Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Lost Presser Foot

As a child, I read a book about 5 young sisters and all the things they did together.  One chapter told about when their mother would hide pennies around the house and the girls were to dust until they found all the pennies.

Why am I writing about this you might ask?  Well, Izzy, has taken my presser foot for my sewing machine.  It is hidden somewhere in this house, but that 2 year old ain't talkin.  So, the last few days have been spent actually cleaning all the little nooks and crannies in this house, trying to find that stupid presser foot.

A small part of me wonders if his dad might have actually taken and hidden it to get me to deep clean this house....

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Haircut

You have heard that "charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting"...well, my charm is on the rocks right now because my beauty was hacked to pieces before my very eyes.

Yesterday,  I needed a haircut.  I went to someone new, and I got said haircut.  I told the girl, "It has been 2 months since my last cut, and I just want it trimmed."  She looked a bit confused, so I told her that I normally have a pixie cut in back, and then the front is longer and comes down to about my jaw.

She might as well have used the clippers on the back of my head.

Seriously, I have seen Marines with longer hair than what I have on the back half of my head. Soooo...if anyone needs me, please call.  I am in hiding for the next couple of weeks, and when I have to leave this house, it will be with a hat firmly in place. 

Oh, but here is the upside: I don't need to get a hair cut for months!

Upside or not, I am heading for the darkest corner of this house for a good cry.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Escape and Return

This last weekend I escaped the madness that is my life.  I had a whole 48 hours with other adult women...no kids, no men, and no dirty dishes, laundry or kitchen floors.

It was bliss.  I went to bed around 11ish, slept until I woke up on my own (all the way to 7:30am).  My food was provided  and I didn't have to cook or clean up.  I sat down and ate my breakfast, chatted with grown ups, and then listened to Suze talk to us all about the very topics which have been on my mind for months, if not years!  Then, lunch happened just like breakfast.  No work on my part.

Then, and this was my own favorite part, I spent the next 5 hours straight alone. I read a book that was thought provoking, not just 6 pages illustrating one fairly simple sentence.  My brain fairly tingled with the excitement of seeing all of those big, beautiful words lined up on the pages.

Ok, so this is my wonderful weekend of refreshment.  Today, my personal reality came crashing back into my new found serenity.  I woke up to 3 little voices telling me, in unison, that they were starving.  Aaaannnd....I was off.  Only one big spill at breakfast. Baths lasted a good half an hour and only one bottle of soap was emptied, however the shower to rinse off all the extra soap ended in tears after someone turned the hot water up when I turned to get towels out.  All was good until lunch.  Lunch was a terrific 45 minutes of me yelling, "Eat your lunch or go take a nap", while the kids screamed back that they didn't want these sandwiches today.  We were only 10 minutes late to school, which meant I got to go in and show off my unshaven legs, makeupless face, and the haircut that has caused me to rearrange my plans and stay home for the next few weeks.  We skype with my mom, while nursing the baby, attempting to put 2 kids down for naps, and eating my own lunch.  The next few hours are a hazy blur of wet pants, piles of rocks being brought in the house, catching my children as they jump without abandon into my arms, craft time, and finally supper.

The kids are now all tucked in bed.  I have to admit that this weekend was pretty amazing, and I would not trade that time for thinking and resting...but I am also pretty thrilled to be home with this house full of chaos and I would never trade this for anything.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

My God Will Supply All My Needs

 I married my college sweetheart just one week after we graduated.  Over the last 5 years, we added 4 beautiful babies to our family.  Our family has survived 2 layoffs, a miscarriage, my postpartum depression, a 600 mile move from Minnesota to Indiana, starting up new businesses, and hitting rock bottom financially.  

While things have been wild, we are learning a lot about what we need, what we want, and how to make do.  Creativity and thinking outside the box are becoming more our daily norm, and less a novelty.  I am determined to be grateful for what I have and how I have been blessed, rather than focusing on what I still want and how hard things are.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Minutes Under Water

When I was a child, I heard my father tell a joke when he was talking to anyone about how long he and my mother had been married.  He would say, "It has been 10 years, and it only feels like 10 minutes....under water."  This song, written and preformed by my talented husband John, refers to that joke and tells about our life together.  It is this same joke that gave me the name for this blog!