A post totally unrelated to Resurrection Sunday

It is Easter Sunday and I am still in my jammies. Home with a puking Gwen and, to be entirely honest, not too sad to be missing the day's festivities. Having picked up more hours at work, along with the home schooling (and bill paying, and laundry, and dishes etc.), I am feeling a smidge overwhelmed. I welcome this day to stay home and do nothing, even if it means emptying the occasional puke bucket. Though I DO hope she bounces back quickly.

Once again, behind on my blog writing, I find it difficult to know where to begin. Much has happened these past few weeks. Our beautiful old barn burned down. I am still mourning that loss and dreading all the clean-up that is involved, if we could only find more time. I plan to write a post all about our big old barn one of these days, to help me work through my grief.....if grief is an emotion one can experience over the loss of a building.

One of our cats just had kittens. On Addie's 10th birthday, no less. It is such a miracle! I am amazed that Twix, not quite a year old herself, is such an incredibly selfless mother, constantly nursing and cleaning and cuddling......and purring the entire time! I could learn a thing or two from Twix about being content in my mothering. But then again, Twix isn't dealing with dramatic girls unable or unwilling to find matching dress shoes for church, unwilling to comb their snarly hair before putting it in a ponytail, or disputes over wardrobes. Ah, to be a momma cat!

The girls searched and searched before finding Twix and her new kittens in a hollow log in the woods.
We have since moved them all to the warmth and safety of our basement.

Cheetoh, Dorito, Sprinkles, Neo(politan), and Frito

Now, to find me a Cadbury egg.....

Something about Mary

I have an amazing friend named Mary. In my world, all people with the name of Mary are amazing.......sweet, generous, thoughtful, and just plain good. This Mary is no exception. She is an excellent listener, sparkling conversationalist, thoughtful and generous, (several of my all time favorite gifts were from her!) and she has the heart......oh, her heart.......what animal has a huge heart? The heart of an elephant?!? Hmmmmm. She is always giving.......her time and money......to her church, her charities, her friends, and the beggars on the streets of Vegas. By comparison, this girl's heart makes me feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas......at the beginning of the story! She is amazing!

Mary and her hubby Troy
last week in Vegas!

Another little something about Mary is that she is incredibly creative, crafty, artistic and disciplined. She may have snagged not one, but two book deals, is about to teach some crafty community education classes, and quite recently has started BLOGGING! Ever humble, when I mentioned that I would like to send all 5 of my readers in her direction, she begged me to leave out the part about the book deals and instead wanted me to tell you that she is DESPERATE to gain followers of her blog. So go! Check out my amazing friend Mary! She blogs frequently and get this......it is all useful, how-to info you can use yourself! Go! Follow! I am so proud to call this gal my friend!

I fall. I trip. I am hooked on phonics.

We were lucky enough to spend the better part of last week vacationing with wonderful friends in Las Vegas. Without kids. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) I will spare you the details, but there was a big fall. Not even a second after this photo was taken. And there was tripping. I swear there was something sticky on the casino floors. And on some of the airport floors as well. Poor Steve. I fear I was a bit of an embarrassment. But now I am back at home in rural Iowa. Where I belong.

And our sweet little Ella just graduated to the 2nd grade Hooked on Phonics curriculum!

on not being fun

Remember this post about Fun Daddy?
Welp, nothing has changed since I wrote it.
Steve is just as fun as ever.....
and I know the girls love him more than they love me.
At least in the way they understand the word love.
And I guess, if I have to be, I'm okay with that.
I know that everything would fall apart here
if it weren't for the rules and expectations and non-fun
that I bring to the table.
It's a classic case of good cop vs. bad cop.

Addie wrote a poem about my whole side of the family
for our get-together last weekend.
She just finished up verses about us,
her immediately family.
Notice, if you will, how FUN my whole family is......
and then there is me.....
who likes to have clean floors.
path.
etic.

Maybe I chose the wrong day to freak out about the peanut butter
and gatorade speckled chairs
that we JUST BROUGHT HOME
Tuesday night......after waiting months for them to be recovered.
I haven't even had a chance to scotchguard them yet.

Earlier this week Steve took Gwen to the high school basketball game.
Just the two of them.
He told me last night that they were running a bit late
so he had scooped her up in his arms and run with her into the building.
As he lowered her to the ground Gwen asked,
"Do you know who my favorite person in our family is, Daddy?"
Of course, it was him.
She then asked him who his favorite was.
She feels like she is Daddy's favorite.

You can be sure I am not about to throw out
our rules
or chores
or limits on TV and Wii playing.
I am not about to give them free access
to sugar
or chips
and paint supplies.

But maybe.....just maybe......
I should try harder.....
shake my booty a little harder.......
sing a little louder......
go down in the pitch dark basement with them when they ask,
pretending to care exactly HOW dark it really is........
to prove to myself
if not to them
that    I AM FUN!!!

eating my words

Dear Winter,

Looks like we have to say goodbye. 

I am not really sad about it,

but I will be excited to see you again...

when the time is right.

And if I start missing you before then,

I have these pictures

from one of your more attractive days

to remember you by.

So long,

Julie

munch. munch.

chew. chew.

swallow.

Winter is back with a vengeance.

But at least I got to experience 

Jason and Becca's fabulous backyard ice rink

and my mom's 

"way better than they used to make them back in the day"

ice skates.

Today, I am thankful that we are all alive.

Because 13 kids and a few adults on ice

with broomball and hockey sticks

and a puck

might be considered a pretty big gamble.

As is making the long drive home 

during the biggest blizzard of the season.

Dear Winter,

Looks like we have to say goodbye. 

I am not really sad about it,

but I will be excited to see you again...

when the time is right.

And if I start missing you before then,

I have these pictures

from one of your more attractive days

to remember you by.

So long,

Julie

Our day of love

It started with a demonstration
on the use of a Bible concordance.
Of course love was the word of the day.
The girls looked up a few of the familiar verses
in their own Bibles.
They each picked a favorite
or one short enough to be age appropriate
and turned it into a poster.
I even let them use paint
because it was a holiday, after all.

We did some school.
It was warm.
The girls played outside,
if making beds on the deck and cuddling
with the kitties in the sunshine constitutes playing.
They stripped off all their winter clothes
and went searching in the basement
for their "summer" shoes...
crocs and sandals.
It wasn't THAT warm.

I spray painted some old frames
out in the melting snow drifts.
I made a pound cake
without the butter....
I discovered today
when I went to warm up my coffee in the microwave.
Hello, bowl of butter.

There was an inappropriate facebook comment from Steeb.
I was not surprised.
He likes to be inappropriate in public venues.

I helped Josie make red jello for our special dinner.
We didn't give it enough time to set
but it still made for a pretty topping
for our butterless pound cake.

We each cleaned one room
so Daddy would be proud
and we could relax during the evening's festivities.
Addie set the table.....
removing a leaf for a more intimate meal.
There were candles
a tablecloth
valentine napkins
pretty china
and our very last bottle of 75% off sparkling cider.

There were love notes at each place
from Mommy
and the girls decided to wear their girliest pink dresses,
the chiffon kind,
not the Gap kind that I prefer.
Hair was still sort of in French braids from church,
something I was quite proud of.

Steve grilled burgers and brats
because it was so warm,
making me very anxious for the real spring
and all that goes with it to arrive.
Afterwards, the girls wanted to recite their love verses.

It got quite silly
and turned into a dance party.
The inappropriate kind.
They are their father's daughters.

Next were games on the Wii.
Have I mentioned we love our Wii?
Ella and I sneaked off to my cozy bed to cuddle and read.
There was talk of possibly piercing her ears
and she asked if I remembered when she was "2 or 3"
when I would pick up her pink blankie with my toes
and throw it over my shoulder
before carrying her upstairs for her nap.
Of course I remembered.
It was yesterday.

Gwen and her Daddy and the chubby cheeks she has become quite proud of.

Gwen, in all her rambunctiousness,
found us in our hide-out
and crawled way down under the covers
ripping apart my bed.
She pulled of my socks to give me a foot massage
but ended up trying to pick the fuzz from between my toes.

The Wii games ended.
Daddy came to find us
but we were fake sleeping
like we always are when he comes to find us.
Ella stayed "sleeping" even as Daddy threatened
her belly with zerberts
again and again and again
he counted down
breathing right on her without actually zerberting.
It was torture to watch.
But she stayed there
still as a rock with a little smile peeking
from behind her strategically placed
sleeping hands.

And THEN,
I got a homemade Valentine!!!!
Admittedly, it had taken him several attempts
to correctly cut out a heart.
The scraps he left on the table were proof.
But it was homemade.
And he was so proud of himself.
Like a kindergardener bringing home
a special gift for his mommy.
I melted.

Counting my blessings this Valentine's Day!

I found an old $10 frame for some of my new letter press art!

"self indulgent ramblings of a hopelessly flawed wannabe"

Remember when that used to be my blog sub-title?
I kinda miss it.
It was my license (a word I can NEVER spell correctly the first time) to ramble
on and on and on in my posts with no apologies because
hey, you were warned.

I think I'm gonna have to start using it again.

Starting now.

On baths: I just finished a glorious bath! After playing volleyball last night
certain muscles really needed a good hot soak.
And I can totally multi-task whilst drowning away my aches and pains.
Josie sits on our (freshly disinfected post-flu) toilet
and reads me her science and history lessons.
It's win-win.
But I remember, as a teenager, thinking that baths were the most disgusting thing ever!
How could a person get clean soaking in their own dirty water?!?
I thought.
On the rare occasion that I did take a bath,
I immediately followed it up with a shower to get clean from my bath.
CRAZY!
And I may have given my mom a hard time about her bath-taking.
I was such a loser.
Sorry, Mom!!!

On Jeannie's new and improved blog:  How can you improve something that is already perfect? I love this gal's blog....especially a recent post about having THE talk with her son, but my favorite little extra is her playlist that immediately sets a positive mellow mood for my day....songs with beautiful harmonies.....you have to take a listen. And maybe crank your computer up real loud so you can hear it while you soak in the tub:)

Today, I would like to take part in Jeannie's blog "challenge," for lack of a better word, to post photos of the people I love. I am no photographer....though I DO dream of becoming one. Nothing special (the photos, that is) but these are my girlies who I get more and more proud of every day. They are sweet, silly, creative dolls who make me smile. Most days. 

Gwen having a melt-down this morning because her booster seat was too cold.

These two STILL prefer to sleep in one twin bed together. I don't know how they do it.

These two like to crawl into our king sized bed for morning snuggles.
And that is a Gwen's new post-flu toothbrush which she slept with all night!
And notice the ponytail bands on Ella's wrist......
she is trying to be just like her mama:)

Addie, barely recovered from the flu bug herself, taking time to  read to a  puking Gwen.

Happy Weekend!!!!

a craft room

I'm going to have my very own craft room! Sure, it will be in the basement, with the piles of dead asian beetles and the occasional dead mouse.....but my very own craft room!!!!

Steve picked up some cupboards for free and if we can ever track down the right sized masonry drill bit, those babies will be hanging on the wall chalk full of all my goodies.

As I am looking forward to this project, I am realizing how much "stuff" I have stashed in different places around the house......tubs of scrapbook paper over there, a shelf full of glitter letters and ribbons over here, a drawer full of ephemera over there...... I'm starting to understand why he has been the one pushing for this craft room all along;) It will be so great to have all my stuff in one place......maybe it will be just the extra kick I need to actually follow thru on creating the things that inspire me. Also, my new room will be right next to our washer and dryer......maybe he is thinking that if I spend more time near the laundry, his shirts won't get so wrinkled;)

Either way, I am happy. I will probably rock my mud boots down there......you know.....mouse reasons. But I will have a place to call my own! And decorate how I want! Three cheers for the possibilities!!!

I didn't take a BEFORE before picture. Just imagine a dark corner of a dark basement with boxes of Christmas decorations and the poor books that haven't found homes on shelves yet. Here is an almost before picture.......after finally hanging the cabinets and hauling down a big old "on loan 'cuz someone might want it back someday" desk. It may be the nicest piece of furniture we "own."

Stay tuned for after photos!

Today.....

• I am thankful to be among the living after a horrible bout with the stomach flu.
• After losing 5 pounds to that nasty bug, I am eating waffles and Mountain Dew for breakfast. Oops. So much for that weight-loss jump start. But it tastes. so. good. Reminds me of my first meals eaten after giving birth. So hungry.
• my house looks like this......

• I almost broke down and cried after seeing the house like this, discovering that I have yet another sick kid, and then realizing I was out of Q-tips. It was the Q-tip that broke the proverbial camel's back. Have I mentioned how much I am addicted to Q-tips?
• I am thankful that Gwen is almost tall enough to puke in the sink. Not as appropriate as the toilet, but way more so than all over her bed.
• I will let Gwen believe that the words to the song she heard on the radio really were, "Take Me Home, Gwen Virginia...." She was so excited......I didn't have the heart to tell her......
• I am letting the girls watch a recorded episode of Wipeout. Before we do school. Scratch that. Everyone else is getting a snow day. I am going to take another sick day.

Not sure if I told the one about our cat sneaking in the house and peeing all over our couch while we were gone over New Years? We have been short on seating ever since.....which is why there is no furniture in the picture of our living room and yet we have three chairs crowded into the TV room. What do people without TVs do to survive an almost all family episode of the stomach flu?