Happy Endings

This has been quite a week for your faithful Bell. Not the best ever, but it is over and I am very glad of that. This is also the end of October. Wow. That went fast. We have ended it with a very full, very pleasant day. I saw some relatives today that I don't often see. Lovely K had her last soccer game today; Big E has one more and then he's done too. This was a crazy, messed up season and I am glad to be done with it. And there was another ending this week---Lloyd Dobbler had his last day at his job on Friday and Monday starts a new era in his employment.

I hope my last post didn't annoy you.
All week I have started to get on here,
but I just didn't want to "talk" about it.

Okay---here's the deal:
remember how I was saying how crazy my doctor was
for making me take that three hour sugar test?
Remember how annoyed I was about that?

(I gave you the gigantic clue of all that sugary sweet music on the juke box)

Well, as it turns out, they weren't quite so crazy. I failed those tests and it seems that I do have gestational diabetes after all. I was very surprised and unhappy with this diagnosis. I went to my assigned specialist this past week. Monday morning I will go to some class where they will teach me about all the stuff I have to do and get me started checking my sugar many times a day and all the stuff that goes along with this.
So the rest of this week I have been kind of getting mentally adjusted to this change in my life. There are some things this will force me to do that I have never done before but always knew would be a good idea---like not drinking cokes. That is a weakness of mine. That's got to stop. And routine--oh my goodness--ROUTINE. This little doctor stressed the importance of that. It's not just a routine, but one that sticks to the clock. I've got to eat at the same time each day, and then check my sugar two hours after eating. He put major emphasis on these things. But if there's anything the Bell needs to work on, it's self-discipline and self-control and adhering to a schedule. So this is a good thing in that respect.

I have to tell you though, I was so mad about this when I got that first phone call. I was just mad. Part of me still expects the phone to ring and the doctor to be on the line telling me that there was some mix up and none of this applies to me, that they got my chart mixed up with someone else's or something. I have also spent this week thinking of everything I have to do in the next couple of months and feel quite overwhelmed. This new "condition" of mine means many more doctor's visits (boo!), a whole bunch of restrictions (boo again!), and who knows what else. Not things I would have wished for....but I know that God has given this situation to me for a reason.

That's making me think of that
old Bill Gaither kids' song:
"He's still
workin' on me..."
How true.
How very true.

God is also working on this lovely baby boy inside of me right now. I just love to think of that phrase "knit together" in reference to the growth and development of my unborn child. God is "knitting" him together. We got to see him in an ultrasound at the specialist's office this week. Don't you just love ultrasounds? It's just so precious to be able to see that little one in there moving around, to see his face and get a hint of what he's going to look like. We take life for granted so much---but every single cell of our bodies is a masterpiece. We are created in the image of God.

So....this day.....

....we slept in this morning. That was great. Sweet T slept in the most and that is so unusual for him. He probably needed it after our busy week. But it was nice to have a slow morning. I cooked bacon and eggs and Lloyd Dobbler made whole wheat waffles. I went to a funeral later in the morning; my great aunt died this week. They had been married 47 years. My father did the service. She was one of the people that always said, "I want YOU to do my funeral" to him. He does have a unique approach to funerals. I think he does a really good job with them.

I had to race
from the funeral to get us to
Lovely K's soccer game
(Lloyd Dobbler had another obligation
that ate up his day from that point on).



My favorite lovely aunt was in town for the funeral and she showed up at the soccer field and then came home with us. She is always like a visit from Santa Clause, a whirlwind of merriment and fun. She is one of those people who when I see her with my kids, I wish they could be around her much more. She would be one of the best possible influences on them for a variety of reasons. I wish I was more like her in many ways. She does the neatest things. She had made these certificates for my children and presented them to them in a little "ceremony." It was so cute. The kids thought that was great. She brought them each a bag full of treats too and of course they were excited about those.

After she left,
I got my three little Indians ready and we did a little
trick-or-treating. We just go to my aunts and uncles
(who are all getting older, which I hate,
but they just love to see the little kids)
and a couple of friends' houses. One set of those friends we go to is
Mr. & Mrs. Popsicle; they had a special bag prepared for each of the kids
with a TON of candy and a couple of neat little toys in them.
That was a major hit with the kids.
But Mr. & Mrs. Popsicle can do no wrong
in my children's eyes.
They just think they are magical.
Last Sunday morning they all three sat with
Mr. & Mrs. Popsicle during church (on the pew behind us).
They are like a bonus set of grandparents.
And who couldn't use a bonus set of grandparents?

My mother-in-law sewed these Indian costumes for us. I found the pattern at Goodwill; I think I paid fifty cents for it. We got the fabric at this great bargain fabric place that is in another town. I think I paid $20 for the fabric, trim, threat, everything. And just look how cute these kids are:

Our last stop was at my brother's house. My sister-in-law had made supper for us all and the guys were watching the football game. I thought we were going to be there for the duration of the game, but my dad and my husband came downstairs at half time and said they both wanted to get home. I think it had been a long day for everyone.

So now I am home and the kids are all tucked into their little beds. I really should be downstairs slaving away on that cross stitch project. It's looking very good, but I am still on the first half (however I am almost finished with that half). I don't think the second half will take nearly as long. I always select the more complicated half of a pattern to do first to get it out of the way. But I really need to be doing that. It has got to be finished in time to get it framed before Christmas.

Tomorrow will be November, Dear Reader.
Can you believe it?
There are about 55 days until Christmas.
Did you know that?
I am so glad that we are ahead on our school days. I am
planning a week off for the kids and I think as soon as
we hit that halfway point (which we are rather
close to, thankfully), we may just wait until after
Christmas to start the second semester.
How nice it will be to just read Christmas stories
and color and make goodies and do little
projects during the month of December.
That sounds very cozy and homey and
wonderful to me.
That would be a nice ending
to this nice, full year.

I love a happy ending.

Tune in next time when Bell reveals....

That she has egg on her face.

An egg dipped in sugar, perhaps.

I am waiting on more information right now.

So just stay tuned and I'm sure you'll hear me ranting and raving soon enough.

Comfort and Joy

For a couple of different reasons,
we did not make it to church tonight.
You know me, another night at home: I'm happy.
I'm not happy to miss church,
but I'm happy to be home with all my little birds in the nest.
The week ahead
(I just filled out my menu for the week)
is going to be busy.
I'm going to be fixing supper at 4pm most days
because we have places we have to be in the evening.
Yuck.

But tonight---ah, lovely tonight. It's a very quiet, peaceful night. Everyone seems a bit tired from our weekend. I read several chapters of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator to the kids while they ate bowls of Campbell's vegetable soup for their supper (FYI, this second book about Charlie Bucket is not very good). The kids have gotten into jammies and are watching The Lawrence Welk Show on PBS. Lloyd Dobbler is making his regular Sunday night loaf of bread. I'm going to be handing out pieces of pumpkin pie in a few minutes. My hubby has challenged me to a game of Scrabble after the kids go to bed. I'm going to make myself a cup of hot tea. Instead of crawling into my cross-stitching cave tonight, I'll be cozying up with my favorite people in the world.

Don't you just love the sweetness of ordinary times
like this with your family at home?
I loved that as a child with my family
and I love it now as the mom with a family of my own.
I love hearing people in the next room
(when they're not picking at each other!).
I love the things we share that are just our things,
you know, just our little moments.
Every family has these things (at least I hope they do).
And when it's this time of year,
the cooling off that brings people inside
with cozy clothes and dim lighting
and all that ambiance,
it just makes it even better.

I hope you are enjoying your home and your family tonight, Dear Reader. Not everyone is. A distant relative of mine is at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital with her seven year old daughter who is going through horrors with one of the worst forms of leukemia. What she wouldn't give to be home with her family and not facing that nightmare. The kids pray for the girl, Samantha, each morning, and I find myself praying as often for the mother as for the child. The God of all comfort can reach them there, in that cold, sterile hospital room. We cannot forget when we are sitting cozily in warmth and health and happiness that others are not.

That's My Boy!

We had a lovely moment on the soccer field today.
This is coming from a proud mother, but it was still great.
The "crowd" (if you can call the parents
of the two teams a "crowd")
cheered. The coaches were so thrilled.
It was lovely.

Big E had what was supposed to be his
last soccer game today----there will be two or three
games made up. The other team was a really good team.
This one little boy was on the other team
who had been on Big E's very first soccer team,
his dad had been Big E's very first soccer coach.
They are from Peru and are just the sweetest family.
I love the mom. She is a sweetheart. But that kid is a great
soccer player. He was all over the field and
his dad is soooo into it.

So we played the entire game with no one scoring.
It was a good game and they were very evenly matched.
It came down to the last minute of
the game, maybe even less
than that. Big E was playing the sweeper position this last
quarter (aren't you proud of non-sportsman me for knowing
the name of his position?) and he came all the way down
the field and just did this beautiful kick.
It went over all the other kids' heads and right into the
top corner of the goal. The goalie couldn't have stopped it.
And it was just beautiful. And the crowd cheered, as I said.
It was great. I was so proud! And Big E was just thrilled.
It was the only goal of the game.

The guy who had been Big E's first coach said,
"I trained him! I taught him first." :)

People at the soccer fields were dressed
for an excursion to Antarctica.
I had on capri pants and a long-sleeved tee shirt.
I did take a jacket with me.
Yesterday Lloyd Dobbler was about to have a stroke
when he came home from work
because I had the A/C on.

Tonight our church had our annual chili supper/hayride
and whatever else that is called. That's always one of my favorite things that our church does. The couple who hosts it at their house are just the loveliest people.
They do these "door prize" type things of little odds and ends gifts. I got a bottle of hand sanitizer tonight. One year I "won" a box of Rice A Roni (the San Fransisco treat);
I thought that was so funny. They also do fun things for the kids---they always have two pinatas for the kids (one for the big kids, one for the little kids) and this year they also had tug of war (for the kids an for the men) and musical chairs. This couple is like a set of grandparents to every kid in the church. We were sad that Mr. & Mrs. Popsicle weren't there; Sweet T was going to make Mr. Popsicle ride on the hayride with him. He just lives for the hayride and the pinata.
We have a great time. I didn't contribute much this year. I made a pumpkin cobbler and a gallon of tea. But there was so much food. There was no shortage. I even wore my coat out there tonight too. It was a bit cold. I would have to take it off though if I stood around the fire. That was a bit much. I would have been just as well not to stand around the fire though---now I stink like smoke. I hate smelling like smoke. It even gets in your hair and stinks that up.

So this was just a lovely day. Tomorrow we are going to eat Mexican for lunch so I don't have to cook tomorrow. That's nice. Was it last Sunday when we went to my mom's and I didn't have to cook? I think it was. That was the day I felt so terrible. Maybe I will feel much better (and stay through both church and Sunday school this week!) tomorrow since I don't have to get up and make a big meal or anything. That'll be nice. I need to get ready for this week ahead anyway. It's going to be very busy, very full.

Friday's Child is Tired and Old

Do you remember when Friday nights were date nights
or nights to go do something fun with your friends?
Or maybe a night to have a friend sleep over
when you were young
---which meant you'd be up really late.
( I can hear my dad's voice saying
"You girls go to sleep in there!")
Friday night was a night you looked forward to all week.
Being at home on Friday night
was not ever a part of
the vision of happiness in your head.

Things change, though, don't they?

It is Friday night, approaching seven o'clock
and I think I'm going to put on my jammies.
The family is fed. The kitchen is relatively cleaned up.
I'm going to work on that cross-stitch
that I haven't touched in two or three days
(oh no!!! I've got to get busy!)
and listen to the radio
and hope that the rest of the family
happily occupies themselves without me
so that I don't hear my name every two minutes.
I just want to chill out.
And that's not like,
"Oh, poor me....I have nothing to do
tonight...sniff sniff."
That is like,
"Oh yeah! Hallelujah!
We don't have to go anywhere
or do anything tonight! Great!"

Obviously I'm not seventeen anymore.

I was thinking about that today---where I was twenty years ago. I was approaching my seventeen birthday. I was in high school. I had my first date in September of that fall with a older guy I'd had a crush on for a long time. He took me to the fair. I remember feeling so grown up that night. So much water under the bridge since that time.

I was also telling my father today
that when my mom was my age,
she had a child graduating from high school,
one in 9th grade, and the "baby" in fifth grade.
So her youngest child at that time was a little bit older
than my oldest child is now.
I don't know why we were talking about that.
I seem to be obsessed with ages.

When this fourth baby is twenty,
Lloyd Dobbler will turn sixty.

Oh my---we went to this bank this afternoon to do some banking stuff. It's the local hometown bank so the people are much more personable and all that. So of course they asked me when I was due and fell on the floor in horror when I said JANUARY. This has become the common response. So if you see a bunch of people picking themselves up off the floor, I am probably in the area.

Then I ran by the grocery store and the cashier
who was checking me out said,
"So...we've got what....one more week?"
This is what she said.
And I was the only one standing there.
And I thought she was referring to me
and my "delicate condition."
I was just standing there not knowing what to say,
and then she said "Until the time change"
---like I should have known what she was talking about.
It was like I walked into the middle of a conversation.
But I was glad she wasn't referring to my state of being.
That would have been weird.

I almost forgot we are still in our soccer season. This has been the strangest year for soccer. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last day of games for Big E and Lovely K's last game is supposed to be the 31st. But Lovely K's team has only played two games and Big E's team has only played three. The rest have been canceled because of rain. I am just hoping and praying that they are not going to try to make up all of those games. We'll be playing 'til Christmas. Mercy. Lovely K and her daddy are at her practice right now. This is the first practice she's had since she got her braces. I hope she won't be paranoid about that. So tomorrow we are back to the soccer fields....unless it rains us out....and I think there is a chance of showers. We shall see.

Okay....I'm digging out my yoga pants
(you can't get much more comfy than that, can you?)
and some old tee shirt that will fit
over this ever-increasing belly
(another lady at co-op today put it so cute
----she's the sweetest thing---I LOVE Britney
---she came around the corner and saw me and said
"Wow! You have really blossomed!")
and I am going to go sit and sew
and just be as happy and contented as I can be.

I hope you are just as happy
in whatever you are doing tonight, Dear Reader.
Big giant hugs from your blossoming Bell.

friday morning

Shhhhhh.

It's Friday morning.
It's still dark outside and it just starting pouring rain.
Oh how I wish somebody would call
and say that our co-op has been canceled today.
I'd love to turn off all the alarm clocks in the house
and let the children sleep as late as they would
(which might be another 15 minutes).
I'd love to climb back into bed myself.
I am really becoming a homebody during this pregnancy.
I don't want to go anywhere most of the time!
But especially on a day like today.
So if you are staying in this morning,
cozy up under a warm blanket and be lazy for me.
It's the perfect morning for it.

Perspective

We are all at different stages in our lives.

Did you know that?
Of course you did.
We all know that.
But why is it we that sometimes
look at someone in another stage of life
and compare it to our own point on the map?
I find myself doing that sometimes.

Today I did the opposite.
Just a few minutes ago
I was cruising through the blogs I usually
check out and there were two of them
that just made me have a twinge of envy
for these women and the cool, fun things
they are doing with their homes and kids.
They seem to have so much freedom too.

But almost immediately it occurred to me
that they are at a different point in their lives.
One of them has children in college
and the kids who are at home
are obviously old enough to be doing all these cool things
that they are able to do independently.
The other one has children all older than mine too
....and she's Canadian....

I'm not making excuses for myself as to why I am not
doing wild and exciting things.
Some days I do great things.
Yesterday we ate lunch on the back porch and
read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator---not that that is
amazing and spectacular,
but it's cozy and wonderful and when
my kids are grown and gone, I will remember moments
like those most of all, I think.
Sunny afternoons on the porch
reading to the kids
and doing all the voices.

Anyway, I am thinking that I want to
really enjoy where I am at in life.
I feel like I have a very full plate right now.
Things keep piling onto my calender,
the calendar that I fight to keep relatively clear.
I don't like having a lot of commitments.
I like us to be, for the most part,
a stay-at-home-family.
But there's all this stuff going on
and all the normal household and school stuff.
Now we are entering the phase of the year where
holiday things are on the horizon.
While I was out today,
wasting a day with that stupid three hour sugar test,
I bought a Christmas gift for one
of the kids. Part of me was saying "This seems so early"
and the other part of me was just shaking it's head
and rolling it's eyes because it remembers when the goal
was to have the Christmas shopping DONE
by the end of October.
Yeah....that's not going to happen.

I just don't want to let these days slip by
without enjoying them. My kids are all at beautiful stages
in their lives and I need to soak that in
and be a part of it and make the best of it.
I have been so blessed with these three gifts from God
---and another one is coming.
I need to enjoy this last little time before the baby is born.
I'm planning on us all going to a movie and lunch
in College Town on the next available Saturday
just for a family fun time.
It'll be like the last time for us to do that
as we are now,
a happy little family of five.

When I went to the lab for the stupid three hour sugar test this morning,
I ran into a relatively new friend of mine.
She's my age and newly married
and even newly-er pregnant.
She told me that she'd had a miscarriage this weekend.
I just feel so bad for her.
My heart has been so sad ever since she told me.
I have not stopped thinking about that all day.
I am always so thankful that I have never had to
go through that, and my heart just breaks for her.
She wasn't a basket case or anything,
but it is a loss and I know she was very disappointed.
What on earth do I have to complain about?
A stupid three hour sugar test?
How about being thankful for the pregnancy and the strong,
healthy baby who is kicking away at my innards?
How about praising God for blessing me with this gift?

I am thankful.

I do realize that I have been blessed beyond measure.

Faithful, hard-working husband.
Beautiful, dramatic, loving daughter.
Sweet, sensitive, competitive son.
Loving, exciting, charming son.
Helpful parents nearby.
Helpful in-laws not nearby.
Crazy brother always willing to help me.
Warm, cozy house.
New pair of maternity jeans
that are actually comfortable.
Food in my cabinets and freezer.
Warm water in my shower.
Ice cubes in my fridge.
Orange and yellow leaves
dancing in the trees outside my window.
Countless blessings, large and small.

I will not take these things for granted.


If I do,
give me a good swift kick.

Cheaters Never Prosper

Here's a recipe for David Letterman.
And all the baseball guys who were on steroids.
And probably Al Franken.
And for my cousin Mark when he plays Battleship.
And for everyone else who will never prosper
because of their cheating ways.

But first let me talk about soup.

We love soups in cold weather. I love autumn for many reasons, one of those being the return of soups and stews to the menu rotation. I have several recipes that are great and I love them. It seems funny that the one I am sharing with you right now is not the best of those. It's probably the bottom of the list of the ones I love, but it's on the list. It's so easy---that's why I had it on hand for Lovely K and Lloyd Dobbler to make the other night. And the ingredients are things you can always have on hand. I'm sure Swine Flu sufferers around the world would appreciate a pot of this stuff. You can dress it up, add other stuff, make it your own. It's easy. And you don't have to actually be a big fat cheater to make it or to eat it.

Cheater's Potato Soup

32 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 onion, diced
(or dried minced onions, 1/2 to 1 cup)
2 cans chicken broth
4 cups water
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups whole milk

Combine first four ingredients in large pot.
Bring to a boil.
Cover, reduced heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir in soups and milk (mix well with whisk).
Heat thoroughly.
Garnish with shredded cheese.

If you get it too watery for your preference,
you can thicken it with instant potato flakes.
You can use those "O'Brian" type of diced potatoes
with pepper and onions in them if you like the idea of that.
I always add garlic and parsley.
Chunks of ham would be good.
Do whatever you want.

March to the beat of your own soup drum.

P.S.
I asked if I could do the 1 hour
sugar test again.....my doctor
(who I went to high school with
and who is younger than me)
said no,
I have to do the three hour test.
I'm still annoyed.
If I go to my next appointment and they say
"Well, your test came back good.
You don't have gestational diabetes"
I am going to say
"DUH!!!!!"

(I started to write "when" instead of "if."
I'm that sure of it.
If the opposite result comes back,
then I probably will have a stroke.
But I don't see it happening.)

Fall Fresh on Me

We made the trek to Lovely K's orthodontist today. She had to have 3 more spacers put in in preparation for the bar she's having "installed" on the roof of her mouth next week. This was a much better visit. She has toughened up a bit. Praise the Lord. I didn't go back with her this time; I had the boys with me. I had Sweet T who periodically announced "I have to go poo-poo" in a stage whisper heard by the entire waiting room. We would stand in line for 87 minutes at the one bathroom in the place and then he wouldn't have to go when we finally got in there. Sigh. By the way, this orthodontist is great in many ways. I really like him. But I wonder if that bathroom has ever been cleaned. Do they just tell the patients to go in there and brush their teeth and spit on the walls or the cabinets or where ever they feel like it? I hate that bathroom.

We bought a few groceries on the way home and right now the kids are out riding bikes on this BEAUTIFUL autumn day. It's about 70° and sunny and clear and just BEAUTIFUL! I have pizza rolls in the oven (I know that's not very healthy, so sue me! Today I don't care.) and I am going to take them outside to my bikers and read more about Charlie Buckett to them and soak in the sun.

See----I'm pleasant sometimes. Didn't want you to be afraid of me after that last post.

I don't need a mood ring.

Yeah, just call me D.L. Moody.

I have never been so MOODY before during pregnancy (or any other time in my life, for that matter). I never wanted to be one of those women who takes advantage of that kind of thing. I have friends who the minute they find out they are pregnant, they just start being crabby and hateful and wanting rewards for waking up each day and just all that stuff that falls under "taking advantage of the situation" in my book. I mean, we all have our moments, but if you demand pampering and everyone else going the extra mile for nine months.....that's really not necessary.

What has happened this time....and I'm just aware of it from time to time so I hope it's not happening WAY more than I think it is....is that I over react. I don't realize it at the time unless I see someone with this expression on their face like they are afraid of me. I am sorry that my children probably get the worst of it, bless their hearts.

It's like this:
something that might have annoyed me before
will just send me over the edge.
For example: when we are running late and getting ready
to leave in the morning, woe upon the person
who did not put the comb
back in the drawer where it belongs.
And then I was shooing the kids away from an area
I didn't want them messing around in the other day
and I just thought I was just telling them to stay away
from that area. Lloyd Dobbler and my mom were
both behind me and when I turned around,
they both had those weird looks on their faces
and Lloyd Dobbler said
"Calm down, pregnant lady."
And then that made me mad because
I didn't know what they were thinking I was doing.
And then I'll get in silly happy moods
where I can be bothered by anything.
("Your dad died? Really?
That reminds me of a joke I heard once...")
And then I read one line a girl wrote this morning
and it reminds me of something that happened to me
at a time that was very hard for me
and I'm just a puddle of tears.

This is not like me.
Especially not the getting furiously mad part.
That is so not me.

Yesterday I was so annoyed about something, I could have just had some kind of conniption for sure. I was very close to the conniption point. In fact, I had to sit down and just breath for a few minutes because of the little heart issue that we are still investigating with the doctors.

What was this that sent me over the edge?
I'm glad you asked.
I'll just tell you.

Last week when I went to the doctor for my regular visit and they said I needed to go to the lab after my appointment and do the sugar test (the one hour thing that they have always done on me, every pregnancy, I think it's pretty standard). What was different this time is that they were just springing it on me. I had eaten all day. I'd had coke that morning. I ate chicken nuggets and drank green tea on my way to the doctor's office.

My previous doctor (who I miss more and more as this pregnancy goes on---why couldn't he have retired AFTER I was done having babies?) always had us do it first thing in a morning without eating. You get a more accurate reading that way. And that seemed to be common knowledge to everyone in the world EXCEPT the nurse practitioner I have been seeing. I asked her several times about it but she just acted like I didn't know what I was talking about and that it wouldn't matter if I hadn't eaten or not.

So against my better judgement,
I went and had this test done.

So yesterday the doctor's office called me. It was some nurse that I have never had any dealings with. She said that I would have to do the three hour test because my levels were slightly elevated. Slightly. I asked her if they could have possibly been slightly elevated because I had eaten all day before taking the test. Her response was this: "You ate? Yes, that would affect it. What did you eat?" I ate whatever. Because nobody told me not to because I didn't know they wanted to do the test that day! And it's just slightly above normal range. Slightly. But I have to go have the three hour test done now because of this. I just know this would not be happening if they had done the test as it was always done before---without the coke and chicken nuggets and green tea flowing through my veins.

I cannot tell you how annoyed I am. More than slightly. Yesterday when this was happening, like right when I got off the phone with the nurse, I could have choked somebody. I was really mad then. And maybe that was part of this whole over-reacting thing that I mentioned I have been dealing with.

But today, hours later, I am still annoyed about it.

I don't want to have to do this stupid test for three hours. I know I don't have gestational diabetes. Everyone has trouble hitting my veins....so let's let them have multiple shots at it so I can just be bruised from shoulder to wrist. And heaven help me if that one girl is at the lab tomorrow because she is the worst I have ever encountered at drawing blood. She took it out of the back of my hand one time and hurt me SO BAD. So let's hope it isn't her. I might refuse to let her do it if it's her.

Am I just getting cranky in my "old" age or what?
I guess I'm realizing that I can do what me and my childhood friend always referred to as "using our adult powers." You know how you reach an age when you realize that you can just stand up for yourself and say no or ask for the supervisor or get it redone, whatever the situation. And I am NOT one to pitch unnecessary fits. I probably don't sound like it after this post, but I am not a fit pitcher. I don't like confrontation and I don't like to make trouble. But I also don't like getting the shaft.

I should have used my adult powers the other day when she told me to go have that test done right then. I should have just realized when I didn't like the sound of it that I could say, "You know what? I'm not doing this today. I'll do it first thing one morning like MY DEARLY DEPARTED FORMER DOCTOR used to do!"

And then I wouldn't have gotten the call about the stupid three hour test.

And then I wouldn't be so irritated right now.

At least not about this.

Manic Monday? Not here

In case you were wondering,
my PC must have been having a mental problem
when I wrote that last post.
Things looked strange to me
....which is why I thought
there was a chance they would appear
in Chinese
to you.
Thankfully, they did not.

Or did they?
Because if you don't have those Chinese language skills
that I was going to be so proud of---then you wouldn't know
that I wanted you to tell me
it was coming to you in Chinese.

Oh well. It appears to be back to normal today.

This morning I got up and got ready and left the house with Lloyd Dobbler. He drove me to the far, far away Tiny Town where our beloved chiropractor's office is. I was in much need of an adjustment. So we left at 7am. My little brother came over and stayed with the kids. I made him a list of things about the morning and they did it all. I was so proud. He only let them watch "The Magic School Bus" (as I directed in the note) and they ate breakfast and got dressed and made up beds and Lovely K and Big E did their Math. Hooray for my brother.

And only one of the three
was dressed in shorts on this chilly day.

Why do kids do that?
All summer long when it was 103° outside, t
hey wanted to wear velor sweatpants
and then let there be a killing frost and they want to
whip out shorts and tank tops.
Do your kids do this?

It was nice to have the morning out with my hubby. We never do that. We got to talk and listen to the radio. We both got adjusted. I read an interesting article in a magazine while at the chiropractor that made me think I may need to do something to give my metabolism a good swift kick after the baby is born. If it's really messed up, it can cause heart issues and too many platelets (remember the thick blood issue I have? Remember the spring health issues?).
I got to eat a sausage Mcgriddle from McDonalds. I love those things. Lloyd Dobbler said I inhaled it. I probably did. That's the one fast food breakfasty thing that tempts me.

He needed to go get some adjustment made to the tires on our van so I had him dropped me off at the library in the next town over from ours. In some ways, I like this library much better than ours. It seems more studious. But I feel like I can't find my way around in there. They did have Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator which we will begin to read today (Sweet T has been asking about this book constantly since we finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

They did not have a good basic biography of Mary Cassatt. She is our new artist. I guess I got spoiled with that Mozart biography we had. He was the first artist we studied and that was a great biography to read to the kids. All I can find on Mary Cassatt is just not going to work out very well. Any ideas, Dear Readers, on where I might look for a better biography?

I'm going to cook for supper tonight some of the things
that would have been our yummy dinner yesterday had we not gone to my mothers
(which I am so thankful we did!
I felt like a bag full of cuss words yesterday.
We went to church and I was just miserable.
I had Lloyd Dobbler bring me home between Sunday School
and church--we live very close by--and I just went to bed
until they got home.
Then I went to my mom's and layed around there.
She had made a good dinner
and I was so glad that I wasn't having to do
a bunch of stuff myself
because I just was not up to it yesterday!).
That worked out so well.

So I have put the ham in the crock pot. I have the stuff for the autumn apple salad out on the counter. I'll make that here in a few minutes. I'm torn between just making regular mashed potatoes or making the lovely and wonderful Make Ahead potatoes. The regular ones would be a lot easier. And I am also debating now between making a pumpkin pie or making these desserts that I saw today. They look sounded really good. But I know my family will prefer the pie. And we haven't had pumpkin pie in ages. But it's pumpkin pie season!

Oh, Dear Reader, do not think that your cries fall on deaf ears. I will give you that recipe for the Cheater's Potato Soup. Not right now....because I'd have to go find the recipe and then type it up and all that.....and because I am a semi-professional procrastinator (which means I am working on a professional level as a procrastinator but I am not getting paid for it).

It's very brisk outside today, but the sun is shining and it's not raining for a change. I hustled the kids outside while I made their lunches. Now they don't want to come in and I'm not making them because they haven't had much opportunity to play outdoors lately. I can re-heat their soup when they come in. They should be good and hungry then.
(when I was younger, I always spelled that "hungary")
It's so nice to have them out there playing all together. We have kind of hit a stage where they will play all three together sometimes peacefully. Three seems to be the perfect number for an argument. Two of them can get along find, but add that third person and somebody is going to be unhappy all the time. But the boys have cowboy hats and rifles and they have been playing explorers. Lovely K was guiding them back behind the okra patch to find the grave of the cat that croaked a year or two ago. I guess that seems like a big adventure. And then the UPS man came ----just more adventure all the time, right?

So what a lovely day so far.
Except for the part where Sweet T cut up several pages in an educational book I borrowed from a friend. This was the big bad thing that happened while they were under my uncle's charge. Sweet T has discovered the joy of scissors and cutting. He's still learning the rules.
But aren't we all?

Alone Again, Naturally

This has been kind of a strange day. And as I am saying that....I am noticing that this font is different.

And apparently I can't change it.

I've tried twice.

What's going on?

Is it Uncontrollable Font Day?

In fact, it seems everything is acting strange here. I don't know what's going on. Just let me know if this is all coming to you in Chinese---because if it is, I am going to be really proud of you and your Chinese language skills.

(and then I was going to say something

in Chinese and realized I don't

know anything to say.....Chop stick?

Soy sauce? I'm not really hip

with the whole China scene)

Guess what I got to do today, on this strange day. I went shopping in College Town by myself. It was so nice. It had been a strange morning....I thought I was getting sick when I got up this morning....then I made a late breakfast for the kids and I. Lloyd Dobbler and Mr. Popsicle had gone to eat breakfast somewhere and try to dig up some forsythia to make my spring yellower...but they weren't able to dig the forsythia. It was raining too much. And then the soccer games were canceled at the last possible minute.
That's annoying. But since I was nearly ready to go out into the world, I just finished getting ready and went off by my little self.

I was in Kohl's for two hours. It was so nice. I just looked at whatever I wanted and didn't have to talk to anyone. I tried on some clothes and stuff. I bought a couple of things to put back for Christmas. Because it's the middle of October. And I'm supposed to be getting a major head start on this Christmas thing. On November 5th, my good buddy and I are going shopping. All day. I hope to get basically be done with Christmas shopping after that day. We picked that day because it is 50 days to Christmas at that point. Can you believe it? We're picking up speed here as we come to the end of the year. Fasten your seat belts, Dear Reader.

I also went to Target. I don't know how long I was there. Not as long. But I would like to complain about something. It's this whole inappropriate subject (Mrs. Marathon would be so proud of me for bringing it up!) and I'm not going to get into it. I'm just going to tell you that it's aggravating. I've been around to many different places and websites. I'm just annoyed about it. And we'll just have to leave it at that. What is this subject that has my drawers in a wad?
It's maternity underwear.

That's all I am going to say.

I had this big cool meal planned for tomorrow. Ham and holiday potatoes and autumn apple salad and green beans and pumpkin pie. Mmmmm. I would have made most of it today if I was carrying through with the plan. But my mom is cooking lunch tomorrow. So I'm going to move it to Monday night.

It's nice not to have to cook.

Before I left on my shopping adventure, I told Lovely K that I was setting out the recipe for Cheater's Potato Soup and that she and her daddy could make it for supper while I was gone. She must have heard what I said and remembered because they made it. It's the easiest soup in the world to make and it was ready and hot and yummy when I got home. Bless their pointed heads.

So I really did get

a cooking break this weekend.

How lovely.

Oh yeah---it was in the 40°s today when I was shopping. I took along a jacket but didn't wear it. I saw other people in sweaters and wool coats and sweatshirts. I had on a short sleeved shirt and shoes that you just slide your feet into....not flip flops, not sandals....why can't I think of what to call these shoes? Anyway, they aren't exactly winter attire. But it isnt' winter...and I was comfy. Please note: these are not the actual shoes I was wearing pictured here. I just know that Dear Reader Mrs. JP loves these shoes.....so that picture is for you, Mrs. JP. Drink it in.

I think it's supposed to frost tonight and be in the 30°s.

Brrrrrrrr.

Stay warm, Dear Reader.

How Cool.

Guess what dropped?

The temperature.

It's not like bitterly cold or anything,
but it is definitely cooler weather.
I think the high is just
in the low 50's today
(and I know if you live down the street
from the Mall of America
you are probably rolling your eyes
at this southern girl pointing out
50° as cold).

There is also this constant drizzle/mist of rain
that is making this day seem colder and yuckier than it is.
It is a yucky day---but I love these kind of days.
I wish we hadn't had to get out and about today.
It's one of those days you should just be in cozy clothes
and read books or watch an old movie or cross stitch.
Or sleep in.

And of course, it is a very appropriate day
to play lovely Christmas music.
Nothing makes a cozier atmosphere
than old Christmas tunes.

I'm so glad cooler weather is arriving.
I was growing out of my current maternity choices.
I got to break out the first long sleeved shirt today.
My friend loaned me all these really cute maternity sweaters
but I just think it is going to have to get VERY cold
for me to be able to wear those.
Because I am so hot.
In every sense of the word.

Fridays are always amusing to hear what all these other moms have to say about my appearance. I noticed today I was starting to get the sympathy look. I just wanted to tell them to save it; they'll have plenty of time to use it later on. It's just going to get worse. And so many people act like I am crazy or don't know what I am talking about when I tell them when my due date is.

I had to go pay a bill today on the way home and this older man I have known all my life was there. He predicted that the baby would be born on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I'm making note of this so that I can remember who to be mad at if this happens. Those are the two days I most want the birth NOT to occur.

This one lady at co-op says "Hi" and the baby's name to my belly every time I pass her in the halls. I love to hear other people calling him by name. And anyone who asks Sweet T anything about the baby, he announces quite matter-of-factly that he has already named the baby and then tells them what the name is.

I am measuring a couple of weeks ahead of where I am at. So I have to go have another ultrasound in two weeks. I think this is where they'll just say that I have too much amniotic fluid like I did with Sweet T. I like the ultra sounds! I'll get to see my baby again. And I think it'll be 3D. That'll be so cool. I've never had that. Will I have to wear those Buddy Holly glasses to get the full effect?

I put a roast and a pile of veggies in the crock pot this morning. I love the crock pot. Mr. Crock or whoever it was that invented the crock pot was a genius! An absolute genius. How lovely is it to be able to put something on to cook and just leave the house or go to bed or whatever and when you go back to check, to find your meal cooked. Ma Ingalls did not have this luxury. It didn't seem like a big deal this morning, but all the way home I was thinking "Hooray for me!" for doing that.

Now I can just crash and be lazy this afternoon or do whatever I want. Supper is made. I bought some big strange loaf of bread on the way home to go with it. I think my parents are going to come over and eat with us (Mama had to work all week).

So we are going to chill this afternoon,
and have a nice, warm, hearty meal
when my parents and my hubby get here,
and then the kids are going to watch their new movie
and it'll just be a lovely Friday night.
I bought a cake at the grocery store
when I was picking up the bread.
It's a celebratory cake of sorts,
a congratulatory cake for Lloyd Dobbler.
He is changing jobs.
We are very excited about the change.

SLACKER ENJOYS WET AUTUMN

Here's how bad I am:

(and I hope this won't prevent you
from participating in future things)

Remember when we had Christmas In July
here at Ordinary Days?
Remember there was a little gift for one lucky Dear Reader?
Well, it just so happened that the lucky Dear Reader
whose name was drawn from the 1.5 names
entered in our little contest
was a real life friend of mine.
Somebody here local who I know and love.
It might have been better if it had been someone on the other side of the country because I might not have felt the freedom to be SUCH a slacker.
And a slacker I have been, Dear Reader.
I have been a total slacker.
The items making up that
dazzling prize package have been
sitting here by my computer
since that holiday weekend in July.
I kept thinking I would make a charming and beautiful package
out of it but it kept getting further and further down
the list of Things To Do.
So last week when I was at some store getting stuff
for Big E's birthday, I bought a big shiny red gift bag
for the items. So they have made it into a bag.
Not the charming and beautiful Martha Stewart-ish package
that I first visualized in my head
(I don't have my Aunt J's incredibly creative skill
for making packages charming and beautiful)
but it is a step in the right direction.

So what I am saying is this:
I have not in two and a half months
delivered the prize winning package
to the local Dear Reader who won it.
What can I say?
I'm a slacker.
I am without excuse.
I'm going to have to add to the gift
something like a year's supply of Rice A Roni
(the San Fransisco treat!)
or some of that Turtle Wax that game show contestants
are always getting as parting gifts.

There's a line in a song that says
"Like a game show contestant
with a parting gift,
I could not believe my eyes."
And that always makes me laugh.
That's a great line.

Yesterday my old friend came over for lunch. I don't mean that this was like a lady who was 102 years old. It was my friend from a long time ago. Not exactly childhood. That would be my other friend who has been my partner in crime since I started going to public school in fourth grade. This friend and I became acquainted with one another sometime in Junior High. Not middle school. I didn't go to middle school. I went to Junior High. I like that term a lot better. Middle school sounds so wimpy. The kids from a Junior High school could definitely beat up the kids from a middle school.

This old friend brought her two children. She has a boy that is four and a baby girl that is 15 months. Sweet T was so excited about having this little boy over. It was like he couldn't believe it was someone HIS size for a change. He would just lead him around the house, holding his hand and telling him things like he was a tour guide. He didn't think much of the baby girl. Last night he told my mother and Lloyd Dobbler in excited tones that "Matthew came over to my house to play and eat lunch and we had fun!!!" and then as an after thought he would say dryly, "He brought a girl who was a baby with him."

When he would talk to her, he sounded like someone trying to coax a cat to come to them. He always gets this very quiet, high pitched voice when he talks to anyone he considers a baby. Lovely K and Big E were around babies more when they were little. We had a play group then and there were people with babies. There were babies at church or in the family. Not tons of babies, but they were there. Enough so that they were not a novelty to them. Sweet T has really not been around any babies. And since I've been pregnant I notice that he is very interested in them. A couple of months ago we were somewhere shopping and these people had this cute little baby about three months old who was just cooing and smiling and doing the whole cuteness song and dance; Sweet T said that day "Let's get a baby like that."

I am getting to that point where I wonder what this baby will actually be like. He has been more active than I remember the other three ever being. I wonder if he'll be blond and blue eyed like the two boys we have or if he'll follow in his sisters footsteps and have brown hair and brown eyes. I wonder if he'll be a good baby like the other three have been or if I am due for a constant unsatisfiable CRYER (please, no!). I am wondering many things about him. Can't wait to meet him. And we're getting closer all the time. Just this morning I got some e-mail from Pampers saying "You're Seven Months Pregnant!!!" and I thought "I am?!?!?!"

I think I've told you this already,
but I am praying these two things:
that my water will break on it's own
and that I will not go past my due date.
And I am really really hoping that this child
will no decide to make an appearance on Christmas Eve
or Christmas Day.
I just always felt bad for people who had birthdays
on either of those two days.
So I hope he won't do that to me
...and to himself.

It's another rainy day here, gray and overcast.
I know some of you are going insane from the rain,
but I am loving it.
It's just so beautiful with the turning leaves in the background.
Makes things seem so cozy and snug inside.
And if you would be playing
peaceful, pleasant Christmas music
in the background, as I have been for a while now,
you wouldn't be going insane.
You would be mellow and happy.
So break out that Johnny Mathis Christmas CD.
Or Frank Sinatra.
Or Bing Crosby.
Make a cozy atmosphere.
Light a candle.
Make a pie.
Soak in the peacefulness of these quiet, cozy days.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Let's enjoy it.

Why did I even bring it up?

When I was thinking the other day that I would tell you
about what a terrible procrastinator I am,
why didn't I just think that little thought in my head
rather than mentioning it?
Why did I say
"I'm going to write about these things tomorrow..."
when I didn't have to?
Nobody made me say that.
It just came tumbling across the keyboard from my fingers
and I did nothing to stop it.
And guess what?
I didn't write about those things.
And guess what?
I'm not going to do it right now either.

Why?
Because I am a procrastinator.

But more about that later....

Here's the deal:
Lloyd Dobbler has been home from work
the last two days. It has actually been kind of nice
because while he wasn't feeling well,
he wasn't like deathly ill or anything.
So we have all been home together for
two slow and peaceful days
and it has been nice.
Do you know what Lloyd Dobbler did while he was home?
Yesterday while we were doing school,
he ironed a bunch of his clothes.
When I mentioned to you from time to time
that I was getting behind on the ironing,
I was not lying.
I was way behind.
And seeing him ironing this big chunk of the ironing pile
just thrilled my soul.
What a nice guy.
I should marry him.

We loaded up today and went to the far far away
Tiny Town where our chiropractor is.
Everybody but Lovely K went; she was at piano lessons.
Lloyd Dobbler insisted on playing this Edith Pilaf CD
on the ride down there.
It put me to sleep.

Okay, something else.
Remember how I was griping about my lack of patience
and how we'd been waiting and waiting for an answer
and how I wished we could just know either way.

Well, we got an answer. Actually tomorrow we will get the actual firm and final official answer. And it was the answer we were hoping for. I'm so glad. It's like a big relief. We have prayed so much about this whole situation. So how lovely to finally have an answer. How lovely to finally know which route this is taking. It's going to have a big effect on our lives.

My favorite quote overheard from my children lately:
Lovely K and Big E were talking about death
and people who have died and all that
(why? I don't know!).
Big E said he hoped he lived a long time. Lovely K said,
"I want to live to be as old as Vitamin E."
I don't even really know what that means.
It just made me laugh.


Okay....so I need to go get things wrapped up for tonight.
Lloyd Dobbler is going to run these
wild Indians of ours through the bathtub
and I need to get the kitchen cleaned up from supper.
And if I'm not already half asleep,
I will work on my cross-stitch a little more.
I have made progress on this project,
but it's going to take a lot of time.
And I am making it for a Christmas present.
I got up a little before six this morning
and worked on it for two hours.
But I need to work on it every chance I get.

I hope you are enjoying some peaceful days, Dear Reader.

What Do You Call the Bathroom?

"I really think you're groovy.
Let's go out to a movie."

If you make it that far on the juke box,
are you seriously not cranking up the Turtles singing
Elenore?

"Elenore,
gee, I think you're swell!
And you really do me well.
You're my pride and joy, etc."

Aren't you singing along?
How can anyone not like that song?
It's #4 right now.
Go to it now. Listen to it. Sing along.
Have a little fun. Live it up.

"Your looks intoxicate me
even though your folks hate me
there's no one like you, Elenore, really."

I have thought about using Elenore as a girl's name before. Lloyd Dobbler wasn't too thrilled about it. He wants to name a girl Millie after his grandmother. I don't see a Millie in my future. Actually, I don't really see another daughter in my future (though I would love to have another daughter, remember how I thought this baby was going to be a girl). I might have to have four more sons before I had another daughter. And I just don't see it happening.

"Don't see it happenin'."
I can remember when my best friend and I in high school would say that instead of just saying "no." Like somebody would ask you if you were going to the Key Club meeting and you'd say "don't see it happenin'." We would get hung up on phrases that were our own. Did you have your own little phrases for things? I had forgotten about that little phrase. I'm telling you, we were in our own little world.

I remembered another one the other day....."the joint."
And I'm thinking about putting that one back in circulation in my current vocabulary. Instead of saying we were going to the bathroom or the john or the potty or the ladies room or whatever in the world other name you might have for the room where the indoor plumbing is located, we would say we were going to "the joint."

I was thinking about making this
a term to be used by my family.

Have you ever seen the lovely old movie Cheaper By The Dozen with Clifton Web and Myrna Loy? This is the original movie (no Steve Martin) that actually follows the book by the same name. (I used that book for several book reports in my junior high years....that would make a great read aloud, now that I think about it...) Anyway, in that original Cheaper By the Dozen, they wouldn't say they needed to go to the bathroom or any other term. It was probably in bad taste to say that back then (and isn't it today too?). They would say that they needed to visit Mrs. Johnson. I think it was Mrs. Johnson, but if not, it was Mrs. Somebody---a lady's name. Like when they were on a road trip and before they got in the car again, the dad would say "If anybody needs to visit Mrs. Johnson, they'd better do it now before we get back on the road."
So in my family, we could instead say that if anybody needs to go to "the joint," they need to do it before we hit the road.
I find myself calling it the potty all the time. To my kids or to other adults....to everyone I guess, not that it's a big topic of conversation with me, but that's what I seem to call it these days. And sometimes I hear myself saying that and I wonder when I started saying it? That term. When did it seem like the most natural choice of words? I guess it comes from being the mother of small children. You know you are dealing with a mother when she calls a restroom "a potty." I doubt that fashion models in Paris call it that. So if you are not the mother of small children and you want to be perceived as one, start calling the bathroom "the potty." If you really want to be perceived as the mother of small children, drop a half-eaten sucker on the floor of your vehicle, put three match box cars and a juice box in your purse, and look tired.

What sort of image will I project if I start calling it "the joint" again?
Will I seem like a gangster?

Lloyd Dobbler didn't go to church tonight.
He has spent the day trying to use every single tissue I have in the house. I really think that is what he is trying to do. He asked earlier today how many boxes we have. I think he was trying to pace himself.
I hope he's not getting some crazy illness.
Everyone is so paranoid about sickness right now.
We just really don't need to have a round of some flu or virus or whatever run through the family. I would not enjoy that at all.

I was going to tell you about something I have been TERRIBLE about procrastinating about....but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. If I get around to it.
I want to tell you about that,
about The Lone Ranger Roberts, our missing cat,
and I want to tell you about the baby bedding.
So let's see if I get around to talking about all of that tomorrow.
I'll even have pictures of these things.
Oooh.....aren't you just on the edge of your seat now?
Try to contain yourself.
As the governor of California says,
I'll be back.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

Hello, Dear Reader. How are you enjoying your weekend? I am writing to you on a very quiet, peaceful Sunday afternoon. It's a beautiful fall day outside. My boys are playing in the yard. My daughter is reading her library book. Lloyd Dobbler is riding around the yard on his tractor. I was cross-stitching before I came up here to talk to you.


What a full weekend we had. I shed the funk that had me so moody and evil in my last post---aren't you glad? Friday was Big E's birthday. I can't believe that child is seven years old now. He is such a good, gentle, imaginative child. He was completely stoked about this birthday. I think he really thought he'd be ruling the world that day. He had said many times what he wanted to eat on his birthday. He wanted cinnamon rolls for breakfast, McDonald's Happy Meal for lunch, and pizza rolls for supper. This is my child who does NOT eat junk (e.g. he chose more green beans for dessert today over a doughnut). So I obliged him. He had to eat a banana with the cinnamon roll and some salad with the pizza rolls, but he got the full menu he wanted.


Friday was also a big day for Lovely K: she got braces that morning. I am not even going to tell you what that was like. Let's just say I am glad it is over. I had such a headache by the time we left. My soul. This child is a one of a kind, I tell you. There's no one else in the world like her. And orthodontic assistants around the world are thankful for that!


Lloyd Dobbler's parents came in Friday. It was really storming, tornado warnings and all that, during the evening. We had birthday cup cakes after supper and Big E opened his presents from his daddy and I. Then they all watched Monsters vs. Aliens and had pop corn.

Saturday one of our two soccer games got canceled due to overly soggy/muddy fields. It was Lovely K's game that got canceled. That was fine with us. She's not looking forward to playing soccer with her braces on. I don't think it's going to be an issue. She's never been hit in the face with a ball---but as soon as I say that, it'll happen the next time she's on the field. Maybe not. I hope not.

Saturday evening we had the family party for Big E's birthday. This has become our regular thing, to have a party with the grandparents and my two brothers and sister-in-law. We have supper and the birthday child opens his/her presents and we always play Pin the Tale on the Donkey. It has become our little tradition. Everyone plays and the birthday child tells us what order to go in. We have a lot of fun with it. We used to have the parties with everyone under the sun, including a room full of children. But these don't happen like they did when I was a child. Children just go crazy and parents don't care. I always dreaded present time becuase there was such a frenzy and half the time I didn't know who gave what to my child. It was just overwhelming. So we have had these nice little family parties. I let them have a friend party every now and then. If you are keeping score at home, you remember Lovely K had that "American Girl Mystery Party" on a Sunday afternoon in the spring. That went over well. She had a slumber party the year before that. I told Big E he can have a big party with friends next year.

Everything is going to be better next year, right?

I had a nice Sunday lunch planned today. I cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot, made dressing and gravy and sweet potatoes and green beans and rolls. This was planned before I knew my in-laws had to leave first thing this morning. So they missed out on the good meal. But it was nice to come home and just have us five and to have a nice quiet meal. Everyone was tired and acting like they are trying to come down with something. (They better not! I'm banning sickness from this house!) I had never cooked a turkey breast in the crock pot---and it was so easy and good. I'll have to add this to my reprotoir. My dressing definitely left something to be desired, but I didn't really put a lot of effort into it. I LOVE my mother's dressing at Thanksgiving and her giblet gravy (the gravy I made today was just regular gravy). And we'll actually be here for Thanksgiving at her house this year. I'm looking forward to that.

So that's my weekend wrap up. Nice peaceful week stretching out before me. I have to go to the doctor on Thursday and a friend is supposed to come over for lunch with her two very small children one day. Other than that, it's going to be an ordinary week----or so it seems to look at the calender. I'm glad. I want some ordinary. I want some peace and quiet, lack of interruptions, regular school days where I feel like we really accomplished things.

Think it will happen?

We shall see.

We don't want the funk. Don't wanna have the funk.

Searching for the appropriate tune for this moment in time,
I discovered who George Clinton is.
I had heard that name.
I may have thought that he was a relative
of Bill and Hillary, but I don't think that now.
I really wanted the part of the song that says
"We want the funk, gotta have the funk"
to pop up immediately for you,
but my only choice was a nearly six minute song
that I just couldn't bring myself to slide into the juke box.
I just couldn't do that to you.
I guess I only knew this song from like commercials
or where ever I have heard it.
I realize after listening to that
why I am not more familiar with George Clinton
and why I don't plan to be in the future.

But "the funk" that I am referring to today is the gray cloud settled above my head. Oh, believe me, I could launch into a big rant about why it's parked over my head in particular and all the mess that has come together to make this particular large and stinky funk.....but I am going to spare you from that just as I spared you from nearly six minutes of George Clinton.

I have to say this:
I have experienced more moodiness with this pregnancy than ever before. At the same time, I have had more STUPID STUFF to be moody about in recent months than every before.

And I was sitting here this morning thinking about this, about how we will say at church or various places that we need to pray for so-and-so because he is going through a difficult time. Here's what I was thinking of:
what is so-and-so doing while he's sitting there
in the midst of the difficult time?
Just waiting for it to be over?
Trying to change the situation?
Trying to make the best of things?
Twiddling his thumbs?

Or maybe is he still in his pajamas
and only give a half shot of attention
to the homeschooling that is supposed to be going on
and not even thinking about the lunch that is over due
and wondering how many
cokes there are left in the house?
Maybe he wishes
he could go get a Taco Bell taco salad
and a whole box of Little Debbie Nutty Buddies.
Maybe he wishes he could go back a couple of years in time
and change one decision that would change so very much
about where he is today.
Maybe he is just aggravated and tired and
wishing things would just happen.
Maybe he's tired of waiting for the ax to fall
and just wishes that it would happen already.

This doesn't mean that he's miserable
or unhappy
or unthankful
or bitter towards God.

He may be rejoicing in his heart
for all the many blessings he has
and at the same time feeling like
something has got to give.
It can't hang in the balance forever.
The next shoe has to fall eventually.

And maybe "he" is not so much a "he" at all,
but possibly a very pregnant SHE.

Which is a pronoun.
But you'd never know that by asking my daughter
who for some reason HATES grammar this year.
She never hated it before.
I am beginning to think it's the fault of Rod & Staff. This is the first year we have used their stuff and this is the first year she has hated grammar/language arts. It occurred to me today that I could change. Even though the horse is midstream, I could throw the Rod & Staff out of the saddle bag and order some stuff we have done in the past without malice.

I'm working up some malice for this ancient computer of ours even as I type. You have no idea how many times in the typing of this griping post that I have had to start over because this stupid computer just cuts out on me. Some message and it shuts off and you have to go find what you were doing and hope it wasn't lost. This is such a good thing to go along with a Funk.

Tomorrow is Big E's birthday and he is so wound up about it. I feel bad that he's not getting a party this year. Next year will have to be a big party year for him. I hope he won't feel like he's getting the shaft or anything.
Lovely K is getting her braces on tomorrow morning. I hope that goes well. And my in-laws are coming in tomorrow for the weekend. And my house isn't clean and there's a pile of ironing taller than Sweet T. And I have no idea what I am making for meals or even for Saturday night when the family comes over for Big E's birthday. I haven't made the cake and all I have is a cake mix and no idea.
Poor E.
He is getting the shaft, isn't he?
I just don't have the time or the energy or the means
to do anything more right now.

Today I was thinking how nice it would be
if I got up in the mornings
and took my kids to school
and didn't see them again
until the afternoon.
I could clean the house and buys groceries in peace.
I could keep things in a bit more order.
I wouldn't have a dining room
that looks like a school room.
I wouldn't have the weight of their education
sitting entirely on my shoulders.

But I know I would hate it.

It sounds like this simplistic wonderland
when The Funk is here.
I think of how other moms were saying
"let's go get coffee" or "let's go to lunch"
when the public schools started several weeks ago.
They were so excited for
the return of easier days for them.
That's the beginning of harder days for me.
And you other home school moms,
you know what I am talking about.
Doesn't the grass sometimes seem so green
on the other side of the fence?
We chose this lifestyle.
Nobody forces it on us.
And the reasons are valid, I assure you.
But do you ever wish you had that
"traditional American mom" role?
It's still there.
Other women are doing that.
At this very minute.
They took their kids
and dropped them off this morning
or maybe just watched them get on a bus
at the end of the driveway.
They are cleaning their bathrooms with no one calling their name
and they are running in and out of stores and businesses
by themselves
and they are checking the clock to see how much more time
they have before they have to go pick up their children.
They don't have to find a babysitter
every time they need to do something alone.
They can take a regular class at the gym in the mornings.
They can sit down and have quiet devotions
without interruptions.
They can make cupcakes for a class party
or go on the field trip to the pumpkin patch
or show up for PTA meetings
and seem like they are
just so very involved
in the educational process.
Sometimes I think that sounds like such a lovely life.
Not if I look at the whole picture,
but who wants to look at the whole picture when
The Funk is hanging over their head?

I said I was going to spare you my rant,
and then I didn't.
I said I would,
but I didn't .



In other news:
I finished a cross-stitch that will probably be
my sister-in-laws Christmas present. It's quite pretty
if I do have to say so myself.
I hadn't worked on linen in a long time.
And I started a new one last night.
And I am excited about it as well. It's also on linen. And it has about ninety seven thousand different colors so it's going to be slower going that the first one. But I am excited about it and that makes me dive into it and get it done. I worked on it a long time last night when I wasn't able to go to sleep. Got a good little chunk done.

I believe I will go have a coke.
And a smile.
Would you like to join me?