Monday, August 31, 2009

A Tale of A Tail


While sitting in the car, waiting to leave our fabulous cabin in Maine, Birdie asked where her daddy was. I responded that Daddy had to use the potty before we left. She then asked if daddy sat down when he used the potty. Beanbag quickly responded with "Hims can't sit on the potty, hims has a tail."

Sunday, August 30, 2009

I Survived

I dropped my small daughter off at a building full of people that I have never met, with little more than a bag lunch and a few .art supplies. My heart and mind were completely confounded as she slid smoothly into the line of other small children, face forward, eyes intent. Her strides toward a building she had barely set her foot in, were strong and long, keeping in pace with all the others. She was all business. Her last words to me still hung in the air like a dense fog. Her words revealed more of her compassionate, kind, loving heart than I could stand. "Mommy, I'm going to bring home lots of pictures. I'm going to draw a picture of each kid in my class and I will tell you all of their names. They will be my friends, so I'll tell you who they are.....OK, Mommy. I'll have fun. I love you." Although, we had a busy day, my thoughts were with her and what she might be doing at any given moment. How was she being treated and how was she treating others? Was she being shy or bold? Was she going to be able to open her new thermos all by herself? And if not, would she be brave enough to ask for help? From 2-3:00 was one of the longest hours of my life. My husband and I piled into the car with Bean and Bunny. I tried to keep it cool, but ended up in an argument with the hubby when he jumped out of the car to get her and expected me to sit in the car and wait EVEN LONGER with our other girls while he just ran in. After a few short moments, he relented and opted to stand outside of the car with the camera poised. I stepped into the small cafeteria, my eyes scanned the crowd of children, parents and teachers hoping to catch a glimpse of Birdie talking with a new friend or staring back at me with wide eyes and a smile that couldn't fit her face. Instead, I had to lean around a group of adults who obviously knew each other and were having a fine time recollecting, to finally see her. There she sat on that cool metal bench that ran along the picnic style lunch tables, all by herself. She was looking at her shoes or her hands and she looked like the tiniest little child ever made. It took her a moment to see me and it was perfect. Her eyes were bright and smiling while her grin lit up the entire room. "It was a great day, Mama! Where are Daddy, Bean and Bunny? I want to show them my new bag." I survived, I survived all of it, and even more importantly, she thrived and can't wait until Monday.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Kindergarten


Today is Birdie's first day of Kindergarten and it's nothing but waterworks over here. She doesn't even seem to realize that I need for her to eat the breakfast I made. I also need her to let me help her get dressed. I guess I'm just supposed to sit back and smile at how self sufficient she is becoming, and take heart in the fact that she's ready to be away from her Mama for a long day at school. She's really living up to her nickname today, and my heart vacillates between feeling like it is being torn from my chest and swelling with intangible amounts of pride. God has to keep reminding me that she is His and He loves her even more than I do. Today, He promises to keep her safe and brave. I can't ask for more than that. The God of the Universe will be watching over her and keeping her safe and brave. He does this every day, but He also knows that I need the reassurance.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Maine

All packed, ready to roll. Vacation in Maine here we come!

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Gift of Marriage


Last night at my bible group, we were helping a sister walk through something,and I had the opportunity to share something that God had shown me a little while back. Until this year, my marriage has been really hard (not just for me, I'm sure). We both came in with a lot of baggage and attitude, which is not a good recipe for a healthy long lasting marriage. But, we did do one thing right. We asked God to be part of our marriage and a cord of three is not easily broken, especially if one of your cords is the Creator of the Universe. Both of us were very unhappy, but marriage was not designed to make you happy, it was designed to make you holy. Our whole purpose on Earth is to strive through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to be more like Jesus everyday. If being married doesn't teach you forgiveness, patience, long suffering, and self control; I'm pretty sure that nothing on Earth will. Some may think that having kids teaches you those things, but raising children is what tests them (my theory on why God wants us to be married before having children). Anyway, in a particularly hard time in our marriage God gave me a special gift of understanding. He helped me realize that of all the people on all the planet, I am the only one who is allowed to love my husband the way that Jesus would if He were here. It's a huge honor, because God loves my husband so much, He wanted to give him someone to love him like He would. And that's ME! I'm meant to be a gift and a blessing! I also realized that revoking that privilege would be detrimental to me, my husband, our marriage, and our family. It makes sense doesn't it? No matter how hard or yucky our marriage has been, if I ever saw my husband being hugged in a deeply loving and comforting way by someone else, or if he felt more comfortable sharing his thoughts and feelings with someone else; man, woman, or camel, I'd be devastated and deep down I would know that it was because I was not fulfilling my purpose as a gift from God to my husband. No one is allowed to love him like I do. Anyway, there it is, pulled from the archives to benefit some else. Oh wait, I think I really needed to know that again. Maybe instead of keeping it in the archives to pull out for others, I will start trying to keep that at the forefront of my mind, and just maybe my marriage will continue to prosper. Novel idea, let's go with that.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Today

Whose day am I going to let this be? Mine? or God's? My day will consist of my daily choeres like feeding and dressing everyone, as well as, cleaning the playroom and bedrooms, bringing Bunny to her doctor's appointment, dropping some stuff off to a friend, packing, somehow squeezing my last bible study homework page in, and to be finished off with a meeting with my bible group. God's day will consist of humor, beauty, joy, challenges, surprises, and maybe even a miracle or two. Whose day is it going to be? I'm looking forward to what God has planned for me, today. Oh, and tomorrow, I may even try it again.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fleas

I wish it weren't so. Just yesterday I found 2 fleas on our Lil Mo Cat. If this wasn't the week it is, this could have meant total devestation of our home. Since we moved in to our house 3 years ago, we have been battling fleas. The people who owned the house before us had quite a few animals and a houseful of flea infested carpeting. The first thing we did when we moved in was tear up that nasty carpet and put in hardwood floors. That should have solved our flea problem, right? Apparently not. Evidently, the fleas were so bad that they had been living in the insulation under the floor and ended up taking over our house. It was so bad that we bombed our house 3 times last summer. This summer has been so much better, there hadn't been a trace of fleas until yesterday. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the summer, Mo had an allergic reaction to the all natural flea repellant I put on her and she had to start taking antibiotics. I'm a little frightened to put Frontline on her, but I can't have her riddled with fleas either. Thankfully, we are going on vacation. Mo will be going to my father's and Chloe will be going to the kennel. I'm going to bathe them both and treat them with Frontline before I send them off and we will be bombing the house while we're gone. It's a bummer that this has come up again, but the timing is perfect. Thank you, God.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Color of Money


It is only too obvious that the color of America's currency is the same color people get when they are filled with envy...Green. Coincidence, I think not. The basic premise is that we all want what other people have, especially in the green department. I have to admit, there are days that I wish I had the money to buy an electric wheat grinder instead of using my hand grinder, but I think there is something to be said for the results of hard work. I didn't grow up with money and at times it was hard, but it makes you resourceful and innovative. When my husband and I began our lives journey together, we decided that we would rather be poor and raise our own children than be working our tails off to have a little extra coin and pay to have someone else raise our kids. That's what works for us, and I had a heads up that our financial life would be where it is. This blog entry is not going to be about how I want money, but more so a small complaint about those who have a little too much money. Why is it that those who have the least tend to give the most? I have quite a few people in my life who are not nearly as financially challenged as we are who hold on to their money as if it's all they have. These are the people who complain when the price of milk goes up and you know that extra 7 cents a week is far from destroying them. Now, I have been the beneficiary of quite a few things that my wealthier friends and family members no longer have a use for. We have literally only purchased 7 pieces of furniture for our whole house. Needless to say, thankful is an understatement. I'm just having a problem understanding how people who have money complain about it so much. Even more perplexing is that they would complain about it to someone in my financial situation. Instead of being green with jealousy or envy, I'm turning a little red with anger. I just want to scream out, "Well I doubt you cry when you pay your bills, or pray for a miracle so that your mortgage gets paid, or even hold off on buying shoes until you're sure that everything else has cleared! I don't care that you're upset about the extra 5 cents that gas went up since last week. I have to pay for that too!" I'm not usually this worked up about money, but I had a small incident this morning with a family member who fits this profile, and has asked me (that's right, me) for help so that he/she can save a little money ($1.50/month to be precise). Of course, I will help out in any way that I can. I just need to put on my rose colored glasses and flash my pearly whites. I am so thankful for this outlet to get my thoughts straight so that I don't confront others with my initial thoughts. Thank God for providing ways to change our hearts, even if it's for the love of money.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Social Butterfly


It's amazing what a little sunshine and fresh air will do. Even though my girls and I tend to flit around here and there quite often, it's usually also quite solo. We go places like the supermarket, the farmer's market, Uncle Brother's, doctor's appointments, to a friend's house, quick trips to the playground, visiting friends and family out of state, things like that, very rarely do we do anything with buddies. I have to admit the fact that my car can only fit my family is a bit of a hindrance, but not this weekend. This weekend was awesome! We started our weekend on Friday and I'm just waking up from it today. On Friday, we went to the local fair with a great friend and her two kiddos. This is the friend who introduced me to cloth diapers and got my fires burning about getting better acquainted with my sewing machine. This friend also makes her own bread and lives a frugal lifestyle in order to be a SAHM. This friend has also known me and been my friend for...let's just say over 10 years. This friend had a nice warm bar stool next to mine and can share the stories about me that I don't want my kids to hear. Unfortunately, this friend also live out of state and bopping by each others' houses is pretty much out of the question. This tends to be the trend with me. The people I feel closest to, aside from my bible group and my family, live the farthest away. I can't complain though. As soon as I see them again it's like we were never apart. We made plans to get together and check out a movie soon without kids! Anyway, we ended up staying at the fair for 8 hours! That's like a job! In all actuality, it wasn't. The kids were amazing and had a great time. Birdie was helping Bean on and off all the rides, they were holding hands and waiting patiently in lines. It was amazing. we then headed over to my sister and brother-in-laws new house. They had just bought it and we decided to stop by and show them some love and support on the big job of starting their married life without roommates finally. We also committed to being there on the actual moving in day to help out. On Saturday, we visited with some more old friends, this time it was on the hubby's side. His next door neighbor from childhood got back from his 5th?!?! tour in Iraq and has finally decided to settle down. We went to their house for a BBQ and ended up leaving with an invite to their rehearsal dinner next week! Yes, they're actually getting married on Friday night, so we were planning on coming back early from our Maine vacation, now we're just coming home a day earlier than that and Sug's heart is filled with love and appreciation for a friend he started to feel separated from. Yesterday, we visited some more friends, these friends are in the transition from party animals to parents. Daddy-to-be is over the moon about it and has been practicing his baby soothing techniques on our little Bunny. D-T-B actually met me at my car to talk all about the childbirth education class they had just finished on Saturday! This isn't all that odd as I have been attending births as a doula in training for over 7 years now (gosh, that's way too long, I've got to get that thing nailed down). In speaking with Mama-to-be, there seem to be some concerns (obviously) over which battles are worth fighting with the docs who want to schedule a c-section 2 weeks before she is even due, because she has gestational diabetes. Needless to say, I offered my services right there and then without even talking to Sug, come to find out at the same exact time, he had offered me up to D-T-B for the same thing. I now have a date to bring over some materials and answer any/all the questions they still have. Now, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I have at least 6 engagements on my calendar (although the baby's birth is written in pencil), not to mention that as soon as we get back from Maine, my friend from Germany will be here for a visit!! (see what I mean about long distance friendships) All of a sudden, I'm some sort of a social butterfly, and it's with a whole bunch of people I love and feel comfortable to be myself around. I don't know how it happened, but this one weekend set the stage for a whole lot of fun and fellowship and all I had to do was leave my house!

Friday, August 14, 2009

The Rubber Meets the Road


How exactly does one give their past over to God? I should know the answer to this as a majority of my past is His for the keeping. I understand that I have been forgiven and that my life experiences will be used to help others in some way. I know that He wants us to forgive, but not necessarily forget. He doesn't want us to be tortured by memories or guilt or shame. He wants us to be truly repentant and turn our lives over to Him so that He can make us more like Christ Jesus. He's in the business of changing broken lives around. My God is a testimony maker. That being said, why can't I give him my childhood? He's walked me through it over and over again and it gets easier and easier each time,until...He asks me to give it to Him. How can I let Him have THAT? I need to be afraid so that I can keep the same things from happening to my children. I need to be on guard at all times so that I don't suffer the same shocking fate as my mother. I need to be wary of people in order to protect my family and myself. Doesn't God understand that? How can He even think of taking that away? Fear, anger, resentment are all things He's healed me from in the past. Why can't I let this go? Jesus, my Lord and King, is asking for my garbage and junk so that He can make it beautiful. I know that He will, He's done it many times over. Why is this one so hard? How easy would it be for me to just blame Satan, but I'm the one holding the great neon sign that says "If you want to keep me paralyzed from prospering God's kingdom in any way, push THIS button" with an arrow pointing to the absurdly large flashing button that is my childhood. I know I can trust Him with this, so why don't I? How do I distinguish the Holy Spirit's prompting from my own personal blockade of fear? Well, if the fear is gone, there will be only one voice, that WOULD make it easier. I know that I will have to pry my fingers off this thing daily, but with His help it might not be so bad, right? I guess, with that thought, I'm beginning another mission from God. I know it's from Him because it's hard and I don't want to do it, but it will be life changing and epic. It will be one of the many places I can build an Ebenezer in my walk with Him, so maybe the next time He wants something from me it won't be as difficult as it is right now. Praise God for His Glory and Grace. For this moment my childhood is His and although my eyes are stinging and the tears are flowing, it feels good to be set free, if only for a short while. Thank you, God for showing me my junk. I can only get through this mission with you at the helm. Please lead and guide me along your path to complete freedom. Praise you.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Mommy Sex


Yes, I said it...Mommy Sex. In my life, the two words are complete contradictions, not because I wrestle with that Madonna/Whore thought process and the necessary mental jumps that tend to accompany that, but because I'm a mommy and I'm tired, and sex (if done properly) is a lot of work. My husband and I recently had a passive aggressive joking spat about our sex life. Now, as a Christian, I believe that after loving God with all my heart, mind, body, and soul; I need to love my husband and respect the bonds of marriage above all else. This includes sex on a regular basis. Unfortunately, being a Christian and believing something doesn't automatically make it happen. I have hundreds of excuses and some of them are quite valid: Bunny sleeps either in our bed (to nurse once or twice a night) or in the hanging crib next to our bed, Beanbag wakes up at least once during the night and needs to be snuggled back to sleep or she'll begin screaming at the top of her lungs waking everybody up which results in being awake for hours (not to mention hubby's temper tantrum from being woken up), and Birdie and Chloe have something against anyone sleeping any later than 6:45....the list is endless, but most of it revolves around the reality of sleep deprivation. The recent spat began after Sug thought it was a good idea to put the "moves" on me at 5AM. Although he thought he was awake because of his unbridled passion for me, it was actually because I was just climbing back into bed after putting a fully nursed Bunny down in her crib. I had already been up twice with Beaner, twice with Bunny, and neither of the big girls went to sleep until 11PM (Ridiculous). Needless to say, Sug's enthusiasm far exceeded mine. A few minutes into our little make out session, Beanbag wakes up screaming....again. I had to "go, go, before she wakes everyone else up!". Later that day, I was confronted with the jokingly said statement of "How can I make myself more attractive to you, I'm already the best looking guy I know. It would be nice to be surprised by you every once in a while." I can only assume that everyone knows exactly what Sug meant. So, in a very respectful way, I posed a challenge to my dear husband. He didn't have to stay awake with me, but he did have to wake up every time that I did through out 1 night. He accepted my challenge. Last night was a fairly slow night. The girls went to bed easily and on time, Bunny only woke up around 1 and again around 5:30, and Bean only woke up once around 3. I never saw my husband move until 5:30. I had assumed that he did not participate in the challenge, until I received my morning phone call. Sug usually calls at about 7:15 to check in for the morning, my call this morning did not arrive until 8. I answered the phone to the words "Alright, you win. I woke up every time you did, I couldn't stay awake and I'm exhausted today, already. I just want to go to sleep. You win." Now, don't think for one minute that I win by us not having sex. That would actually be the biggest lose/lose situation ever. I think that what I was trying to show my husband was that the way that I feel about him and my enthusiasm for him has literally been exhausted by my duties as "Mommy". Sug will keep trying, and maybe I'll even surprise him sometimes, but it's nice to know that he can appreciate where I'm coming from. Instead of being angry, confused, feeling unattractive, or unwanted; he can understand and sympathize with our reality at this season of our lives. There truly is a season for everything. I am grateful and humbled by the fact that my husband loves me enough to accept my challenge and has taken it to heart. We've come a long way in our marriage, and this could easily have been another hurdle. It could have easily become a source of confusion, pain, resentment, and distance. Instead, we were able to take practical steps to understand each other better and open the table for discussion. Hopefully, in a few more months, Mommy Sex won't be such a contradiction.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A Day to Myself

I had a day to myself yesterday. I had Bunny, of course, but Birdie and Bean were having a lovely day of their own with their Uncle Brother and his family at the beach. Uncle Brother got his name because he is the only boy in our family. So instead of calling him by his real name, my sisters and I just started to call him Brother and with the births of all of our children it evolved into Uncle Brother. I had so much planned for my day to myself. I had picked up a bunch of delicious cucumbers from my CSA and planned on making some pickles to bring with us on vacation for Bird's birthday. Didn't happen. I planned on being able to read a couple of chapters of "The Princess Bride". Didn't happen. I planned on cleaning the house from top to bottom. Didn't happen, I didn't even take the clothes out of the dryer from the night before! I planned on making 4 sock monkeys for Craft Hope. Didn't happen, although, I almost finished one, she needs 1 eye and a smile! I planned on doing my Bible study. That I did do and it set the tone for my whole day. It may have seemed like a wasted day to the untrained eye, but to me, it was perfect. I did my bible study and spent a huge majority of the rest of the day playing with and snuggling and kissing my Bunny. During the average day, she gets so overlooked by all of the vocalized needs of the big girls, the discipline and training that's going on, and the day to day stuff of life. Bunny is so mild mannered and goes with the flow so easily, that I rarely get to just spend hours upon hours lavishing love upon her like I did for my Bird and my Bean. So that's how I spent my day to myself. I learned more about my God and my baby girl. It was totally worth the sink full of dishes, the dog hair tumbleweed covered floor, and the still unopened cover of a beloved book.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Vacation

We're going on our first vacation alone as a whole family. Strange, right? We've been on quite a few vacations with other people. It tends to be quite cost effective and leaves very few dull moments. My husband and I have gone away a few times without the children, but never have we gone on vacation as a family. I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous. from my experience, vacations for moms are like final exams in college; nailing down the accommodations and finding care for the pets are the equivalent of homework (once they're done, it should be smooth sailing because you know what you're doing), packing is like crunch time studying (trying to cover every base "just in case" which usually makes you do a bunch of extra stuff that you will never need), and the trip itself is the final exam (where all your preparations are finally put to the test). Going on vacation is actually a lot of work for moms. I usually end up needing a vacation after my vacation. This year it may actually work out that way. As soon as we get home, we have a wedding, a night out with old friends, and then, the mother of all SAHM vacations....school! Both Birdie and Bean will be going to school this year. Preschool is more work than it's worth, but one of those 2 hour time frames is already dedicated to food shopping with just Bunny. That means no running around, no begging for stuff, and no fighting. Now that's what I call a vacation!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Picture Pages




I have been wanting to post pictures of the girls in their pillowcase dresses, but I decided to wait until I had finished making their Black Apple Dolls. If I dare say, neither are too bad for a first timer. Craft Hope just posted their new mission of sock monkeys. It is yet another project I have never made and actually never even considered making as I think they're kind of freaky looking. I'm excited to learn though.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Pointer Sisters


So, whenever something awesome happens the song "I'm so excited" by The Pointer Sisters blares in my head and most times even escapes from my lips. The song is usually accompanied by a little 'happy dance' and a great big smile. This is how I woke up this morning. Why? Because today is the day that I'm going to be heading over to a local farm to join their CSA. The farmer's wife (who is also a farmer) has agreed to let me join half way through the season!!! Not only will I be receiving organic veggies, but also free range eggs, beef, chicken, goat, turkey and pork. They are also in the process of building a new cheese making facility!!! Normally, this would not be something that I could afford, but for the past couple of months I have been setting aside a bit of money each week for a special gift for Birdie's birthday. I had wanted to adopt a child through World Vision with the same birthday as Bird so that she could have a pen pal, learn about a different culture, helping others, and caring for the needy. I still think this is a great idea, but Birdie's birthday is in a couple of weeks and we're a bit short in the $ department, not to mention that Birdie can only really write her name. I had decided to put World Vision off until next year, when the CSA opportunity presented itself. I will now have a whole year to set aside $ for WV and 12 weeks to set aside $ for the next session at the CSA. "I'm so excited, woo wee, and I just can't hide it, no no, I'm about to lose control and I think I like it, yeah yeah" I love when God just puts stuff like that all together in one fell swoop.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

God's Girls

I love my Bible study group. They are truly a blessing straight from heaven. When giving advice or guidance they rely heavily upon God's word and what He has taught them during their own lifetime or through someone that they love's trials. I also admire the fact that when they are wrong about something, they are humble enough to re-evaluate, apologize, and refer back to scripture. I am both humbled and honored to be learning from them and sharing our lives together. I can only hope that I am half the blessing to them in their lives as they have been to me in mine. My heartfelt prayer for each of my children is that God would provide them with a group of friends such as these. Friends who will hold each other accountable, guide and nourish spiritually, laugh heartily and mourn deeply. I pray that my children will have friends who reflect and resemble the love of God and the heart of Jesus. I also pray that my children and I will be this kind of friend to others.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Food For Thought

I feel as though God has slowly been trying to teach me the proper way to care for my body. It's been a long road, but I think I may finally be getting it. The road started in a way that may seem easy enough; I stopped dropping acid. That was in 1997 (I think). I then stopped all hard drugs and finally quit smoking pot, but only because it made me paranoid and tired, not because I wanted to take care of my body, necessarily. That was in 2005, and yes, I was a Christian and a mom at that point. During this time, I was also battling alcohol, by no choice of my own. I gave up smoking cigarettes and only indulged in the occasional glass of wine while I was pregnant with Bird. After I had Bird, I was a breastfeeding mama so I tried to bump up my occasional drink without going completely haywire, but I realized that I just couldn't. At this point, I began to realize that I had a problem. One drink easily turned into 7 or 8. I didn't really know how to deal with it. I stopped hanging out with my friends and eventually even talking to most of them. I put everything I had into my baby and completely isolated myself. I prayed a whole lot and came to a point that I would actually become physically ill if I drank even a few sips of a beer. When I was pregnant with Bean, I had gestational diabetes and learned that my life was being run by SUGAR! The reality of multiple daily insulin injections really woke me up to the warning that gestational diabetes may be a precursor for adult onset type 2 diabetes. I vowed to change the way I ate and thought about food. I went on Weight Watchers and learned how to eat smaller portions and well balanced meals, and I had my last drink on September 22, 2007. When I got pregnant with Bunny, I was probably in the best shape of my life (not my lowest weight). I felt strong and although I wasn't on WW anymore, I had continued to apply some really good exercise and eating habits. With bunny, I wanted to have a homebirth, but if I had GD again, I would be considered high risk and would not be considered for a homebirth by the only midwife in our area who attended homebirths. I was suddenly thrust into a battle against diabetes. During that time, I learned a lot about herbs and the benefits of grinding my own wheat. With God's blessing, I narrowly beat the diabetes and was blessed with an amazing homebirth. That was nearly 4 months ago. Two weeks ago, I looked questionably at Beanbag when she said she "needed" to have a lollipop at 9:30 in the morning and I suddenly realized that it wasn't about me. I had been focusing all of this new found food knowledge on healing myself while continuing to allow my husband and children to become addicted to sugar and other unhealthy foods. I'm not going to let my children become a statistic. My children will not be counted as one of the nearly 24 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in the US. After calling, once again upon my Lord, I was led to read "The Maker's Diet". In 2 days I was halfway through the book. I know that we will not be able to stick to all of this diet all the time, but I plan on adopting many of the guidelines in our home. Sug is not yet on board, so I may be buying 2 sets of groceries for a little while, but for a family who doesn't have much money, I'm sure that won't last long and the Doritos and cheese doodles will be taking the hit before the organic fruits and veggies. We have been blessed with our own little Garden of Eden by way of fruit trees and fertile land and I plan on making good use of both. I am so thankful that God has provided a way for my family to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and I look forward to amazing results.

Monday, August 3, 2009

The Luxury of Illness


I never thought being relegated to the couch with a bucket and a glass of water for what seemed like days on end was a luxury, until now. Mommies are not given the luxury of self focus during illness. How can we change this? I'll sign any petition, or vote for any law that would require that ONLY Mommy is allowed to be sick when she gets sick, and no one else is allowed to complain about feeling ill or ask her to participate in any day to day activities. I do believe that a 2 day limit would need to be set for this law as the temptation to curl up in bed, left alone to watch an overabundance of junk TV could be devastating to our economy and culture. I also think that daddies need to be sick first. Around these parts, if anybody besides Daddy gets sick first, Daddy freaks. All we hear about is what we were supposed to be doing or how his plans have been thwarted and he trys to get the sickie to carry on as if they are fine. But when Daddy gets sick first, he gets it. The girls are set up with activities, fed meals, and bathed while Mommy get regular hydration visits and respite from arguments and mayhem. Unfortunately, Beanbag, Bunny and I got sick this weekend. We still made it to the Farmer's Market, Babies R Us, Kohl's (to return some stuff), JC Penney (to buy some stuff to wear to a wedding), Trader Joe's and to a baby shower (sitting in the back of course). I will finally get the chance to sit completely still for a few hours today just in time to beat the tail end of this thing.

The phone just rang and it was Sug. He proceeds to tell me that he had to throw up right before he went to work today and that he was planning on doing absolutely nothing when he gets home. Part of me feels a little vindicated, but Daddy being sick is a whole other issue in and of itself.