Almost finishline 5QF

My boys have exactly one more week of school.

One week!

Then they're all mine.

And I'm all theirs.  (More on that in a future post)

Eeeeekkkkkk!

Anyway, because we're still running this race, hobbling toward the finish line...I'm going to keep this prelude brief and get right to the questions:



1. What is an acceptable age for girls to start dating?

Sigh.  I'm not sure about that one.  A year ago, my answer would have been totally different.  Now?  I've got a daughter.  I refuse to think about anything past potty training.

A lot of different people have a lot of different definations about dating.  Some think that it's ok for their 3/4 grade kids to "declare their dating status."  I think that's a bit premature.

Then, the Duggars think you don't really date until you choose your betrothed, then you court, then engagement and then the first kiss happens at the wedding.

I'm somewhere in the middle.  I would like my daughter to wait until there's a little maturity and self-esteem built before she dates.  But I learned a LOT about myself through some of my relationships- both the successful one and all the failures.  I'm not going to discourage her from dating a few people, but I will keep my eyes open and shoot down the skeevy ones.  (Which I hope she won't even give the time of day to....)

2. Do you think your kids should have summer homework?

I do have some supplemental workbooks that we do a page or two out of everyday.  The kid's teachers have told me that they can totally tell which kids fell prey to the "summer slide" and which ones didn't.  Those that didn't tend to be natural leaders starting the school year. 

Why wouldn't I take that 5-10 minutes a day and do that for my kiddos?

There's 23 hours and 50 minutes left everyday for FUN FUN FUN!!!

3. Would you prefer to live without AC or heat?

Neither.  Moving on.


4. What the worst thing about staying in a hotel? (Besides not being with your family)

Scratchy sheets.  I really dislike scratchy sheets.


5. So, do your kids really get "104 days of summer vacation"? (Bonus points for those of you that get this reference!)

Hello, Phineas and Ferb. 

I'm not sure, I haven't counted.  But I do have a friend who counts summer vacations.  There was one summer a few years ago that we just happened to have 110 days of summer (as opposed to our usual average of 98-103), and she GRIPED about that extra week the ENTIRE SUMMER.  I say, "BRING IT ON!!!"  Let's have fun.

Top ten things NO ONE told me about motherhood

Today is top ten tuesday...but you get a theme.


Because that's about all my brain can scrounge up for you right now.  And...well, lately I've felt like SOMEONE should have warned me about parenthood-isms....wouldn't have changed my mind...but you know, proper prior preperation prevents piss poor performance. 

Say that ten times fast.

1.  There would come a day that I'd be laying on a table in the middle of the room naked.  Totally naked.  With 5 people shining bright lights on my who-ha...and I wouldn't care one bit about the nakedness.

2.  You could be filled with so much love and angst and anger and frustration and pride all at the same time... like smashing unicorns, atom bombs, Rainbow Brite, and a j'hadist all in one small room and waiting for it to explode.  What an oxymoron of emotions.

3.  Brain.  What brain?  Yeah....that.  I can tell you that with every additional child, brain cells hide in teeny little forgotten corners of the brain.  And get eaten by dustbunnies.  They're gone.  Dead.  Meanwhile, I'm staring at the screen with eyes glazed over.

4.  Wearing spit up is not sexy...but that doesn't stop him. :)

5.  Sometimes all you need is a spoonfull of Nutella locked in the pantry for a quick pick-me-up.  Othertimes, you need some wine.  Occasionally, the entire bottle.  The good mommy friends will supply said bottle. (and bring one for themselves.  :)

6.  Yoga pants.  Wardrobe staple.  No judgement.

7.  May.  The month of May.  It's INSANE!  Worse that the Christmas season.  May is crazy.  Busy, crazy, insanity.  And the the last day of school comes, and you feel like someone slammed on the brakes so hard you have whip-lash.
8.  A mama protecting her young is instinctual and carnal.  Don't mess with the mamas.

9.  It is entirely possible to get 1.5 hours of sleep and still function the next day.  However, "function" may need an alternate defination.

Current Top ten

I'm kind of at a loss lately.  Too much going on at the same time, not a lot.  But, I'm contractionally obligated to post at least once a week.  And while I have a few seconds of multi-tasking prowess, I'll take advantage and post my top ten:

I am currently:

1.  Working.  Or supposed to be working.  Parents are here watching Baby L.  I'm actually on the phone as I type while this dude tries to figure out his own accounting methods. 

2.  Doing laundry.  Why yes, my 5 year old was sleeping so soundly, he pee'd in our bed this morning.  That's fabulous, don't you think?!?!?  Fortunately, it was on Dave's side.

3.  Drinking water.  I've been slacking on that the past few weeks.  Working on getting my intake back up.  Summer is coming.  I will be hydrated.

4.  Freezing.  The air conditioning is on.  Baby L. does NOT like heat.  She gets HORRIBLY cranky.  I'm in a cold basement anyway....but with the a/c it's FRIGID.

5.  Blogging.  Well, duh.

6.  Texting.  With three different people.  About this weekend's plans.  Praying I don't get the text recepients mixed up...that could be embarassing.  One of them is my man.  ;)

7.  Emailing with my boss.  More on that later. 

8.  Washing dishes.  Oh, the magic of the dishwasher.  Modern technology at its best.  If only it grew arms and put all the clean dishes away for me.

9.  Planning out our evening.  From the boys coming home from school to baseball practice, homework, dinner, cleaning the house, work, Dave's estimates...etc etc. etc.  Sometimes I'm amazed that we all end up in our respective beds at night.

10.  Formulating a shopping list.  Because I went to the store this morning without said list, and forgot more than half of it.  Sigh.

Crazy Busy 5QF

yo Yo YO!

I have about a bazillion blog posts swirling around in my head right now, but none of them are ready to be nailed down.


There's a LOT of changes going on in my crazy little world...

...I need to fill y'all in, but in the meantime I only have time for some questions:



1. Do you have a doppelgänger?

My friend, Erika, said she saw my doppelganger at the mall a few years ago.  She said it was uncanny- exactly me except for short DARK hair.  Since then, she's been trying to get me to color it REALLY dark and cut it short short short.

I'm going to pass on that.  :)

2. Do you keep your car cleaned up?

Nope.

I clean it thoroughly twice a year.  Spring and Fall.  It's really overdue, but with everything going on, it's going to have to wait a week or two.

Otherwise, I have a few rules in place for the kiddos to try to keep it from becoming a 'Hoarders' episode on wheels...but sometimes you just can't help it.

3. What is a current fashion that drives you crazy?

Jeggings.  I really dislike those.  They really don't look good on anybody.  Even toothpick models sometimes can't pull them off.  Not cute.  At all.  I don't even like the word, "jeggings."  Ugh.

How about those one piece outfits?  You know, for women?!?!?  tops and bottoms all in one?!?!?  Really????  Those went out in the 80's and need to stay out.  Dead. gone. ugh.  But...you know, if you want to totally disrobe to use the restroom, I guess that's your prerogative.

Otherwise, I really don't consider myself to be qualified for "fashion police."  I know that I like, and I'm not sure if it's current fashion or not, but I'm totally ok with that.  #individualityrocks

4. How often do you go grocery shopping?
Too often.  :)  I do one HUGE shop at Costco and one HUGE shop at Aldi at the beginning of every month.  This is for our staples and junk food.  (My man likes his chips).  Then I head to the local farmer's markets (whoot for summer!) and local stores for fresh produce and to fill in the holes on our menu- that I do once a week tops.

5. What has been the best surprise of your life?
This little gal right here:



Oh, how I love her.

5QF! Happy!

Happy Friday friends.

There's a lot to say, but ... well... it's a whole 'nother blog post.

So, I'll just do the Q's.  Mmmm 'k???



1. What's the one personal hygiene thing you will not do in front of your spouse?


There are a few things I have never...never ever done in front of Dave.  Apparently, I like to magically not have hair where I'm not supposed to have hair...because he's never seen me shave.  Anything ... legs included.

Nor has he ever seen me clip toe nails.

Or wax eye brows.

Really...anything to do with hair removal - he's never seen. 

Perhaps I'm afraid that he'll realize he married a hairy Sasquatch or somethin'


2. What's your favorite thing about a newborn?

You know what....I'm not really a newborn fan.  I remember feeling that with C...but Baby L really nailed that home for me.

The recovery from delivery, the endless sleepless nights, the feeling of being overwhelmed, the lack of breast milk, the worry about everyone's germs who comes in contact with her, the blow out diapers, the umbilical stump, the recovery, the recovery, the recovery....

Really, the only two things I remember fondly about that stage are:
1.  The little squeaks and moans they make
2. The fact that they grow out of the newborn phase.

Right now, Baby L is 6 months old.  (that's another whole blog post as well!), and at 4 1/2 ish months, the fun really began.  This is the fun part.  I'm lovin' it.

3. When is "too young" to have a Facebook account?

I'm not really sure...All I know is that A. is only 9.  And I KNOW 9 is too young for a facebook account.

But beyond that, and I'm at a loss.  I'll certainly be looking for guidance from other blogging parents with older kids.
4. What are your hoping for for Mother's Day?

Normally, D and the boys pick out a hanging flower basket for me.  This year, I asked them not to (since I always end up killing them within 6-8 weeks...and then never hear the end of it).  I asked for a bird feeder.  We had one that the boys made at Home Depot last year, and even though it was cheap and didn't last long, it was a lot of fun watching the birds outside our windows.

So, this year I asked for a bird feeder.

And suddenly, I feel so....middle aged.

Sigh.

5. What was the best field trip you ever took in school?

Hmmmm...I'm drawing a blank on this one!  I remember a lot of boring field trips...and the ones I was looking forward to (i.e. Great America with my 8th grade class) were cancelled for the year I would have been able to go.  I'm not sure why they cancelled those...but sad for me nonetheless.   Probably anything to a barn...those are pretty cool.  To see all the animals.  Anything with hands-on experience.  I really didn't like any museum trips.  Boring.

Tuesday People Psychology Edition

- I love our new small group.  The people in it are awesome, and the boys are adjusting very very well.  We're looking for one more couple to fit into this neat little mold we've got going.  Any takers? 

- I'm seeking some leaders for our MOPS group next year.  I never cease to be surprised by the variation in reactions when someone is asked to lead something.  Everyone's different.  Everyone is at a different stage in life.  Yet, I still find myself surprised by the polarized reactions.

- It's interesting how each group has a different dynamic.  Some are good balances.  Some have too many chiefs.  Some, too many indians.

- Change makes Lutherans break out in hives.  It's rather funny (sometimes).

- Trust.  It's something newborns are born with - they HAVE to trust someone to maintain their life.  But...somewhere along the way, we loose trust.  In others, in ourselves and in God.  Funny- the first two would logically be the first to be lost.  But I think the latter is the one we loose so quickly and are last to look toward.  I constantly need to remind myself to trust Him.  Sandy, God's got this.

And, with that, my sweet 6 month old is up from her nap.  I'm off to fill some empty cupboards.  :)

5QF- May edition!

Happy first Friday in May, peeps!

I'm excited for this weekend...lots of fun planned.

A friend of mine posted a status update a while ago...which got me thinking and calculating...so here's my update like hers:



I just realized that I only have 422 more weekends with A. until he's all grown up and graduated.



That's it...that's all I've got left.



And probably only 296 before he's too old to want to spend those weekends with dear old mom.



Makes me want to hug him all the more!

Ok...questions:



1. What is your next home improvement goal?

BWAHAHAHAAA!!!!  Next??? 

How about ever-present?!?!?!?

I'd LOVE to have flooring to cover the particle wood in our kitchen, main bath and third bedroom.

I'd LOVE to have trim on those same walls, paint...a shower up in that bathroom, and while we're at it, I'd add a vanity.  Flooring down the hallway...

Deck.

Driveway.

Underground sprinkling

Landscaping.

Yep...that should cover it.  :)


2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? No religious texts (ie Bible, Quran, Torah, etc, etc)...

Warning: soap box moment

You're only going to let me read ONE book for the rest of my life, and you're going to take away the Bible?!?!?

Seriously?!?!?

What is this, public school?!!?!?

End soap box moment

I'm going to be a rebel and go with the Bible.  If I can only read one book for the rest of my life, I need to make it count.


3. What is on top of your refrigerator?

Coupons, dust, and a MIGHTY stack of hospital bills...organized by a spreadsheet on top.

4. What are your favorite or most used phone apps?

Well, I don't have a smart phone, so there are no apps here.

If I did have one, I'd imagine that I'd use a gps thingy and My Fitness Pal.  Possibly Face Time to talk with our siblings and their kids.


5. What's the one thing you hate most about your spouses job?

My husband owns his own business.  He loves it, so I love it for him.  One thing that does get a tad frustrating is that he works VERY hard for his business.  VERY hard.  He's up at 4am every morning, home by 6pm...helps with bedtime and then goes to do paperwork until 11:30....sometimes people who call for him to do work and expect him to drop everything to do their job.  I really appreciate their work, but he could use a little more courtesy once in a while.