Changing Expectations

Dave is in Seattle earning credentials to put behind his name. We're talking REAL credentials. I can't remember the initials right now, but in his world they are a big deal and he has worked hard for them. Meanwhile, I'm at home earning my M.O.M. credentials. It's tougher than it looks and hasn't gone at all as planned.

Day 1 (Sunday) - I have BIG plans. I am going to exercise every day, study the scriptures every day for at least an hour, clear our flower beds of all weeds, design Christopher's adoption story book, print a blog book, deep clean the house...you get the picture. The kids and I go for a lovely spring walk in the evening. We are on track for a great week. Day 2 (Monday) - I wake up at 5:00 AM. Exercise for an hour and study/read for an hour. Yep, this is going to be cake. We make a treat, play, do homework, keep the house spotless and go to bed happy. Day 3 (Tuesday) - I wake up at 6:00 AM after getting up at least 4 times with various children during the night. It's snowing outside. Reality sets in. The house gets a little messy and we're all grateful for bed. All of my children have cried at least once today and they all want one-on-one mom time at the same time. I think I might cry before this is over.

Day 4 (Wednesday) - I wake up in time for a 5 minute work out and 10 minutes of study before everyone else wakes up. Everything falls apart. I have an emotional breakdown following a trip to Wal-Mart with all three kids to get a few groceries and some items for the Zebra Car. I call in the back up troupes around 6:30 PM, two babysitters to take care of the children while I go back to Wal-Mart to get the things we forgot. The house is a disaster. I cry.

Day 5 (Thursday) - I get kicked in the head by some little feet at 4:00 AM and decide that it is a good time to clean up the disaster from yesterday so I don't have to face it in the morning. One hour later I crawl back to bed. The kids wake me up at 7:00 AM. I do not exercise or study. I lock us out of the house at 10:00 in the morning. Our Real Estate agent bails me out with her supra key.

Day 6 (Friday) - I lower my expectations significantly.

Zebra Car

One cardboard box +
Two cans of white spray paint +
Two sheets of glittered foam board +
One large black foam board +
One bottle of black acrylic paint +
Three nylon paint brushes +
One box cutter +
lots of glue +
ONE VERY CREATIVE CHILD = ZEBRA CARZebra Car is headed to a "drive-in movie" at the elementary school tomorrow. The movie is a reward for the entire school reading 1 million minutes. Emma is so excited. She designed her car herself. All I did was the manual labor of spraying paint and manning the box cutters. Nate and his best friend Daxton took Zebra Car for a test drive while Emma was at school.
I wish I could fit into it.

My March Madness tournament bracket got destroyed today - completely destroyed thanks to Kansas and Villanova.
I am losing the family contest and have moved down a few notches into an unwinnable position in the friend contest. Madness, I tell you! Madness! That's what I love about this particular family tradition. It's anyone's game.
At least now I can sit back and unabashedly root for the underdogs. Go Northern Iowa!

Going Private Notice

Have you noticed lately that my blog posts have been a little less personal, fewer pictures?

I've decided it is time to go private.

Please leave a comment with your e-mail address if you would like to continue reading this blog.

P.S. I will not publish any comments that contain e-mails:).

Dear 10:00 AM Showing,

Thank you for not showing up early for your showing of our house this morning. I needed every second I could get. If you had shown up five minutes early, you would have found a pile of pennies on the family room floor and a glob of glitter glue on the carpet in my daughter's bedroom. My son took all the silver coins to feed the animals at Thanksgiving Point. Please forgive me if you step on a copper-colored coin. They blend in with the carpet downstairs.

As for the glitter, I hope you can overlook a few sparkles. Fortunately the carpet is blue and hides the colored glitter well.

You probably won't be a fan of my dark blue carpet. No one seems to be. I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm not really a fan of my carpet either until my children dump syrup or food coloring on it. It's upgraded carpet and really wears well if you want to know.

Just think of this house as the one with character if you happen to notice the pen marks on the newly painted walls or even worse, open the washing machine or dryer. I haven't made it to the store to buy magic erasers yet and I had to stash a few extra things in the laundry room on my way out. I hope you'll look past all the little things and want to make this your home.

Best wishes and good luck on your house hunt,
Me

P.S. I cleaned the house almost entirely one-handed this morning because my baby would rather be held than be put down...anywhere. Who can blame him really? I may have missed a crumb or two.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. I didn't even know such a day existed until my Brother-in-law showed up at our house with a flower for me and a flower for Emma. According to several news sources "International Women's Day 2010 marks the 100th such day in world history." How could I have not known about it all these years? Apparently, it isn't highly recognized in the United States even though it is a national holiday in countries like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria. (I'm an expert now thanks to the internet). What a cool holiday! Unlike Mother's Day and Valentine's Day that can be a day of sadness for some women, International Women's Day celebrates ALL women. Cool, huh?

So, to all the lovely, talented, inspirational women out there that I get to call mother, sister, grandma, aunt, cousin, friend, neighbor etc. HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2010!

Gotta Be March

I called to schedule a doctor's appointment and referred to March as next month. The lady on the other end corrected me and rightly so. "You mean this month."

On Tuesday, we took our hot dogs and juice boxes out on the deck for a most enjoyable Spring picnic.
On Friday we dug out our winter gear that we put away for the year on Tuesday and bundled up to make a snowman in our front yard with Grandpa.Yep, it looks like March.