Succesful Trip

We've been back from our little family getaway to the waterpark hotel for about 2 hours now and both my husband and I have been busy with chores since we walked in. No break for parents! Well, of course there are some breaks or I wouldn't be writing right now :)

The trip was a success, defined by: no near-drownings, no fighting, no injuries or sickness and fun had by all! The only negative part was the 2 hours it took us to get our youngest boys to fall asleep. I can't believe how much energy 2 little people can have even after a day with no nap and plenty of swimming!

And to top off a great weekend, when I got home I realized my dad, who had stayed at my house to dog sit, cleaned my oven to a sparkling shine! There's something I can cross of my to-do list.

Hubs is out cleaning the van and doing some yard work, and now that I've scratched the itch of internet addiction I can get back to my duties. Home sweet home!

Once in awhile, whining pays off

I didn't fully realize it was Memorial Day this Monday until a few days ago. I guess people who have "real jobs" always know what holiday is coming up because they're looking forward to an extra day off. I imagine people have also been making plans for this weekend for some time now, and I know many who went camping (not my cup of tea whatsoever!).

 My family, however, had nothing planned as usual. Me forgetting it was even a holiday is not the only reason for this, we just don't really celebrate Memorial Day, 4th of July or Labor Day. But for some reason I started feeling bad that we had absolutely nothing to do and posted my thoughts about it on Facebook. Grandpa and Grandma to the rescue! My mom called shortly thereafter and said my wonderful stepdad decided we should all go to a hotel/waterpark Sunday and Monday! My 4 year old has been obsessed with "big buckets" ever since our trip to Wisconsin Dells last summer, and repeatedly asks to watch Youtube videos of the 350 gallon buckets dumping water on the swimmers below. I can't wait to see his face when he finally gets to see one in person again tomorrow!

I still feel bad that we don't always celebrate these summer holidays with family like most other people, and even worse that I don't know the origins or difference between Memorial and Labor Day. Maybe I'll do my homework and figure that out now that I'm an adult. And maybe as the little boys are getting older (and a tad bit easier to manage in public) we can even take the whole family to the big 4th of July celebration and fireworks this year. But for now, I'm happy that my moment of complaining on Facebook yesterday paid off and we now have something FUN to do this Holiday weekend.

~ And a big shout out to my awesome parents who are making it happen, like always. Thank you!!!

Too Tight

I put on a pair of capris on the other day from last summer, and my goodness they were tight. Yesterday I noticed how tight my jeans were getting - I still wore them, but the hips and legs were tight. My shirts are tight, and I'm not prepared mentally to see if last year's swim suit is too tight. Conclusion: after losing weight amazingly fast after my last baby in '08 I am definitely on my way back up in size. It's very disappointing, but since I didn't put any effort into losing it in the first place (besides feeding my baby) I suppose I can't be too upset. Fact is, the only real effort I've ever put into losing weight were the few times I nearly starved myself and the few months I worked out at the Y, which I still didn't do on a regular basis. I did download the C25K app on my phone a few weeks ago, but have yet to even look at it. Last week I walked for about 20 minutes 2 days in a row and was extremely proud of myself, but then the next day I had a shin splint in 1 leg and that was excuse enough to not walk again. I've been saying for awhile that I wish I was a runner, enjoying as much as the friends I have who run, but I just don't think I'm cut out for it. Am I destined to be flabby for the rest of my life? To be so out of shape that I'd rather drive around a parking lot for 10 minutes then have to exurt the energy to walk an extra 20 feet? Will I ever be able to break the habit of waking up in the middle of the night to eat? (I do love my Reese's Peanut Butter cups at 3am!) Maybe I'll just buy some bigger clothes again, and start saving for liposuction.

Hug Your Babies

Watching the Casey Anthony trial (the young, single mom accused of killing her 2 year old daughter in '08) my heart is saddened. I don't know for sure if she is the one who caused her daughter's death (and I'm certainly glad I don't have to be a juror in the trial), only Casey and God know the whole truth. I do know that the overwhelming consenses is that she did, in fact, murder her little girl and cover it up while continuing to live a normal [party] lifestyle for 31 days after Caylee's death. Right here in Iowa a mother killed her youngest son and attempted to kill her older son, who survived and actually helped convict his own mother. What causes a seemingly "normal" person, a mother, to harm and even murder her own child? What goes on in her mind that makes her decide to take the life of the child she carried for 9 months and gave birth to? I know there are certain guidelines for a person to be found "criminally insane" in a court room, but I surmise that all the mothers (and there have been many) who have commited these heinous acts against their own flesh and blood are not of sound mind, and must be dealing with incredible demons in their minds.  Sure, I get frustrated with my kids and even angry from time to time - but I have never had even a fleeting thought of seriously hurting any of them much less killing them. I think most moms, who are being honest, would say there are times you wonder what you were thinking when you decided to have kids - that you had no idea parenthood would be so challenging! And we have passing moments when you imagine what you'd be doing right now in your life if you didn't have kids. (When I have these thoughts my usual conclusion is that life would be quite boring and I have no idea what I'd do with myself all day!) But in a "normal", sane person none of theses thoughts or somewhat depressing times would ever lead you to the point of murdering your child. I understand parenting is hard, but there are many rewards too. I pray that these woman who have found no other way to cope but to rid themselves of their children would find the peace and forgiveness of The Lord. And for the rest of, let's just remember to not take our precious children, or the lives we've been given, for granted. So hug and kiss your babies and thank God that you are not struggling with the obvious heavy burden and darkness that Casey Anthony and so many other women have lived with.

Super Mom?

I wish I was a super organized, "Type A" kind of mom. Does my desire to be this way count for something? I hope so. I finally started using a calendar last year, in hopes of keeping track of everything so I wouldn't forget about appointments, ball games, piano practices and the never ending early school dismissals and days off. But somehow I still manage to lose track of what's going on - I do look at the calendar, I really do. It must just not register in my mom brain. I finally bought a bunch of storage bins and went through all the kids clothes, separating and labeling them by size, hoping to make it easier to get ready for the new seasons and to sell the outgrown clothing online. But then the bins were placed in various places throughout the house and garage and I'm overwhelmed at the idea of dragging them all out and doing all the work that goes into listing clothing on ebay. I bought a dry erase board to write the various chores that my older boys are required to do each day so they can easily see what they're suppose to do when they get home from school. But I only seem to remember to write on that board about once a week, even though I walk past it over and over throughout the day. My closets need organized, stuff needs gathered to go to Goodwill, the junk drawers need a good cleaning, the socks with no match that reside in my hutch drawer need to either find a mate or find the trash, my pictures need to be uploaded, printed and put into albums, and let's not even talk about the junk being stored under my bed that needs a real home. I need a system for keeping track of all the papers my kids bring home from school, some that needs returned with my signature which I usually find a week later. I need a system for saving important documents like birth certificates, vehicle titles and loan papers. I need a system for couponing and planning menus and grocery lists. And there's probably many more "systems" and organizational ideas that I don't even think of. However, I just wasn't born with this type of DNA and have little hope of ever really becoming Mrs Organization. My kids are clean, fed, healthy and happy. So I guess that's good enough for me at this point. I probably won't be nominated for mother of the year, but I am who I am - an unorganized, forgetful, sometimes messy, loving mom!

Small Town Fever

When I was younger and we would visit family members in various small towns in North Dakota, I would always say that I could never live in a small town - no mall, no Walmart, no street lights! I just couldn't imagine not being in a bigger city with more "oportunities". Now as I'm getting older and raising my own 4 children I think I'm starting to get small town fever. I'm imagining walking to the nearby park with the kids, knowing all my neighbors and not having to worry about letting my little ones play outside and even wander the neighborhood. Not to mention how difficult it would be for my older kids to get away with anything when the whole town knows everyone and word travels fast. I don't think I could live too far away from a large city where I could easily drive to get groceries or make a quick trip to Target when  we're on the last roll of toilet paper, or the sudden realization that my baby is wearing the last diaper. Small town living might never be in my future... who knows. But I have to admit I've surprised myself at how much I've changed from that teenager who thought small towns were for old people and country bumpkins!

Not Much More Future To Worry About

Due to President Obama's recent statements regarding Israel, I'm more certain than ever that we are living in the end times. It doesn't take a genious to figure out things are getting worse - the weather with all the hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes, the wars which seem to have no end in sight, etc... So my philisophical theory is that maybe I can just go ahead and plan on not being around for long. I'll keep deferring my student loans, won't worry about a 401k and maybe best of all I won't have to turn into a slouchy, smelly, wrinkly old lady! I'm only a few months away from the big 3-0 and I almost can't believe it. On one hand I feel like I've lived through so much and the other hand I still don't always feel like an adult. I'm sure there's a psychological definition for my life - becoming a mom at 17 didn't give me much time to grow into adulthood like most people. I missed out on a lot because of those choices made as a teenager, but then again all I ever wanted to be was a mom. So when this earthly life ends (which I do fully believe will be through rapture and not death) I won't be feeling bad about missing prom and graduation. Anyway, I'm gonna plan on not being around after about, oh, 10 years. So let's see what I can accomplish in that amount of time! Maybe a few more kids... hahaha ;)

I'm Still Here

Either the "7000+"  guy is wrong, or I've done missed the rapture. But since my young children who have not reached the age of accountability are still running around outside, I'm sure that my Jesus is still at the right hand of the Father. This whole spectacle has, however, served a purpose for this household... I was able to again talk about the importance of always being ready for the return of Christ with my family. Truthfully, He could come back tonight or maybe tomorrow or maybe not for 10 or more years. But we need to be ready whenever the time comes! So how do you get ready? Well, first you need to accept Jesus into your heart "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Friends, this is the only way to heaven, whether you get there by means of the rapture or through earthly death. Do your best to live for the Lord, in everything you say, do and think. No one is perfect and not one person who ever has or ever will live can do enough "good stuff" to earn their way to heaven. So, even though Jesus didn't come back today, May 21st 2011 at 6pm, he WILL return one day to rapture HIS people. And my hope and prayer is that all my friends and family will join me in heaven!

Facebook Petpeeves

Confession: I'm addicted to Facebook. I've actually gotten a lot better than I use to be about checking FB, but I still couldn't imagine a day without logging in. There are many things about fb that often make me wonder why I continue doing it to myself ("it" being reading through status after status, day after day) and I've usually kept my lips zipped about these annoyances. But now I have my own blog and feel I can say whatever I want! HA! *Disclosure - if any of the following pertain to you, please don't take offense* So here it goes.... I can't stand when 90% of my home page is filled with statuses from the same person! Really folks, I don't pretend to have any more of a thrilling life than you do, but don't post every 3 minutes and show the whole world just how boring your life is! Because obviously if you can post that often, you have nothing better to do, ever. HERE'S ANOTHER ONE THAT JUST MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM (are you ready to scream yet?) - using all caps doesn't make me want to pay more attention to your post, it makes me want to "hide" you. For goodness sake, use caps only for the 1st letter in your sentence and for proper nouns just like your second grade teacher told you to. Speaking of 2nd grade English class, let's talk punctuation. I think many of you have broken comma keys... do you realize how difficult it is to comprehend what you're trying to say when you never use a comma or a period?? And calm down with the exclamation points too; trust me, not everything you're saying deserves this punctuation mark. Just save it for when you truly are excited about something, not for every.single.comment. I won't even get into their, they're and there as I think this is just a lost cause. If you are an adult and still don't understand the difference there's probably not much hope in teaching you. Also, if you are an adult I expect to read real words (you know, the ones you can find in a dictionary). I mean, is it really that much harder to spell out the word "and" instead of "nd"? And if you write "bk" I will think you are referring to Burger King, not telling me you'll be "back". I could probably go on and on, but I'll stop now before I am "unfriended" by too many people on Facebook. Feel free to share some of your own petpeeves, whether they stem from facebook or just life in general. HV A GR8 NT!!!!! lol    -kle

Jumping In

People have been blogging for years, but I haven't ever really gotten into following any. And I don't expect to have a zillion loyal followers here either. I just decided that this might be a good way for me to share my thoughts and opinions about, well, anything. Do you ever think back on a conversation you had with someone, even within minutes afterward, and think "oh I wish I would've said this or that!"? Well I do that often so I figured with blogging I'll be able to think through what I'm trying to say before I say it (or at least be able to edit it if I do think of something after the fact). So here I am, jumping in to the world of blogs. I may not be able to post all the time as I am busy with real life. And I may not have spectacular ideas to share with the world, but I will speak from my heart and hopefully we can laugh, vent, and maybe even grow together. Thanks for stopping by!   -kle