Week (and month) in Review

Bullet-points, or I'll not get it all in...
This last week has been BUSY...

• Thanksgiving, November 24
• Heather's birthday November 25
• Drive back to VA from SC on Saturday, November 26
• Church on Sunday
• Put the "not-boyfriend", 2 little girls, 1 neighbor girl, and the 14-year-old to work raking leaves...4 bags out to the street.
• Kids back to school on Monday
• Jason and Laura raked 10 more bags of leaves out of the back yard.
• Laura finishing final projects on Monday
• Monday also included kids to venturing, one kid to PT, and Jason to a birthday party.
• Laura back to school Tuesday (ALL day)
• Tuesday the dogs got out and wandered the neighborhood for 4 hours...lots of worry and tears...
• Wednesday was a work-day, and shopping at the exchange.
• One kid to PT on Wednesday.
• Thursday was a work-day, and a relatively quiet evening at home.

November also included:

• Jason completed his year in Bahrain and arrived home on November 5th.
• Frances got her class ring stuck on her finger, and had to have it cut off. 
• I had to get two tires replaced on our 2008 van.
• We traded in our 2008 van for a 2012 van...2 weeks after the tire change.
• We all survived another month of school.
• We got the new Christmas tree set up...but no decorations on it...still need to find the box of ornaments.  

I know it's not November any more...we're going to a Christmas party tonight!!  And two kids are going to a Leadership seminary.  And Jason is running a 10-mile race tomorrow.  Whatever happened to calm and quiet weekends?!?

We're having SO much fun!!! (REALLY, we ARE!)

Life is hectic.  Always.
We have too much on our plates - nothing new.
The kids are involved in a lot.
Dad isn't home...
...so mom gets to play several roles at once...
...not news.

Things are getting ready to get a LOT busier. 
Today was Justin's school picnic for the new middle school he'll be attending in the fall.
It was HOT.
Four of the kids went with me, and we were all miserable.
Justin got to meet a bunch of kids that he will be starting school with in 35 days.

This next weekend involves back-to-school shopping
(along with the whole rest of the state, since it is tax-free weekend).
I hate Hate HATE shopping...
...especially when there are thousands of other people bent on doing the same thing.
Should be fun.

Next week sees the beginning of band camp.
For two kids.
At two different high schools.
Competing high schools.
Should be a blast...that lasts for 2 whole weeks.

Then, during the second week of the above band camps,
the other four kids will be at Operation Purple camp.
All week.
They should have a BLAST!!
(and mom's a little jealous!)

THEN, after driving back up to pick kids up from camp,
MY classes start the following Tuesday.
I am SO looking forward to that. 
It probably won't be a ton of fun,
but I AM looking forward to getting back into the books.

Finally, two weeks later, my kids head back to school. 

Yes, we are having fun...
...we are enjoying the last 35 days until school starts.
Kids are swimming.
Mom is working.
Kids are spending time with friends.
Mom is cleaning.
Kids are watching TV and sleeping in.
Mom is making shopping lists.
...and playing computer games...
...and sleeping later than I'll be able to soon...
...and spending time playing virtual Scrabble games with dad....
...and having lunch with friends...
...and blogging.

R&R =/= REST or Relaxation (yet)

Jason got home for his R&R last Tuesday...he's been here *just* over a week now, and we have yet to slow down. 

Tuesday afternoon we went to the airport to pick him up (YIPPEE!!), and spent the evening at home. 

Wednesday Jon had a performance, so we got him there.  We cleaned up the house, packed our stuff, and sorted through where the kids were going to stay, since our arranged-months-in-advance house-sitter/baby-sitter fell through.  We went to the store.  We went to the bank. We finally dropped the kids off with some wonderful friends, stopped and got supper, and made our way out of town for two nights at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA.  That *WAS* actually restful.  We talked, Jason did homework, we played putt-putt, we went out to eat, we shopped, and we SLEPT.  That was Wednesday night, and Thursday. 

Friday we drove back to town, took the kids to lunch, picked up things at Walmart, Sam's Club, Verizon (new iPhones!!), Men's Wearhouse, and the vacuum cleaner store (new GOOD vacuum!!).  We made appointments to get the car in to the shop, the dog into the vet's, and verified dentist's appointments for myself and 4 of the kids.  Then we finally made our way home and hung out for a while, waiting for the big surprise for the kids...Nana & Papa get here in time for supper!!  After eating, they left for their motel, the kids went to bed, and Jason and I stayed up waiting for our friend's flight to get in....and we finally got to bed around 1:00 a.m....

...only to get up and go at it again in the morning, leaving early for a beautiful wedding back up the road past Williamsburg.  Jason was an usher for the wedding, and the two little girls were flower girls...and Jason's parents met us up there, too.   Saturday was another LONG day...we got back to the house around 9:00 pm.

Sunday was another long day...church, with Jason, Carl, David (who got in LATE on Saturday night), and Jason's parents all needing to catch up with people they hadn't seen in quite some time...then home for naps and then swimming and dinner at Jason's sister's house for the evening...which meant ANOTHER late night.

Monday started early, since Jason's parents were leaving again to head home to South Carolina, which meant an early breakfast at our house, to include *only* 15.  Pshew...ever so glad for paper plates and a dishwasher!!  Carl was supposed to leave then, Monday night, but because of a thunderstorm his flight was canceled, so he got to spend another night here. 

Yesterday saw Carl catch his flight, the dog to the vet, and Leah to the dentist to get two (baby) teeth pulled and another filled, as well as two separate Bible studies for the two oldest kids, and a movie for David and Jason. 

Today, the little dog went back to the vet (poor little guy is having surgery today), the car in to the dealer for an A/C recharge, an oil change, and a visor replacement....and now Jason and David have taken all of the kids to see Cars 2, while I sat down to catch my breath...do laundry, do dishes, shower, work, and catch you guys up on our crazy lives. 

Hopefully tomorrow will slow down even more....because I can't keep this up!! 

Meanwhile....Isn't that man in the tux handsome?!? 

One of *those* mornings...

We all have them...the morning when we D-R-A-G ourselves out of bed, stumble to the kitchen to start the coffee...only to realize that not only is there no milk left, but we forgot to get coffee last night, too.  Ugh.  I guess I'll start with tea today. 

Sheesh.  I really could *EASILY* go right back to bed now that the kids are all out the door to school.  Unfortunately, there is way too much to do this week to even consider it.  I'm sitting here trying to figure out how my "nice, quiet" summer without school has turned into this craziness. 

I am preparing for Jason to get home for R&R  (YIPPEE!!!!), going away with him for a few days, a wedding, friends coming, a farewell party for another friend, the end of school for the kids, and filling out paperwork for camps, as well as working.  Yes, I am working again.  From home, thank goodness...because there is no way I could finish everything else if I had to put in my time at some other address. 

Okay...it is time to get back to work...washer and dryer running, dogs sleeping, another cuppa in hand...yeah, I believe I'm ready....

Is it May already?!?

Life sure does have a way of getting the way of things like writing!!  I signed in today, and realized that it has been more than a month since I wrote on here.  Meanwhile, I finished another semester of grad school (Yay, me!!), with its accompanying bjillion papers, projects, and exams.  We survived Spring Break for the kids...and have only six more weeks of school before they are out for the summer and we are preparing for Dad's R&R.  Now things are picking up with kids' spring/summer activities.  We have Scouts Venturing camp-outs and meetings, baseball practice and games, and end-of-the-school-year activities, the biggest of which, so far, is the Ring Dance for eldest daughter...

So, in honor of Ring Dance...PICTURES!!!

Isn't she beautiful?!?  I can't believe she is a Junior already..and that next year we'll be visiting colleges!! 

We have to think about next year ALREADY?

Next SCHOOL year, that is. 

This year, we have children in THREE schools.
Three in elementary school.
Two in middle school.
One in high school.

Next year...well, we'll see.

In the city where we live, there is an Academy system within the public schools, which allows children who are interested and gifted to focus on particular fields early in their schooling careers.  Our oldest daughter has been in the Global Studies and World Languages Academy for three years now, and will be graduating from there next year.

Our second child has applied to 3 different academies, so has the potential of being able to choose from 4 different high schools for next year.

Our third child will be finishing her time in middle school next year, and will be applying to some academies the following year.

Our fourth child...well...he is entering 6th grade this year, and is an outstanding student.  For the middle schoolers, there are two different magnet schools that he has applied to, so we are waiting to hear on that one.

The two youngest will also be staying put next year.  Thankfully.  Because I don't know that I could manage thinking about ANOTHER school.

As it stands, if you're still with me...We have the potential of having children in 5 different schools next year, as well as my husband and I both being in separate graduate school programs.

Total household size:  8.
Total schools represented (potentially): 7. 

I need a personal assistant...and I think we should be a poster-family for continuing education.  Oh, and I MISS homeschooling...things were a LOT less complicated.

Life got busy again....

...and I forgot about you, my loyal friends.  Well, no.  I didn't forget.  My life is crazy right now.  Work.  Home.  Kids.  School.  Church.  Practicum.  Self-care.  My blog is not the most important part of my life right now.  I have a lot to say.  There is a lot that is begging to be written.  There are things happening in our lives.  There are upcoming adventures.  I am learning about myself and how things from my past are affecting me.  I am developing in areas I didn't expect, and dealing with things I didn't expect to come up.  And all of this stuff is hard and time consuming and exhausting.  I will be back, soon, I promise.  Those things are still clamoring to come out...

...And now that vacation is over...

All of us went back to school on Monday.  All. Of. Us.  I was ready for the kids to go back...what parent wasn't?!?  Me?  Not so much.  I found out that I had gotten used to sleeping in, and not having to be anywhere, doing things around the house that had been neglected. 

Two of my classes have started back.  The one on Monday...not ready.  I still don't have a practicum site.  If I don't have a practicum site by next Monday, I will have to drop that class and pick up another one.  I do not want to do that.  The one last night?  Not ready.  And that class is going to be the one that kicks my butt this semester.  10 quizzes, one midterm, two probes, and a final exam.  I'm already feeling a bit overwhelmed.  The one tonight...I am looking forward to, though I'm not ready for it, either. 

On the up-side, I have PICTURES from Christmas!!  And SNOW!!  And I'll get those up and posted one of these days soon.  Until then...time to get crackin'...kids to get ready for school, shopping to do, and a meeting this morning. 

Have a GREAT day!!

Of mice and men...

...or How the Military can mess with your plans.

First off, grad school is looking less and less overwhelming, as the days pass, and especially so after this last weekend of playing catch-up. I am no longer BEHIND, and finally feel like I actually might be able to keep up. Believe me, this is a BEAUTIFUL thing!!

Today is the second day of school for the kids for the year. Everyone survived their first day back, and mom and dad survived signing away the forests of Virginia...seriously, how many reams of paper did they just waste to send all of that crap home....and that was just for MY children. Oh, but my house was SO nice and quiet yesterday. I got a LOT accomplished!!

My work schedule has had to be adjusted, of late, to accommodate the addition of classes to the schedule. It also means (*ahem*) that my husband thinks he can just add things for me to do, on a whim, and because I work from home I *should* be able to just go and do, at his bidding. Yeah, that creates a little tension in our house from time to time.

Yesterday he called me up to ask if I was *free* at 1:00 tomorrow (today). He is almost at the end of his tour with his current command, and there is to be an awards ceremony this afternoon, and the command wants me to attend. Of course, I said I could be there...I want to be supportive of him!!

But, this end-of-command brings up the real change of plans. The end of one set of orders means the beginning of another. Which means transition. Change. I don't do change...or rather, I don't LIKE change. And this one is a doozie. Jason is separating from this command on the 15th, and will have approximately a month off, after which he reports to his new command, to head out for training before leaving for what is affectionately (*insert sarcasm font*) known as the sandbox. For a year.

Now, I know a lot of people who have been down this route repeatedly. And lived through it. And their families survived. But the last time Jason was deployed was 8 years ago - and that was only for four months. I'm out of practice. And I'm more than a little nervous.

There's a LOT to deal with on the homefront, when there are as many people in the house as we have. It would be NICE to have a second driver while he's gone....but the oldest is terrified of driving, even though she could have gotten her license way back in February. And she is in marching band...which means practices and competitions and football games. And the next two are in band at the middle school....and one is going to be in the Art Club. And then there are activities for the three in elementary school.

Plus, Frances is still dealing with the numbness in her arms and hands, and after a year the doctors still haven't figured out why. All they can tell us is that her nerves are healthy, and everything looks normal. So we have periodic doctors' visits, more testing, and twice-weekly physical therapy appointments.

And then there is my school. And work. And church. See why I'm a little nervous about his leaving? There's only one of me. And there is enough to keep two or three of us busy. And even for all of my advertising and begging, no one has found my clone, or stepped forward to offer their services as my administrative assistant (volunteer position, of course!).

So, that leaves me in the same place as many other military spouses...preparing for being a married single parent, and not knowing how I'm going to be able to do it. I know that I have wonderful friends, and a GREAT church family, and I KNOW that I can call on them for emergencies, and they'll rally. The emergencies are not what concern me so much. It's the dailiness that gets to me. The trying to figure out how to juggle everything, without dropping any of the important stuff. (which is already happening - who am I kidding...I forget stuff ALL the time...even if it IS written in my day planner!).

So, now I am off...I have work to get done before heading to his awards ceremony. And laundry. And dishes. You know...all of those things that have to get done anyway....

August has been INSANE...

Every month has its own brand of insanity..but I think August has been especially hard this year. Actually, this last week was the most crazy week of the whole long crazy month.

Our friend from church got home from a 7-month deployment.
We went to the homecoming...and those are always fun...DJ, flags, pompoms, pictures to color, spouses all dressed in their best, new babies seeing daddy for the first time, anxious girlfriends unsure of where they stand, older children running around not sure how to handle the pent-up emotions....and face painting!

Our girls partook of that particular fun part of the party....

Heather

Leah

Katherine

Then, on Sunday, we hosted a BBQ at our house, so he could get to see all of his friends from church...it was a blast...and a little bit overwhelming.

But we're GLAD to have him home!!!

Quick update

I've been away for TOO long. My apologies. I'm trying. My brain seems to be on perpetual overload right now.

May included:
13 or so BASEBALL games
6 or so SOFTBALL games
A wedding (complete with rehearsal and rehearsal dinner)
New glasses for 3 kids
one drill weekend
A surprise visit from the husband's best friend and also from my brother (the same weekend!)
Mother's Day
Classes
Work
5 Concerts
Doctor's visits
Band rehearsals
Club meetings
baseball and softball practices

June looks like it is going to be just as full...fun.

More later.

Headed into the weekend

I have *finally* caught up on my work enough that I don't feel horribly overwhelmed with work for the weekend. As always, the weekend is full...

Jason had two softball games tonight,
Frances played with the marching band for a football game,
tomorrow includes Ladies' Brew Group, with my needing to be there early,
Jon heading to a birthday party of a kid from church,
setup for church on Sunday morning,
two church services,
tear down afterwards,
house cleaning and laundry sometime in there,
and finishing up the last of my work for the week.

In the mean time, I've been catching up with friends from college...figuring out where they are and what they're all doing. It's exciting to see from the approximately 7 years of Bible College and Seminary grads I know that there are a large number overseas in various countries, and in many and varied positions across this country. The most exciting part is the depth of the relationships each has with the Lord, and the various pathways God has led each down. I have friends in Japan, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Peru, India, and several other countries. I have friends in computer work, film, radio, television, working in Christian schools and public schools and teaching in colleges, working with handicapped children and underpriviledged children, friends who are pastors and pastors' wives, youth ministers, missionaries, music ministers and music teachers. For the last few years, I have felt alone, isolated from people who believed as I do, from people who have the firm foundation in Scriptures we all received in Bible College. Now that I am able to reconnect with these friends, I no longer feel so alone.

So, who have you caught up with this week?

What a day in my life *really* looks like...

As I was going about my day today, I started thinking about what it takes to maintain life in my household. Not necessarily sanity...I'm convinced that is a lost cause.

I am often amazed that people think that life with a large family is unthinkable. They think that it must take a special person to handle it. Obviously they've not followed me through my days. I am NOT special. I am very average. Average height. Average weight (more than is good for me!). Average educational level. Average. Average. Average.

Then, this morning it hit me. The math. THAT is what people have trouble with.
The eight people in the house.
Which means 7 beds.
And at least 16 sets of clothing every day.
Which adds up to at least 2 loads of laundry, every day (which is why, on any given day, Mt. Laundry IS going to blow!).

The eight place settings at the table.
At every meal.
Which we usually manage AT LEAST 3 of those as SIT DOWN TOGETHER meals, per week.
Which adds up in terms of food.
Like the stew I made this morning.
1 1/2 pounds of stew meat.
1 pound of carrots.
5 pounds of potatoes.
There's a little bit left over...but then Jason and the two oldest kids didn't eat at home tonight.
Milk...3-5 gallons per week.
Cereal...at least one box per day. (We quit buying in boxes...they're too small).
Eggs...one dozen at a time.
Bread...sandwiches for everyone requires one whole loaf.

The sheer overwhelming numbers of activities.
School...3 in elementary school, 1 in middle school, 1 in high school, husband in grad school.
Church...
Small groups from church...women's group, men's group, military affiliated group
Marching Band.
Concert Band.
Middle School Band.
PTA activities.
Military community activities.


SO, my schedule today was fun...and I thought I'd throw it in, just so you get an idea....

4:00 a.m. Alarm goes off. I turn it off, shake the husband, and crawl back in bed.

5:00 a.m. Second alarm goes off. I turn it off, dress and wake up oldest child. Fix coffee, go for a walk.

6:00 a.m. Grab a cup of coffee and walk oldest daughter out to meet her bus (which picks her up at 6:10 a.m.).

6:30 a.m. Finish second cup of coffee, grab purse, keys, and list, to run to the grocery store for potatoes, carrots, milk, butter, bread. (had coffee on the list, too, but not enough $$).

7:00 a.m. Back from the store, put things away. Get the rest of the kids out of bed. Spend time doing emails, catching up on facebook, email lists, doing childrens' hair, motivating (yelling at) children. Also wash and cut up potatoes and carrots for the stew for supper, and saute the stew meat, then dump in the crockpot. Load dishwasher.

7:45 a.m. Out the door to wait with the 3 elementary-aged children for their bus, which supposedly arrives at 7:53 a.m. Chat with neighbors.

8:15 a.m. Suddenly remember I have a dental appt at 9:00....gotta MOVE.

8:30 a.m. Out of shower, kicking 12-year-old out to catch his bus...which supposedly arrives at 8:40 a.m. Let my work know when I'll be back.

8:45 a.m. Load 4-year-old in the van, complete with bag of toys, x-rays from dentist in MT, name and address of dentist in MT, and dental insurance card.

9:00 a.m. Pshew...I made it. I can relax and fill out myriads of paperwork, gag on the x-rays, and get my referral to an oral surgeon.

9:58 a.m. Home again, time to get busy on my WORK for the day! First get 4-year-old her snack, because she STARVING, MOMMY, STARVING!

12:00 p.m. Take a break from the computer long enough to fix sandwiches for myself and 4-year-old. Forget that I was supposed to go to gym.

12:40 p.m. Neighbor girl shows up, reminding me that we were supposed to go to the gym at 12:30. Change clothes and head out for 30 minute workout.

1:45 p.m. Home again, and back to work. Started load of clothes.

3:00 p.m. Oldest child home...snack time!!

3:30 p.m. The elementary school bunch gets home.

4:00 p.m. The middle schooler is home.

4:30 p.m. Jason walks in, updates me on things, and leaves again, taking the oldest two with him (he's dropping the oldest off at her school for marching band performance at the football game, and taking the 12-year-old with him to his two softball games.).

5:00 p.m. The 4 left at home go out to play, leaving mom inside to have some peace and quiet.

6:00 p.m. Start gathering everyone in for supper. Get all the riding stock put away in the garage.

7:30 p.m. Supper is done, kids are in PJs. It's movie night...tonight we watched Cars.

9:30 p.m. Movie is done, kids get in bed. I leave to go pick up oldest from Marching Band. Home, feed her (more...she also ate at the game), start another load of laundry.

There's my day. I'm exhausted. I don't think I could cram one more thing in there, today. Maybe another day...but I don't know.

I LOVE having a big family. I can't imagine it any other way. But some days? I just want some sleep!!!

A quick note to say...

...life has gotten CRAZY again. I pulled out my calendar and started putting in things that are planned for the next two weeks, and ohmygranny this is gonna be fun!

Tonight starts the band season...Band picnic at 6:00, but the oldest has to be there by 5:00, so we're all going then. She's home right now, making cookies to take, and we have to figure out what other dish we're making to take... Oh, and Jason has his first two games for Fall Softball.

*Tomorrow is the Band Freshman Car Wash and I go to the Ladies' Brew Group.

*Sunday is church and a baptism at the beach later in the afternoon.

*Mondayis a band rehearsal and football tryouts for #2 child and Jason has a duty day.

*Tuesday is new student orientation at the high school and Jason's Brew Group.

*Wednesday is band rehearsal, orientation at the middle school and Brew Group for military families.

*Thursday is Open House at the elementary school and the band is playing at their first home football game.

*Friday Jason has two softball games.

AND THAT is the week BEFORE school starts. I still have to work and feed kids and clean the house and do laundry, and sometime I have to shop for all the back-to-school stuff that we haven't had the money to buy yet.

So, if I'm not here at some point, you'll probably find me curled up in a corner somewhere, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth....

...or nursing my glass of wine!

Weekly Roundup

It's Friday again...my how this week has flown! My eldest is in Band Camp this week, so I'm doing a LOT of driving...I'm in the car for 2 hours daily, and I haven't done that in a LONG time. Isn't she beautiful? She's the one on the right in the back.

I finally had my appointment with Occupational Therapy...daggoneit...I was hoping for Physical Therapy....anyway....so, after the Doctor who did the EMG saying I DIDN'T have carpal tunnel, the lady at Occupational Therapy says she thinks I DO have SOME carpal tunnel issues...just not enough to show up on the EMG. She also thought I had two other issues happening...the disadvantages of having a desk job. So, she told me all these thing to do, and NOT to do...and gave me this lovely splint. Isn't it gorgeous?

My oldest son has been busy rescuing vehicles from the trash-man...or rather, just these two, and then has stayed busy working on getting the go-cart running correctly.

The rest of the kids are staying busy with their friends, playing at the park, and taking advantage of the last couple of weeks of summer.

The crazy cat has been working on her escape plans...and attempts at every turn have me chasing her through the neighbors' yards.

My husband is busy, preparing for a change of command, and working on his 3rd-to-last class for his Master's Degree...and is busy trying to figure out what is next...which has included a trip out to the ARMY base, and some research of seminaries in the area.

And THAT has been my week....plus meals, laundry, cleaning (especially the stove, so it can be replaced), and work....What have YOU done this week?

Baseball is (hopefully?!?) drawing to a close

This is the last week of baseball games....well, until they start tournament this weekend. It's a double-elimination tournament, which means that each team plays until they have lost two games. Since two of the kids' teams are ranked as #1 in their age bracket, I'm afraid we're in for another REALLY long week next week. Last night we had two games...one of which started at 7:30 pm and the second started at 8:00 pm....ending at 9:00 and 10:00 pm, respectively. My kids' bedtimes are 8:00 and 9:00 pm...so getting them up this morning was fun.....

In the mean time, we have at least one more game this week, plus doctor's appointments for myself and the 6-year-old, a WIC appointment today, an 8th grade dance on Friday, and Field Day at two different schools on Friday. I'd like to catch up on the house (yeah, right), the laundry(who am I kidding?!?), and keep up with my work. The vacuum cleaner decided not to work, the kids are too anxious to be outside to be much help and Hubby is now coaching TWO softball teams (as of yesterday) and playing on a third, plus working full-time, and in school full-time. If it is going to get done, **I** have to do it...ALL of it.

So, if I disappear for a while, it will be because I fell asleep and slept through all the alarms....because work always goes faster after midnight, right?

Busy Day, AGAIN

Baseball games, batting cages, movies, womens' group, house cleaning, showers, cooking for tomorrow.

I went walking this morning...and for a change it was warmer outside than in my house at 7:00 am. The breeze was nice, and I had a great walk.

I came back to the house, and took off again to go get cat food.

Came back, took a shower, fed kids breakfast, and left for my womens' group, leaving hubby to take care of getting kids to baseball (at 10:00 am) and the batting cages (at 10:00 am), more baseball games (at 1:00 am), pick up from batting cages (at 11:00 am), pick up her friend and take the two of them to see Prince Caspian with the youth group (at 12:35 pm).

I finished up with my (awesome) meeting, and headed back to get in some time by myself. When hubby got home, I headed over to see the remaining baseball games. #4's team won, again. #3's team is still in first place, though they lost today.

After the games were finished, we all headed home. I worked all afternoon, and the kids cleaned their rooms while hubby napped and we waited for #1 to call from her movie.

After getting #1 home, we went out for supper at CiCi's, and I stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up cookie mix and cereal (spent less than $20!--successful trip to Wally!).

Now, hubby's sleeping, kids are in bed or the shower, and #1 child is baking cookies for the church picnic tomorrow....and I'm blog-hopping!!

Hope you are having a great weekend!!

First there was a break...

...and then life got crazy again.

This morning:
Hubby went back to work.
I started walking again.
Kids headed back to school.
I went back to work (like I ever left...I worked all weekend)

This evening:
#4 had baseball practice at 5:00
#2 had baseball practice at 5:30
#3 and #1 had practice at 6:00
#4 was done at 6:30
#2 was done at 7:00
#3 was done at 7:30
#1 was done at 8:00
Hubby was gone until almost 10:00 (men's Bible study)
and we had to fit homework and supper in there somewhere....

I'm tired.

Goodnight.

Well, I know I'm not pregnant....

....but the doctor in the ER had to check that anyway. And now I know I don't have heart, kidney or liver problems, nor do I have diabetes. The fun thing is that now we don't know what is wrong. So, I got to spend an hour and a half in the ER resting while they ran blood work.

So, today I have to follow-up with the clinic...joy and happiness.

And, I have WORK to do! Yippee!! Work is a good thing....it means I get paid!!!

Hubby has submitted his officer's package now, so we are waiting to hear what happens next. And in the mean time, he exercises...he's got a little bit of the furniture disease to get rid of...he's running twice a day, and doing bunches of sit-ups...and starting to look REALLY good!!

And we're back into the crazy schedule that passes for our weeks....school, work, baseball practice, Brew Groups....must get busy....have a phone call to make....

The weather outside is beautiful....

I am loving this weather! I wish I could be outside in it all day long! Today is clear and sunny and it's 47 degrees....compared to the 36 degrees of Helena...I'm happy! I am ready for sunny and warm...and taking walks on the beach. I am NOT looking forward to the bugs. We haven't had to deal with bugs for the last 4 years, and now I am remembering all the nastiness that are known as "waterbugs" in the Southeast!

I started working from home in January, and I am still learning how to balance working and keeping up with the house, and NOT being "on the clock" after everyone gets home in the evenings. I had a bad couple of days, with some jobs that had to get finished, and I let my vitamins go, and was just sitting at my computer all day, and late into the night....last night I had a "moment"....well, okay, it was more like an hour....My body can only go so long without enough sleep, working long hours, and sitting in one position...and then I just lose it. Hopefully today, I can get back up, and get back at it...since this is all a learning process...

I just got a phone call from the school...my kindergartener is having hearing issues...the nurse said that the cold she has may be affecting her hearing, but what she saw was outside of the range of what it normally affected by colds. The nurse was also concerned about the 5th grader....it seems he showed up at her office with bruising on his arm, and said something about some other students hitting him in the lunch room. She encouragement to call about any "bullying" that happens...there is a person who handles it and can make sure that the students involved do not know who "told" on them.

I am overwhelmed. House upkeep. Kids that are sick. Dealing with learning issues, and bullying, and baseball practice, and my own work, and church...there is just too too much. I am just one person, and I can NOT do it all. Yeah, hubby's here...but he's learning a new job, and his schedule is erratic right now.

Okay, enough whining. Back to work....because it is still there waiting for me....