No Green Thumb Here

In June, Nate and I got away for a night to celebrate 13 years of marriage.

We stopped at one of our favorite little towns, Pentwater, and did some shopping.

I bought the cutest lavender plant at a boutique.  Wish I had a picture to show you what it looked like when I bought it.

After less than a month, it looked like this.

So, I got online to see how to care for my pretty little plant that was clearly dying.

And now it looks like this.

I do not have a green thumb.

My daughter teases me about this fairly often.

We were at a friends' house enjoying their pool the other day, and I started watering their flowers.

Emilia said, "Mom!  What are you doing?  You're going to kill their flowers!"

 

No confidence.

 

But she's right!  I either water a plant too much or too little.  I either give a plant too much sun or too little.

 

I marvel at others who can actually keep plants alive.

 

Maybe someday, when the kids are a bit older, I can put more time into figuring out how to keep green things...green.

 

Until then, I'll just limit the amount of plants I buy knowing that my thumb is not, and never has been, green.

 

 

 

Cutest 1 Year Old Rendition of "Everybody Wants to be a Cat"

Our oldest two kids are practicing for a play called The AristoCats.

They regularly break out into song and dance, so much so that their little sister has learned part of their performance.  

She's just too cute.  :)

Camping at "Senior Zoo"

We went to Holland, MI for our camping trip.

We had no idea that it was "Senior Beach Week"

And I'm not talking about the "65 and older crowd".

18 year olds were everywhere.

I didn't think there were any adults in the whole campground.

I only saw teenagers.  Lots of them.

After pulling into our campsite and seeing a sign right behind our trailer that said,

"PARTY'S HERE!"

We decided it would be best if we found another site.

They graciously accommodated our request, and we moved to a site closer to the other type of seniors.  ;)

While we enjoyed our quieter site, we were able to observe the behaviors of this strange species called "Seniors".  

They were swarming.  They were smoking.  They walked in herds back and forth.

The kids kept pointing and saying things like,

"Look!  There's another high schooler!"

and

"Wow!  There are lots of them!"

and

"Why are they so active at night?"

and

"So, do all high school boys pick a high school girl, hold hands, and take a walk?  Is that what they do?"

We were at "Senior Zoo."

It became a hilarious joke.

We had a fabulous time together as a family.

It was definitely a trip to remember.  Probably one that we'll bring up for years to come, especially when our own kids become...

SENIORS.

Almost 24 Weeks

Baby Girl Due Mid to Late July, 2013

Facts:

No matter how hard I try, I still waddle occasionally (okay...A LOT).

Shirts that I remember thinking were very large in previous pregnancies...aren't.  I'm pretty sure they shrunk.

On that note, so did some of my pants...

This mirror makes me look smaller than I really am.

I love this mirror.

We ALL love this new baby.  She's already had MANY kisses and hugs (no personal space for a pregnant momma with little kids!)

My first purchases for our little girly.  I couldn't resist the adorableness!

We set up the crib in "The Girl Room" and it actually fits!  Woo Hoo!

I think we finally decided on a name, but we're not telling yet just in case we change our minds (which is rather likely).  

Oh the suspense.  ;)

"Little Sister" shirt was a gift from our family friends.  Isn't it so cute?!  Thanks Jenn and family!

The Dollar I Earned

I do the majority of our shopping at Aldi, an inexpensive grocery store that makes you bag your own groceries and pay a quarter to get a shopping cart. 

You can have your quarter back if you return the cart to the corral, but if you don't...well, then the quarter is stuck in the shopping cart for the next person to use.

Back when I had recently relinquished my job as household budgeter extraordinaire to my husband (who enjoys it much more than I ever did), I was walking out of Aldi pushing a shopping cart bulging with newly purchased consumables, when I noticed that people were leaving their carts next to their vehicles instead of returning them.  It happened to be raining and people apparently melt in the rain.

Being the thrifty person I am, I decided that there was some real money to be made by taking everyone's carts back to the store.

I quickly loaded my groceries and then gathered up the shopping carts that were scattered in haste because of the downpour. 

I made one whole dollar that day.  A real dollar.  As I sat in my car looking at those four glistening quarters, I decided I should reward myself with some coffee from McDonald's for my labors.

I also knew that if I took those four quarters home and showed my even-more-frugal-than-my-awesome-thrifty-self husband, he'd say we'd first need to set aside a portion for the church and then spread the rest throughout the various line items in our budget.

So, I quickly hid the quarters deep in my pocket, vowing that I'd spend them before he could deposit them into our bank account. 

I bought the coffee and savored the fruit of my labor.

Sip, sip, sip.

Nate would never budget my four precious quarters.

Because I already did.  

Things Said...

Me:  "That's a Ford symbol, I think."
Jonny:  "No, it's Chevy.  I watch football.  I know."
Emilia:  "Chevy runs deep."


Matthew (wanting to get up from a time out): "Mom! I'll be as good as a mouse if I can get up!"
Me: "We kill mice."
(much laughter and squeaking ensues...)


Jonny (at dinner):  "Please pass the gluten."


Emilia:  "Mom, you'd better make the right decision because I'm watching you and learning from you.  If you make the wrong decision, I may grow up and make wrong decisions too."  (Talk about pressure, SHEESH!)


Tommy (2) said in a robot sort of voice:  "I a wo-bot."


I prepped my children before they entered the antique store: "Under NO circumstances are you to be touching anything." Jonny replies: "What if my arm ACCIDENTALLY flings out (insert enthusiastic fling of his arm) and touches something?"  After some laughter..."There will be NO accidental flinging of arms."


Emilia has classical music on.  She's a butterfly and is trying to convince Matthew to be a moth.  He does not want to be a moth.  "You could be a bee," I say, "bees sting."  Thinking this will be better than a boring moth.  He's grumpy.  "I don't want to be a bee.  I want to be a bug that kills things."  Well...okay then.


Just read in my journal yesterday:  Back in 2011 I wrote down three funny things the kids said (in a row) when I was putting them to bed one evening:


I'm climbing up the bunk bed ladder when Matthew, with a big smile showing he's very proud of his thoughtfulness says, "Mom, I moved WAY over and made this enormous space for you because you are enormous!"


Jonny likes me to tell him stories about when I got hurt.  I was telling him about how I was doing back handsprings in gymnastics when I was in high school.  As I was doing them, I broke my arm.  Then I had to have surgery.  The dr. put a plate and six screws on my bone to keep it straight.  I lift up my sleeve to show him my scar.  He's quietly serious as he says, "Does dad know about this?"  "Yes," I answer.  His face shows how horrified he is by the whole thing when he asks, "Did you tell him at the wedding?"  Pretty sure he thought Nate wouldn't have married me had he known!


And finally, I make my way to Emilia's room.  As we're talking, the discussion of different languages comes up.  "Do you want to learn Spanish?"  "No," she replies.  I mention, "I think it would be a good idea."  "Why? Because of the slavery?" ...........................I have no idea.


Ahhh...our kids provide so much laughter!

  

 


 

This Made Me Laugh

 

Thank you my funny boy for helping me decorate.  :)

Fashion Issues

I've been looking for a pair of tall boots for probably the past 5 years.  Every year I notice that my preferences change slightly.  Last year I was looking for black boots with a rounded toe and hardly any heal.  This year I'm looking for a similar pair, but in brown.  Each year I find something I think I'd like and then I see the ridiculous price tag (real leather is expensive!) and talk myself out of them because...If you give a Heidi some tall brown boots, she's going to need some clothes to go with them.  I remind myself of a certain mouse I've read about.

I was lamenting this fact to my hubby the other night.  He pretty much has zero desire to be fashionable or to have his wife be fashionable.  His idea of fashion is a sturdy pair of jeans bought without holes so that he can wear them until they have holes.  Once they have holes, then (and only then) does he allow himself to use them for "work jeans".  You can imagine how many years he may own one pair of jeans.  Shoes are the same way.  He thought it was so great when he bought himself a pair of $3 shoes from a thrift store and wore them until his socks were getting wet from the holes in the bottoms.  He's hardcore.

So, you can imagine I wasn't getting much sympathy while expressing my desire to be fashionable in some pricy tall boots.  He told me that I'd probably wear the boots about eleven times, and the following year the toes would be just a little too pointy.  Or the heals would be a little too low.  Or the new in style thing to have on your boots would be a large ring around the top of the boots.  I told him that a ring would be very impractical for walking.  To which he replied, "Well, the new, cool way to walk will be like this!"  He swung his legs far out to the sides to avoid the imaginary fashionable hoops as he dramatically walked up and down our living room in ridiculous fashion.

I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of his gait and the absurdity of fashion in general.

"They" say that we should wear tight, skinny jeans with flats or tall boots.  I remember the day I saw skinny jeans in a magazine worn by a model.  I thought she looked ridiculous.  And I specifically remember thinking, "I am never going to like the looks of that."

Fast forward a couple years (or however long it's been), and I'm looking at skinny jeans on the racks at Target (because they're cheaper there).

I am so duped.  These fashion police people say "this" is how we should be dressing and if we don't dress like "this", then we aren't quite cool enough.  And I buy into it.  I look at my wardrobe full of perfectly non-holey clothes and I think to myself, "I have nothing to wear."  So, I go to the local thrift store (because I'm cheap like that) looking for someone who bought the latest trends and cast them off quickly for whatever American reason.

We're so easily influenced and guided to do what "they" want us to do.  I recognize it.  I realize it.

And I still want those tall brown boots.

I have issues. 

This Cute Face

Could he get any cuter?

Yup...

He never ceases to make us laugh!

Mom Naps...Or Not

After putting Tommy down for a nap, I contemplated making coffee or taking a nap myself.  Those were the only two logical choices with how I was feeling.

I opted for the "healthier" choice and laid on the living room couch warning my three non-napping, non-quiet-time children (yeah, yeah, yeah, you scheduled "my kids always have a quiet time during the day" moms...good for you...I don't want to hear it ;) ) that they were not to wake me up unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary.

Blood is a good reason to wake a sleep deprived mother.  At that moment, I could think of no other reason that would warrant interrupting my sleep.

I had Emilia check the time and told her to wake me up in about 45 minutes.

No sooner had I closed my eyes than the boys began playing the game, Who Can Annoy His Brother More?  Their wailing and whining increased with each mean-spirited action.

After sending one to my room and one to the other couch, I closed my eyes again, hoping (against all that is reasonable and rational in my world) that both cranky boys would fall asleep for, say...2 hours.  Then I'd be able to sleep for my entire "quiet time".

Somewhere in the "I'm-in-denial-about-how-things-really-go-with-my-kids-during-the-random-quiet-times-in-our-house" recesses of my brain, I knew that those boys would not even shut their wide awake eyes.  I'm pretty sure they secretly drink Coke throughout the days. 

Shortly, I hear one from down the hall, "Can I get up?!"  The one from the couch, spurred on by his new-best-friend-brother, is asking if he can get up as well.

All I wanted to do was close my eyes for longer than twenty-one seconds! 

"You can get up IF you'll be kind to each other."  I may have been gritting my teeth.

They promised to love each other as best brothers forever and never fight again...oh wait...that must have been a little dream I was having while I wasn't sleeping.

"We'll be nice," they both affirmed.  And they were!  Thank you my wonderful children.  I was no longer gritting my teeth and I felt myself starting to drift off...ever...so...slowly...ahhhh....bliss...

The drifting of myself into slumberland came to an abrupt end when I tensed, sensing a child-like presence that was breathing close to my head.  A hand reached out and touched my pillow.  My hair.  I shut my eyes tighter and lay very still.  Maybe he'd think I was still sleeping.  I was sure no blood was involved, and I was SOOO close!

The breathing continued.  Louder. Closer.  More forced. 

I didn't even have to turn my head.  My eyes stayed closed on purpose.  "What is it Jonny?"  I was slightly perturbed.

"I'm hungry," he half whispered (just in case I'm still sleeping?).  He's pretty good at sounding like I never feed him.

"There are crackers on the counter."  I was gritting again. 

And then I had the best idea in the world.  Why didn't I think of it sooner?  I'm brilliant!

"After you have a snack, you can all watch a show!"  The "rotting your brain" statement that I normally give my children didn't even cross my mind.  At that moment, TV was a wonderful invention; a best friend. 

Cheers of excitement (that could have been what woke up Tommy) filled the room and all four sat down to watch something wholesome, I'm sure. I finally drifted off, dreaming of nothing and loving every minute even though I had no idea at the time how much I was actually loving it.

When my eyes opened,Tommy was snuggled up beside me.  He was hungry and needed a diaper change.

The show was over, and the boys were whining again.

I fought the urge to go back to sleep. 

Instead, I took the higher road.

I made myself some coffee.

Funny??

These make me laugh.  They're also a great reminder for us homeschooling moms to be authentic.

In honor of "keeping it real", I started writing out the nitty-gritty details of my day, knowing that my day was not a stellar homeschooling day.

As I was writing, I realized that it sounded pretty embarrassing, you know, with the lack of "learning" and "caring for the poor" and "homemade bread", so I decided not to post it. 

(clearing throat, shifting eyes...)

1 Year!

May 18, 2011 - May 18, 2012.
I've been blogging one year.  Cool. 

I've had a ton of fun creating this blog, crafting words, posting photos, "meeting" bloggers, connecting with others, learning new things...(I obviously still need to learn how to have certain posts - that were written days or weeks ago - actually post themselves on the correct day...hmmm...thought I had that one figured out already.  Apparently not, since this one did not post on the 18th, but does say May 18...confusing.)

Thanks for sharing this year with me.  :)
 

In honor of this most special anniversary ;), I thought I'd share some of my favorite posts from the year:

Those that may make you laugh ("for I dearly love to laugh"):  

Go ahead and laugh at me while I run - How Hard Could Running Really Be?

I'm not always the brightest tool in the shed - What Kind of Peanuts?

I have horrible aim - Diapers in the Gutter

I'm pretty sure I'm not a "real coffee drinker" - 4 Cream, 4 Sugar

3 short videos of Emilia's baking adventure (she's so cute) - Emilia the Baker

Those that pertain to homeschooling (because I really enjoy homeschooling my super sweet, fun kids):

Because every homeschool family is asked this question at least one (or one hundred) time(s) - The Socialization Question - Again

Our journey to homeschooling - Should We Homeschool?  And Book List

Left over jello and sluggishness - The Day My Children Really Wanted to Attend School

We're all about real-life learning - Maple Sugaring! and Playdate Turns Pernicious

Keeping it real (a.k.a. wearing me out) - Two Pages

Those that pertain to craftiness or decorating (because I like both of those things as well!):

Enjoying the separate space to do school - A New (Memory Filled) School Area

This easy menu board has been SO practical (I use it weekly!) - Menu Planning

This post that pertains to my daily life (because I love this life and this God who has given me life!):

Praying that I choose to dwell on the "normal wonderfulness" of each day - Some Days and Today

Enjoy your day!

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