Momma needs a hot bath

Anna loves listening to the Jim Gill Pandora.com station.

As she was listening to it this morning I happened to walk in while this song was playing.

I stopped in my tracks when I heard coming from the radio station "momma needs a hot bath, every evening........ and a glass of red wine too. If she is ever going to keep up with you."

yep, it is true.  I need a hot bath and a glass of red wine to keep up with these kids.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table with fresh produce.  The windows are open, letting the sound of a lawn mower into the house.

This morning David dropped off some fresh produce from his garden. We call him our produce fairy. You never know when a knock on the door will be followed by some spinach, or asparagus, or squash, or WATER MELON.

This morning the knock came before I had gotten a chance to take a shower.

Taking a shower while watching a small child is often times just not worth it in the end.

I answered the door in my jammies, house coat and wicked looking hair; holding the dog.  Standing beside me was a naked 3 year old. Well, she wasn't completely naked; she was in her underwear; her dora the explorer underwear.

Our grass is super tall.  I am talking TALL.  I stood in the front yard last night; the grass came to my shin. Our lawn mower has been broken all winter but we just recently took it to the machine shop. You can blame my husband for that. Although, I don't blame him.  He broke it last fall when he ran over the tree stump that I warned him of.

This is why I mow the grass people.

David, while standing on our back stoop, pointed to our grass. "It's a little long isn't it?"  A bit embarrassed, I explained the lawn mower situation.  We laughed about it. I tried not to laugh too hard because like a said above, I hadn't taken a shower yet which means I hadn't even brushed my teeth.

After I shut the door I made a mad dash to the shower.  Anna yelling and screaming behind me.  "Anna stop it. Seriously, I have to take a shower."   She got her little stool and sat outside of the curtain talking to me as I lathered up.

Shortly after I finished throwing clothes on, my new friend Summer knocked on the door.

Let me tell you about Summer; she is a God send.  The past couple of mornings we have spent sipping coffee and talking about life.  She doesn't have to be at work until after lunch; she works 2nd shift.  In the mornings she comes into town to do Taekwondo. After her lessons she has been stopping by for some coffee and a quick chit chat.  She's one of those people that I feel I have known my whole life and have no clue what I have done without her!

This morning Summer stopped by to pick up some books.  As we were doing the exchange I looked out the window to see David unloading a lawn mower from his truck.  Roger happened to be home grabbing a few things and stepped out the front door.  "David is the lawn that bad. Is word getting around town that the minister's yard hasn't been mowed?"    They both had a quick laugh.  Then David started up the lawn mower and began mowing our grass.  "You could just leave the mower and I'll do it."  But David insisted on mowing our grass.

I walked back in the house a tad bit embarrassed. I stood in the kitchen and laughed.  

I love having this community of people that we are surrounded by; people randomly show up at our back stoop to drop off fresh produce; people sitting at our kitchen table and sharing their soul; people knocking on our front door at all hours because they were driving by and wanted to say hi.

I am so grateful for this church family!     I sometimes feel like I am in a southern movie and that feels nice.

I was just emailed the schedule of classes for Seminary.

I can't believe I am actually sitting here planning out my fall semester.

It feels so surreal.

I can't believe it is here; my turn to go to back to school; my turn to get my M.Div.

As I am sitting here looking at the class schedule, realizing I am going to be taking class from 9 in the morning until 9 at night, I am feeling a tad bit of anxiety.

Am I capable?

How will our family dynamic change?

I haven't been in full time school for 5 years.

Can you believe I graduated college 5 years ago?

I've been a full time stay at home mom for 4 of those years.

I guess now is as good a time as any to step back into the world of higher education.

i can't believe my youngest starts preschool in the Fall.

oh my gosh my oldest will be in 1st grade.

I am near tears I am so exhausted.

It's my own fault I guess.  

Roger and I stayed up late last night talking. 

He had to leave for class at 6am while I got the kids ready for school.  

(man oh man trying to get Anna in the car in the morning is CRAZY)

He wont be back until about 11pm.  

The kids have screamed at me all day.  

Well, Paul didn't scream at me between the hours of 8 and 3pm but as soon as he got in the car at the pick up line the screaming started.  

They are both really tired. 

 It has been pure hell trying to get them to bed lately.  Hence the reason why they are both exhausted.

When we got home he started complaining about his big toe hurting him.

Come to find that his shoes are too small.

Off we went to the Mall to buy him some shoes.

Yes, that took FOREVER because Anna HAD to buy some summer shoes as well and I was just too tired to fight with her. Then they both insisted that they play in the play area and REFUSED to leave when it was time to go.

When I put dinner on the table they both refused to eat.  Both agreeing that they HATE spaghetti.

"Since when do you HATE spaghetti?"

Bath time was an adventure.  It always is!

Anna took a shower in my bathroom while Paul bathed in the kids bathroom.

I was running back and forth between the two.

My legs are burning, my arms are aching and my head is pounding. 

Those dirty dishes in the sink are just going to have to wait until tomorrow morning.

  Anna is currently flipping out with no sign of calming down.  I've gone into the room several times trying to soothe her.  I've done everything but climb into the bed with her.  I really NEED for her to go to sleep.  I need some time to myself.  Hell, I will probably go to sleep as soon as she falls asleep.  I am so tired I feel like my heart is about to stop beating.  

Yes, I know, it's my fault for staying up until 1am talking and flirting with my husband. 

I forgot that Paul had homework until I asked him to brush his teeth for bed.

I managed to tune out the screaming Anna long enough to help Paul with his homework.

I enjoy having that time with him.

I enjoy it more when it isn't past his bedtime and Anna isn't screaming and tugging at me.

Well Folks, I know this blog post is random and depressing and has probably left you exhausted and I am sorry.

I just had to find some sort of way to cope with being completely alone with two children, one in which is currently flipping out.

I know that this crazy hectic period in our lives will not last for much longer. That helps me get through days and evenings like this.

Roger graduates in less than 2 months (I hope!).  Then things will be a bit easier. 

My days will still remain a little nuts with a 4 year old and 6 year old all day but at least I will have a husband in the afternoons again!  

That's the thing that is the hardest; when 5 o'clock rolls around and I realize that no one is coming home to help. 

I start feeling a bit helpless.  

I become tempted to scream out my window for our next door neighbors to gather their things and help me feed and bathe these two children and put them to bed. 

(hold on a second the door bell just rang)

HA HA HA  I just answered the door and this little high school boy was there.

Not any older than 15.

The first thing he said was "can I speak to the owner of the house."

when I told him I was the owner he didn't believe me.

"you look so young." he said.

I didn't buy what he was selling.

Now Anna is awake AGAIN.

Dang that door bell.

What in the world is a kid doing out at 9pm selling stuff?

Things seem to have calmed down a bit with the mad 3 year old.

The house is quiet. I can hear the train's whistle outside.

I might cuddle up in bed and watch Good Morning America on hulu.

When I do that in the evening I call it  Good Afternoon America.

Saying that cracks me up.

I laugh out loud at myself all of the time.

Roger thinks that is weird.

The weather has been so lovely lately.

I love waking up in the morning to the sounds of birds and the cool spring air.

First thing in the morning I fling open the kitchen windows.

Yesterday Anna got all of her play things out of the garage. I filled up a bucket full of soapy water and handed her a wash cloth. Her imagination went wild. She "cleaned" all of her toys. 

Three is such a magical age.

The world, to a three year old, is full of exciting adventures. 

Each day brings something new to discover.

The simple tasks of life, to a three year old, are extraordinary.

I love this age.

I loved it with Paul and I love it with Anna.

I feel that I am given that rare opportunity to redo my childhood.

When you have a little one the world becomes magical again. 

Paul, at 6 years of age, is slowly slipping out of that magical stage of life and into the knowledge seeking stage. 

On most days he tends to look at the world through two different eyes: imaginative and scientific.

Yesterday morning we barely got him to school on time because he kept talking about the differences between the oceans. 

The differences between them "fascinate" him.

The vastness of the solar system leaves him "perplexed."

He insists that I read him nonfiction books about important people, interesting creatures, the world and man made machines.

Each month he chomps at the bit waiting for his kids national geographic to come in the mail. 

Tuesday night after I prayed over our food he said, "Mom, why did you thank God for placing this food before us?  God didn't place this food in front of me. You did. You prepared it and put it in front of us."  When I tried to explain how God provided the food for us, he said, "But how did God DO that?"  Paul then went on to state facts about how, scientifically and agriculturally, the food was brought to our table. "Then you and Anna went to the store bought it, brought it home and cooked it."

I sat speechless, amazed at his wealth of knowledge at 6 years of age. 

I then suggested that we wait until Daddy got home to explain it to us both.

Surely Roger would be able to explain how God provides for us to our 6 year old son.

He is in fact the preacher.

I am merely the simple minded housewife who attempts, and fails, at theological discussions with her 6 year old. 

As I sat back in the lawn chair yesterday watching our 3 year old daughter using her vivid imagination, I felt very grateful.   Grateful that I have been able to be the simple little house wife that spends her days raising her young ones. 

I am grateful for this time in our lives. 

It really does go by so fast.

They grow and then they're gone; leaving an empty house full of precious memories. 

Our Journey to the Pritchard Community Baby Shower

A few months ago our Teen MOPS program was invited to be a vender at a community wide baby shower that was to be held at the Pritchard Community Center.

We were so excited for this wonderful opportunity to meet and greet other young mothers in the community and to spread the word about our new group! 

Last night Roger, the husband that I could NOT live without, stayed up into the wee hours helping me prepare a promotional display for our booth.

In appreciation for all of his hard work I played a little prank on him!

I snuck into the bathroom and did this before he walked in to brush his teeth for the evening, or shall we say morning since it technically was.

When he exclaimed "WHAT IN THE WORLD," I ran into the bathroom and said "Well, I'll be. It looks as if a little leprechaun has snuck into our house and taken a pee in our toilet.  My goodness."

This morning (Tuesday March 20th) was the community baby shower.

Two of our Teen MOPS members, along with their adorable little men, showed up to help promote our group!   They helped us fold pamphlets, set out books to give away as gifts and got all the diapers ready to hand out.  And of course, they helped invited people to join us for our super cool meetings by exclaiming how much fun we have! 

The community baby shower was a wonderful success.

Over 70 people showed up!

The doors opened at 10:30am. 

 As each person came in they were lead through the different promotional booths and given a "dollar" for each booth that they stopped at. The "dollar" was to be used at the "store" at the end of the shower.

 At noon lunch was prepared and guest speakers gave presentations.  

Once the presentations were over "the store" was opened up for the young mothers to go shopping with their "dollars."  

There were so many nice things to choose from.  

I am humbled by this community here in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

They are such a giving community.  It feels so nice to be able to be a small part of that!

We had over 26 girls sign up for more information about our group!!

All I can do right now is SMILE.

I'm so happy that things seem to be falling into place with our Teen MOPS program.

Several organizations around town have either offered to be a guest speaker at one of our Teen MOPS meetings or have asked us to come to their organization as a guest speaker. 

We are slowly but surely spreading the word!

It feels wonderful to be surrounded by such a loving network.

I am having a BLAST meeting all of these young mothers and forming lasting friendships.

Layla's 21st Birthday

My sister-in-law, Layla turned 21 this past week.

I wanted to make her something special.

Something that she will be able to actually use in the years to come.

During a quick trip to the Peddlers Mall I found this awesome old suit case

It was in perfect condition.

I found some fabric on sale at the local fabric store.....

.... and picked up some decoupage and sponges at the craft store.

Then I got to work decoupaging the fabric onto the suit case.

I was so happy with the finished product!

That old olive green suit case was transformed into such an adorable travel companion.

I think it fits Layla's thrifty personality.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY LAYLA!!!