 4th grader going on her math.

Happy Tuesday!

Have I mentioned that one week from today is someone's Sweet 16?  I love this girl.

And she has the MOST handsome Coach.

The Adventures of Little Man

Second cup of coffee is already drained.  And it's 7:30.

Going to be a long day.

The Coach and I are WAY too old to be up in the night with a little one.  Or I should say. . . a Little Man.

Several months ago, Little Man started getting up in the middle of the night. . . without waking us. . . and getting in bed with his sister.

I'd go in in the morning to wake her up for school and there he'd be. . . snuggled up in her bed.

She said she wished he'd just stay in his own bed. But then every night she would let him crawl right in.

I wasn't sure what to do about it, since I didn't even know when he was doing it.  He didn't bother the other 8 of us. . . so it seemed like one of those, "They'll grow out of it" things.  You know what I mean.  Pretty sure they would decide at some point they didn't want to sleep the same bed!

Hopefully.

But then on Monday, Daughter (#7) woke up with a high fever (and yes, Little Man was there, too, when I discovered it).  Later on, as she was quarantined on the playroom couch, I explained to Little Man that you do NOT want to sleep with someone who has the flu.  Because you will certainly get sick, too.  (Thinking all the while that he would get sick, anyway, since he'd been in her bed every night before that.)

I thought maybe this was the solution.  Maybe this would be the thing to get him to stay in his own bed all night!

And you know what?  He seemed to "get it".  He decided he didn't want a fever and he's not only stayed away from her in the playroom (so nice when they are old enough to understand!), he hasn't gone near her bed.

Instead, he's gone near ours.  Every.  Single.  Night.

And his 15 year old sister's.  Every.  Single.  Night.

And his 11 year old sister's.  Every. Single.  Night.

And I'm sure he WOULD try to crawl in bed with his 9 year old sister. But she's still sleeping in the hall.  That doesn't seem to appeal to him, for some reason.

Going to bed like a normal 5 year old boy, in his own bed with his pillows, pillow pet, stuffed animals, and soft fuzzy snowman blanket (yes, I've tried everything!).

Then wandering around in the night trying to crawl in everyone else's bed.

Is he cold?

Scared?

And HOW is he not exhausted?  We're way beyond naps, here at the troops.  How DOES he wander around all night and then stay awake all day?

Hmmmmm.

Last night I'd just "had it".  He was standing there. Staring at me.  For the third or fourth time.  Who can sleep like that?  Besides the Coach, I mean.  And I did the unthinkable (at least at our house).  I let him climb in bed with us.

I did go back to sleep.  But MAN did I have some strange dreams.  Something about being late to tomorrow's running club training run - trying to get ready in a hotel room and find all of my cold weather running stuff - and then having on clothes that were too warm for the weather - then parking 60 blocks away and having to walk through fields - and then the Coach and the kids were all with me - and I was trying to text the friend meeting me there to tell her I was late. . .

Exhausting.

And exactly why we have a "no kids sleeping in OUR bed" rule at the troops.

Sigh.

What's a mom to do?

The Coach suggested getting a heated pillow for him to sleep with.  I'm willing to try anything!

Well, Happy Friday, anyway!



. . .Do they MAKE heated pillows?

A Blessed Monday

It's HARD for me to sit still.  I'm a DOER, a list-maker, and when the list doesn't change from day to day - except to add to it - I feel like a big fat failure.

Partly because there is a lot to do here at the troops.  Just daily "life" things for 10.  School with m 4th grader.  And Little Man.  Running around, making us laugh, making messes with his endless "projects" - like putting water and food coloring in a glass and dipping cotton balls in it to make them pink.  Yikes.

We're a little behind on the daily things after a week of grieving the loss of the Coach's grandma, spending time with family, and a basketball tournament over the weekend.

But today, I woke a little girlie up for school at 6:25 to find her burning with fever.  The other kids got off to school, while my "homeschoolers" slept on so I could get her settled on the couch with Gatorade and Netflix.

Priorities.  Not interruptions.  Putting first things first.  People before projects (not the Little Man kind, but the 6 loads of laundry to fold kind).  Rubbing my little girl's back and smoothing her hair back instead of crossing errands off the list.  After all, the laundry is always there.  Always.

And you know what?  I'm blessed.  Grateful I CAN take the day to care for my little one.  Grateful that I don't have to call in sick to stay home.  Grateful that I have a 17 year old to bring the kids home from school, later.  A mom to listen on the phone.  A friend to call to compare symptoms and treatments.  Cheesy movies to watch. Recliners to rest in.  Soup to heat for lunch and lots of saltine crackers.  Coffee.  More coffee.  Dinner in the crock pot.  Maybe even getting my workout in later when the Coach gets home.   I might even get a shower, at some point.  Ha!  And did I mention that one of Little Man's hermit crabs switched shells overnight?  This is fun stuff!

In the meantime, Little Man is working on something in the kitchen.  I'm concerned.  And since the sick princess is sleeping, I should probably investigate.  Maybe he'll help me make some muffins for the patient.

Happy Monday!

And did I mention how grateful I am that it's NOT the stomach flu?  Thank you, Jesus!

*gulp*

Maybe it's that the troops are growing up SO fast.  So very fast.

Maybe it's that life is going at a break-neck speed.

Maybe it's that the Lord is very near when our hearts our troubled.

Maybe it's just too many episodes of Downton Abbey (Poor Edith left at the altar!).

At any rate, I seem to be overly emotional, lately.

Walking on the treadmill, the other day, I was fast-forwarding through the songs on my i-pod, which at some point, was high-jacked by my oldest son.  There's not much on there that I prefer, but then "Boys of Fall" came on and I stopped fast-forwarding and just listened.

My heart squeezed tightly and I realized that next Fall will be my biggest boy's LAST Fall on the football field.  Followed shortly by finishing his senior year of high school and . . .

You can see where I'm going with this?

It wasn't pretty.

Then Wednesday, sitting in the passport office with Son #3, waiting for the Coach to get there before 4:00 so we could file his application (both parents present, of course) - the Coach didn't make it, but my thoughts did.  Sending out our THIRD across the world the share the gospel.

On his application for the Africa trip, it asked, "Do you play any instruments?" To which he replied (he filled it out by himself, of course), "A little piano."

Now all of the troops and are teasing him, "How little IS the piano that you play?"

My pack of little boys is growing up.  Fast.

Son #3 will be in Jr. High next year.  Yikes. He still wears me out.  Every. Single. Day.  But his smile? Lights up the room.  He is loud and happy and fun.  99.9% of the time.  The rest of the time?  We try to stay out of his way.  He's almost as tall as I am, now.  He'll be 13 in April and off on his first cross-country trip with the Coach and the 6th grade class, soon after that.  (I love this picture - he's in the middle, of course - with a big BRUISE on his forehead.  That's my boy!)

Sigh.

How much have I taught them?  How prepared are they for the "real world"?  How well do they know the Lord's stead-fast love for them?  How much do they understand that I love them unconditionally?  That grades aren't the most important thing, that having money won't make you happy, and that PEOPLE matter most.

I'm not sure.

But there's still time.

A little.

In the end, they are growing up.  They will leave.  Someday the Coach and I will be alone, for the first time.  Well, there were those 11 months before Son #1 joined us.

Some days I confess that I long for those days.  A bit too much.

Other days I want to stop time RIGHT HERE.  And just enjoy this all as much as I possibly can.

Little Man just took advantage of my being distracted on the phone for a few minutes and washed and trimmed brussel sprouts, sprayed a pan and seasoned them for roasting.  He's chomping away on them, now (I helped with the oven.).

I'm in trouble.

And don't get me started on my girls. . .



A couple of good, recent, blogs on boys?  They say it much better than I do.

Anne Voskamp
Jen Hatmaker

Happy Thursday!

Things that make you go, "Hmmmm. . . "

Just so many things swirling around in my head.  I haven't known where to start, lately.  So maybe I've skipped the blogging not wanting to get weighed down in my overwhelmed mind.

My favorite verse lately?

Psalm 61:2.

In the meantime, I started back on a clean eating/workout regimen last week.  Feels so good to be back on track.  Ahhhhh.

One of my stops along the way was to buy protein powder for my post-workout smoothies.

When I got home and took it out of the bag, I found this free sample:

As if the guy working at GNC couldn't tell by looking at me how hysterically funny this is.  Me, with two kids tagging along, driving a 12 passenger van and looking (in my black Nike pants) like I've given birth to at least a few babies.  Or more.

I've left it on my desk all week just to make me smile.  You should have heard my boys when they caught a glimpse.  "Is this YOURS, Mom?"  and I said, "Oh.  Yeah.  Just trying to maximize my workouts."

Love making them laugh.

We were discussing, the other night, that I didn't go to college.  It intrigues my kids. . . maybe because they aren't home-schooled, like I was, or maybe because the Coach is not only an educator, but determined that the kids WILL get their degrees.  Son (#4) said, "So you skipped college and went straight to your PhD?  In AWESOME!"

Love him.

And if my 12 year old son thinks I'm awesome, who needs "Ripped Freak"?

Happy Monday!