Out of Practice

This summer has been a busy one? (Hasn't everyone's?)

Between vacations, Tony being out of town and early evening swim lessons, dinner has been hit or miss. All that to say I've done very little cooking that doesn't just involve making a sandwich or heating something up. That's why I'm pretty much feeling like a gourmet chef right now.

As I sit here, I have chicken in the crock pot and bread dough kneading in the bread machine. I've chopped the lettuce, carrots, celery and onions for our salad. I realize it's a very simple meal, but it's home cooked and more importantly it isn't pizza, macaroni and cheese, quick spaghetti, sandwiches, or gasp, hot dogs (and I'm not talking about the all beef variety).

Now, I do realize that since I've gotten a bit prideful about my meal prep, I'll more than likely fall back on Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets and tator tots tomorrow. Baby steps, right?

For now, I'm just wondering if I'll be able to convince Tony that I don't remember how to clean up the kitchen after all this time "off."

Happy Monday!

Princess Belly Button

Our sweet Jane (2), has become quite fond of princesses. The same Disney princess that I was determined not to let my oldest daughter become obsessed with. (That's another story.) Lately, Jane has been pretending to be a princess and also pretending that I'm a princess.

"You're Sleeping Beauty," she'll say. "I'm Belle,"she'll explain. Then, she'll spend the rest of the day calling me Sleeping Beauty. If I call her by her name, she says, "I'm Belle."

Typically, Jane decides which princess she is by the color of clothing she is wearing. If it's pink she is Sleeping Beauty. If she is wearing a blue shirt, she is Cinderella and so on. Sometimes she is wearing princess pajamas and it makes it quite easy for her to decide who she is at the moment.

A few nights ago, as Jane was getting dressed for bed, I asked her which princess she was that night. She looked down at her bare belly and said, "Belly Button." Too cute. I love conversing with two year olds, especially my sweet two year old girl!

It's Going to Happen

I haven't seen my big girl since Tuesday morning. It's Saturday afternoon and I'm anxiously waiting for her to finish the drive home with her great aunt. I've missed her presence tremendously!

The past few days without her have made her starting full-day kindergarten more of a reality. If you'd asked me two months ago how I felt about it, I would tell you how sad it makes me to think of my little girl getting so big. However, over the past few weeks I've caught her excitement.

I just love the back to school season. In fact, I just bought myself a new planner and the thought of filling it up with fun things makes me almost giddy. (Silly and maybe a bit pathetic, I know.) We've also already bought Ann's school bag. She really wanted a tote bag like her friend next door has. I attempted to get her to choose a sensible and quality back pack that would last a few years, but I had no luck. Fortunately, the bag she chose seems well made and was less than ten dollars!

The other day, I stooped and rested my chin on Ann's head. I told her that I thought I wanted to stop her from growing up and she could be a preschooler forever. She laughed and then looked at me very seriously and said, "It's going to happen." Yes, yes it is. Fortunately, she's more than ready and I'm getting there!

For now, we're going to enjoy these last few weeks of summer! Just as soon as my big girl gets home. I can't wait!

Patience

Patience can sometimes be defined as waiting more than 24 hours to knock down a big sand castle.

At our recent family reunion, my little man had the honors of knocking down the castle some of my family had labored on for quite a while. To say he was excited is an understatement.

There are some things that only a young boy can truly appreciate.

Road Warriors

Well, hello sweet blog of mine. Has it really been more than a month!?

A month goes by quickly when it includes lots of summer fun including more than 3,000 miles logged in a minivan with three children ages 5 and under.

Now that we are home from our second and final big road trip of the summer, I'm left pondering some big questions. Mainly, I'm wondering how in the world we fit all of this stuff into a minivan!

Not pictured are various other small bags and of course three children and their parents! (The dog didn't make the cut. He took his own little vacation at the kennel. Poor guy!)

The house is a mess, but the van is now nice and tidy!

The other big question I'm wondering is who these people are that made it into our vacation pictures. They are standing in line getting tickets to ride up the St. Louis Arch. Our camera was in the hands of our five-year-old. Apparently, this seemed worth remembering to her. It makes my husband and I chuckle. (Hmm, I wonder if they mind being remembered on my blog?)

My third and final question I'm thinking about is whether the fact that one of the first things I did upon getting back from a big road trip was take a picture so I could blog, means that I'm back to blogging regularly. I guess time will tell.

In the meantime, I have a husband asking, "Are you seriously going to blog right now?"

If you'll excuse me, I've got some unpacking to ignore while we visit Chick-fil-A and go swimming. Priorities, you know!

A Reminder from the Crib

What a day! The day started with a bed wetting incident that I had to clean up. I recall that there was some other crisis but I don't remember exactly what it was!

We progressed on to the older two kids going to Vacation Bible School and Jane and I heading to Walmart to replace the tire that blew out on the way home from church yesterday afternoon. (Thankfully we were all safe and both a friend and a state trooper came to our aid.)

By the time I had finished at Walmart and ran another errand, it was time to pick up Ann and Chris. It took me about two seconds to see that they'd had an amazing time and it was going to be a long afternoon.

Sure enough it was. It was made longer by the fact that Tony is flying home today and won't be home until well after the children are asleep.

So, imagine my surprise when Jane chose tonight of all nights to demonstrate her ability to climb out of her bed and open doors.

Bed time was quite the three ring circus. Yet, in the middle of it all, I was reminded of something--it won't always be this way.

As I hauled Jane's crib mattress out of her bed I became nostalgic. That crib has been a constant in our house for over five and a half years. Yet soon, it will come down and be passed along to someone who needs it.

In the midst of a night full of tears and frustration (mine and theirs) that crib served as a reminder of how fleeting this time is. Yes, there are days like today that are hard, so hard. But, all in all, this is such a sweet, sweet time.

So, as I took another look at that crib and at the sweet face of my youngest sleeping on a mattress on the floor, I sighed.

I headed back into the two rooms of my older children and smiled through gritted teeth as I reminded them I loved them. In other words, I was "faking it until I made it."

Do you know what? Eventually my smile became genuine and I was reminded of how blessed I am.

Not more than five minutes passed until my son disobeyed and came out of his room and downstairs to find me. This time my perspective was right. Though I still had to discipline him, somewhere in my mind I was able to remember that one day I will miss that little curly head coming down the stairs for one more hug or to tell me something "really important."

Thank you, Lord for using a crib to remind me of what's really important. (Not necessarily the things my son says to delay bed time!" I am blessed.

Too Many Favorite Pictures!

This picture is definitely one of my newest favorites.

Part of what I like best is that my girls were sitting together when I took the picture. (Obviously.) The point is that normally I have to ask them to sit together to get a picture like this. In this case, they were already snuggling while watching a movie.

Love it! (And them.)