another day, another dollar

I had intended to have a nice post for all of you to read tonight {as I had intended for the last two weeks}, but here we are and this is what you've got.
Daddy A went skiing on a winter retreat with the youth this weekend, and I don't even know.  I am worn slap out here, folks.  The boys and I had quite the weekend.  I think it was overly ambitious of me to think that cleaning out P's room while Daddy A was gone was a good idea.  On top of that, C was afraid he would have bad dreams last night {and this boy is a master manipulator - there were actual tears involved in this statement} and he did not fall into a deep, regular sleep until three am this morning.  I think we all know who else was subsequently unable to fall asleep until three am.  That said, the three of us also had some great time together.  The boys chose to use some Christmas money to go to the movies and get snacks and we went Skylander hunting at Target with the last of C's birthday money.  I also got some new pajama shorts, since we were already out.  P told me several times that he "just wants to spend time" with me, and that warmed my heart.  I hope we both remember that in ten years when he starts asking me to drop him off two blocks away from wherever he wants to go and asks me not to say a word when it's my turn to pick him up from social outings with his friends.  :)
So tomorrow another work week begins, and I am looking literally as I type this at a pile of toys on top of the train table in the living room.  I don't mean to brag about my glamorous lifestyle, but I am going to finish this episode of Chopped - minus the commercials thanks to our VERY FANCY DVR - and head to bed.  If you're lucky, the rest of this week the blog will be more entertaining than it was tonight.

five

Dear C,
     Today you are five years old!  The last five years could not have gone by any faster if we were in a DeLorean traveling 88 miles per hour.  Where does the time go?
     Five years ago today, my heart was so full of love for you that I didn't think it could hold another bit.  But, just as it has with your older brother, my heart has grown to love you more every day as I watch you turn into your own unique person.
     Five seems like such a "big" birthday.  Maybe it’s because I know that in just seven short months, I’ll walk you into your Kindergarten classroom.  That walk down the hallway will be the next of many steps that will lead you into your own world.  I miss you with every step you take away from me, but I am simultaneously so proud of the boy you are becoming.  I know that you are more than ready for that next step.
     Daddy and I have prayed so many things for you since before you were born and, true to form, God has done more than we could have asked or imagined.  You are a light in this world, not just to us, but to everyone who meets you.
     And now  you are five.  Just like that.  Five.  You still love princesses and mermaids, despite your assertion that they are "girly things", and you also love Skylanders, books, art projects, playing with your friends and brother, making messes, and being noisy.  You are constantly pretending to be different characters - your favorite is a puppy named Rouskey - and you love dramatic play.  You sing all the time {a trait you inherited from me}, and your current "playlist" includes the soundtrack to Disney's Frozen.  You know the lyrics for the entire movie by heart!  You are funny, creative, smart, and you make wonderful company.  You test my patience and frustrate me and then within a minute you make me smile.  You have a beautiful mix of shyness and confidence, which I hope you keep forever.  You can appear ninja-like beside me in the middle of the night yet make the noise of several children during the day.
     You love to tease people.  Just last night when I tucked you into bed, I asked for one last four year old kiss.  You tried to lick me "like a puppy" instead.  {There's your creative spirit at work again!}  I asked for a kiss from you, not Rouskey, and you gave me a sweet kiss to remember forever.  After your prayers, you said {in the sweetest voice}, "Mama, can you give me one more four year old kiss?  Then tomorrow morning, I will give  you a FIVE year old kiss!"  How could I resist?  I leaned down for my kiss and you LICKED ME, and then you laughed and laughed!
     You are so excited to turn five!  We saw some friends at the movies today, and when we left the theater, you said, "This is the last time you will see me four years old.  Tomorrow at church I will be five!"  Your excitement is contagious - you are going to be an amazing five year old, C!  I can't wait to spend another year with you.
Love you forever,
     Mommy

a recap of my day

It's past an appropriate bedtime for me, but that's okay because we have a two hour delay for school tomorrow because it's cold outside.  Monday we went back to school from Christmas vacation with a three hour delay, and this morning we had a two hour delay.  You will not hear me complaining - well, I might complain about the cold, but not about the delay.  When I was in elementary school, we didn't start our school day until 9:00am, and I'm going to tell you right now that {in my humble opinion} my school system was on to something.  I do think we might all have trouble adjusting to a 7:15am start time, as evidenced by the fact that I went upstairs at 9:15 tonight to switch a load of laundry and P was laying in bed wide awake.  Oh well; we'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
I promised you a recap of my day in the title of this post, and I do my best to deliver on promises.  That said, this may get boring for some of you, and I apologize in advance.  We started off with a nice late wake up call {except for Daddy A, who had a men's breakfast this morning}.  In a very non-Paleo moment, I agreed to take P and C to breakfast at McDonald's if they were ready in time, so we had a lovely breakfast date.  I spent a few hours at school and then headed to my tutoring gig, and when I left there... my word!  I'm exhausted just thinking about the rest of the afternoon.  I picked P up from clubs, we went to the credit union, had a quick snack, and went to the end of C's dance class.  We left there and headed straight to Tae Kwon Do for both boys, and we just managed to skate in to class on time.  I had decided earlier in the week that I would use the time while the boys were in the same TKD class to hit the gym, so I drove over there, changed at the speed of light, and got in an extremely short workout.  But you know what they say, a short workout is better than no workout at all.  Actually, I don't know if they say that - or who "they" are - but they could.  It certainly sounds good.  At the close of my workout, I went back to TKD and picked up the boys.  I figured I could drive approximately 11.4 miles before my car would run out of gas, so it was off to the gas station for us, then home for a delicious dinner, cooked by my amazing husband.  We started eating at 6:30, and I hadn't even opened P's backpack yet to check out the homework situation... normally bedtime here is around 7:30.  So I think you can assume, gentle reader, that I was just about done in.  I don't mean to make my life sound glamorous, but after dinner and a math worksheet, the boys had a bath and then we read our bedtime stories around the table while the boys enjoyed some hot cocoa.  {I had promised that we would have hot cocoa at some point today, and as I mentioned above, I do my best to deliver on promises.}  Now the boys are asleep, and I hear the laundry calling my name, so I'm off to check the washing machine.  I hope to finish the night wrapped in a blanket on the couch watching the end of Cutthroat Kitchen.  And there you have it.

eavesdropping

I couldn't help but overhear this conversation between the boys, and I wanted to record it here in case my memory fails me in the years to come...

P:  Stop it!  Stop it, C!
C:  I'm sorry!  Don't go get Mommy, I'm sorry!  I said I'm sorry.
P:  Well, "sorry" isn't good enough, C.  And, apology accepted.
C:  Thank you.  I love you.
P:  I love you, too.  But stop it next time, okay?

This just cracked me up!  Their personalities really shine through in this exchange, and P is such a forgiving brother.  I was thinking about it later, and about how glad I am that we have a relationship with a heavenly father who never says, "Sorry isn't good enough".  I'm also glad that neither of my boys believes it isn't good enough, either.  I hope they stay close all of their lives!

today

Maybe some of you who have been reading along for a while {or who know me in person} will realize that I am a girl who loves a plan.  I really really really enjoy knowing what's coming down the pike.  Pretty consistently in my prayer life and Bible study I find that - once again - I need to trust God and not get so caught up in the future.  Now, I don't want to suggest that I'm going to throw caution to the wind because 1) I can't advocate that and 2) I don't want to have anyone thinking my blog has been hijacked.  :)  However, I am familiar with the practice of choosing "one word" for the year, and if I were choosing one for 2014, I think I would go with today.

We have had a relaxing Christmas break {which I think is a strange thing for a pastor's family to say, making it that much more special}, and I have spent lots of time really being with my kids and my husband.  We've read together, played board games, and had some nice talks ranging from the mundane to the more in depth conversations.  I have enjoyed our time together, and I have focused on the present rather than allowing myself to get caught up in thoughts about later.  There has been no inner monologue thinking, What if we can't do this next week because there's lots of homework? or I wonder if next Christmas will be this much fun.  Again, I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and forget about saving for college or planning for the future, but I am going to focus on today.  My hope is to rest in God and his promises, and celebrate each moment.

new beginnings

Well. This week has really gotten away from me. This year all of our company was leaving shortly after Christmas, and we weren't heading on any trips, and I had declared this The Year of the Organized Home. I was calling it TYOTOH for short. Except I really wasn't calling it either of those things, but that is what I was planning. And I'm sure you've all heard, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans". Thursday morning C went to the doctor, where we discovered that he'd earned himself a week on his nebulizer. By Friday night my throat was sore, and Monday morning I went to the doctor, where I discovered that I had strep throat and a sinus infection. I don't know if I haven't had more than one sickness hit me at once in a while or if it was some aging, but that really kicked my tail. All of that was a lot of words to say that I didn't really do any cleaning or organizing at the end of 2013.

Last night Daddy A and I ventured out to a party at the house of some food friends, and we had a great time, although I was a hair tired today {but not too tired to hit the gym in a resolution-ary kind of way}.

So, maybe this week will begin TYOTOH, or maybe it won't. Either way, I'm heading full speed into 2014 with more blessings than I can count, even if I spend all year trying. God is good!