Future Master Gardener

For as long as I can remember I've had a "brown thumb". Plants shrivel up if I just look at them. As a wedding present (almost 10 years ago!) my mom gave me a "cutting" of a plant she had received for her wedding. I killed it within the first year of our marriage.

I hope that I've turned over a new leaf (bad pun intended), but even if I'm no good at this gardening thing I hope to pass down a love of nature and plants to our kids. So far, so good.

Sisters

Things I've learned...

I've learned...

...that toddlers do not make good concert-goers, but they do make good snugglers.

...that serving my family does not make me a slave, but a cherished servant.

...that my 8, 6, 4, and even 14-month old children behave better at concerts than 5th graders.

...that my husband doesn't have an 8-5 job, and neither do I for that matter so I guess we're even.

...that what one reads or views does have an impact, so why not fill our days with joy and encouragement instead of negativity and sarcasm.

...that children will do almost anything for a sticker.

...that spending time with my children helps to form them into people with whom I want to spend time with.

...that there usually is enough time in a day to do almost anything, it's just a matter of how that time is spent.

The End is Near

Well, hopefully not *the* end.

We have arrived to the end of the semester. Concerts, rehearsals, recitals, extra gigs, etc... I've learned to welcome this time of year instead of fight it. I learned the hard way that fighting it doesn't make a bit of difference, but it sure does make the whole family miserable.

We catch little glimpses of Brett here and there. He zips in and out, catches a few meals, and is home about the time I'm descending down the stairs after putting the last of our sweet blessings to bed. I tease him about having a pretty "cush" life. "Your life is pretty tough", I tell him. "You go off to work, piddle around on a few instruments, and come home in time to spend a little time with me before bed." In reality I know that it's this time of year that makes him go crazy. I'm so thankful that he loves his job, that he willingly walks out our door every morning to earn the beans for our family. I stay here, try to help the kids learn a thing or two, keep the house in some sort of order so we can live here peacefully, and then welcome Brett through sleepy eyes when he walks through our door.

Pretty soon this craziness will be over. I joke around about need "reuniting" counseling when the semester ends. We truly do have to find a new rhythm to our days. I pray that this time can be fruitful and peaceful amidst all the busyness.

She may be little

But she's fierce.

A Lovely Sun Daybook

For Today
April 15, 2010

Outside my window...the sun is shining. This morning it was foggy and wet and cold. Now it is sunny and brilliant! Love the sun! I truly did not appreciate the sun until we moved where we don't see the sun for months.

I am thinking...oh so many things. I'm thinking about how annoyed I am that the media misrepresents the Church that I dearly love, I'm thinking about how much I love that my children love one another, I'm thinking about the day I will get to see my husband for more than an hour, I'm thinking....well, just thinking about stuff.

I am thankful for...a great Easter spent with good friends and a great Bishop. Thankful for a 14- month-old redhead, despite the fact that she yells at me all day long. I'm thankful for my home (and looking forward to more "remodelling" projects). I'm thankful for that little chunk of money that gets thrown our way in the form of a tax refund!

From the learning room...We are finishing up the year. We could technically be done in a couple of weeks, but I'll probably drag some stuff on for a little while longer. Our general rule is that when Brett is in school, we do school. I'm proud of what we've accomplished this year. The schoolroom will hopefully be getting a makeover very soon. I'm not diggin' the baby getting into the Math manipulatives every.single.day.

From the kitchen...My kitchen is clean. It has provided nutritious and tasty meals all week (except for our Burger King lunch today...oops). Tonight we eat at the Newman Center which I love for many reasons.

I am wearing...A purplish long-sleeved shirt, a black skirt, leggings and some Halloween socks. And I'm hot! Temperature hot. This morning I was comfortable, now not so much.

I am creating...a sense of order in the form of new and improved chore charts. My oldest loves chore charts and we all love order. So, there you have it. We're on day four of our "super schedule" and it is indeed super. I had to come to the realization that just because I'm fairly "anti-schedule" when it comes to my babies, that a little more definite routine would benefit everyone. So, the baby just does what she does and we all follow our schedule. It's been a great week!

I am going...to stay put during the Summer of 2011. My dear husband thinks I'm exaggerating, but after looking at my summer this year I've decided that I'm not traveling anywhere next year. I'm super excited about where I'm going this year, don't get me wrong, but I would like to experience summer up in the North for more than two weeks.

I am reading..."In Conversation with God" (Eastertide!), "Soul of the Apostolate" and too many poorly written articles about the evil within the Church.

I am hoping and praying...for healthy babies for all of my dear friends who are expecting!

I am hearing...Gianna singing a song about finishing her lego-thing to the Indiana Jones theme, Aidan complaining about Veronica getting into his, er, her megablocks, and the warm wind blowing.

Around the house...This week has been flylady meets a homecshool mom of four. There are a lot of people in this house, all day long, and therefore it's never clean. Fact. However, that doesn't mean that it can't be presentable and generally picked up. Everyone has an area of the house they are responsible for and each person is responsible for that area. (Wow, just reread that...hmmmm, can I have a "duh" moment here!) We take 30 minutes every morning right after breakfast, before school and make sure our spots are clean. Then we begin our school day with a clear conscious and a clean house. Why I didn't think of this sooner I don't know.

One of my favorite things...the smell of sun streaming through our poorly sealed backdoor.

A few plans for the rest of the week...A lot of gigs, finishing up some schoolwork, ordering some more school stuff for next year, enjoying the outdoors as much as possible, a trip to the library, and working in the flower beds!

Catching up!

Last weekend was beautiful so we went to a local state park and enjoyed the outdoors.

We named this little guy "Mohawk". He was enjoying the weather as well.

This little dude wanted to breathe some fresh Spring air as well.

A family Easter picture. I meant to post about the Triduum, the lovely weather, and all the fun that surrounds this most holy time of the year, but....a picture is all you get!