You're Not Starving

It's so easy in America to take things for granted: our house that keeps us cool in the summer and warm in the winter, 2 cars so that no one is inconvenienced, clothes that not only fit but are stylish, food that is not only nutritious but also convient....the list goes on and on. That's why it makes me crazy when my kids complain about the meals that I make or say, "I'm STARVING." I always say something like, "If you ate something this week, you're not starving."

 

When my sister put something on her Christmas wish list from a group called "Feed Just One," I looked at the website to see what it was. You can go here for more information, but basically they are a group that feeds girls in Uganda by selling t-shirts. Each t-shirt sale provides 30 meals.

 

I saw this shirt and I really want it. But then I'm afraid I'm feeding into the American consumerism mentality by wanting the shirt. There seems to be a trend of buying things that profit others somehow (ie. TOMS shoes), but rarely are we willing to help someone without getting something in return.

 

Anyway...I still love this shirt. I think it would save me a lot of words. And feed 30 people. Everyone wins, right??? 

 

B Cubed

I used to have dreams of what being a stay-at-home mom was supposed to look like: running and playing in the yard with fashionable, perfectly groomed children, meeting friends for coffee, waiting at the door for my husband to come home at 5:00 so we could eat a romantic meal while the children quietly played beside us...

Finally my dream came true. Sort of. When my 1st baby was born we were adjusting to a new baby in the house, a new schedule, a reduced income, reduced sleep, increased laundry and dishes and pumping and dishes and pumping and more dishes. When we emerged from the shock and my 2nd baby was born, we didn't have a home (we had just left my parents' home and moved into an apartment). I had a baby and a toddler in a little apartment. My husband travelled every week, leaving me home with no yard to play in, no washer and dryer, and few connections with people. When we finally bought our house I was determined to get out and meet people. I went to the mall play area with the kids just so I could chat with other moms. I signed Big Sissy up for tumbling at the Y. I went to the library story hour like it was against my religion to miss it.

At one of those library story hours, I met Beth. It turns out she has a master's degree in library science. Since I also met her at the library, I just call her Library Beth to differentiate her from other friends named Beth. She really likes it when I call her that (not really). At first I thought she was trying to sell me something. She kind of was, but she was also just friendly. She told me about a group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). When I asked her what people did there, she said we take turns bringing a hot breakfast every time (Go on, I'm listening...), we drink coffee and chat (now I'm really interested), we listen to speakers talk about parenting topics (the nerd in me is about to shout hallelujah now), and we do crafts. Screech. Halt. You mean the kids do crafts, right? It's hard for me to hear the word "crafts" without picturing blue and mauve country bunnies and crocheted toilet paper covers so I almost laughed right out loud and ran the other way. But the coffee and chatting and hot breakfast won, so I went.

I will admit the first year I had to bite my tongue about the crafts, but then my friend Emilee took over and the crafts got really fun. Then Pinterest was born and they got even better. I've actually finished a few things AND I've even made a few things to give as gifts. Impressive, at least for me, right? Today we made one of my most favorite things ever. I am apparently a craft rebel because I didn't do what I was supposed to do, but look what I made!

 

I was supposed to do this cute thing where I covered the Scrabble tile with scrapbook paper and a monogram and modge podged it all up. It would have been so cute and if I had more tiles I would still do that. But when I noticed that the "B" had a 3 on it...and I love Scrabble...and I have 3 kids...and I love the simplicity of it just like this...I just left it. It's like a little representation of my life. I sort of love it. Who knew I could like crafts? Or even say the word without cringing?

Great to be Eight!

We've been anticipating this day for...well, at least since Big Sissy's 7th birthday. When you're young you always want to be the next one up. That stops somewhere around 29. This year Big Sissy still likes her American Girls so we decided to have a "Peace Out" party in honor of Julie. Last month we did 2 weeks of skate lessons (because I had a Groupon, of course), and now she is enamored with roller skating. How perfect would it be to combine a "peace out" party with a skating party? We thought so! Now Nana (my mom) would swear to you that her love language is acts of service, but I might argue that it could be "gifts" because she always thinks of the best gifts. First she took Big Sissy to get Julie some skates, then a surprise package came in the mail. This was Big Sissy's face when she realized what it was...

 

 

Her very own skates!!!!

 

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We let her skate for a few minutes in the basement before bed, and she put them on again the next morning as soon as she was ready for school. It is amazing how much better she got just in that short amount of time before her party!

 

The next big surprise was when we took her to the mall to get her ears pierced! She had been begging since her 7th birthday, and the past few months she has worn stickers on her ears every single day. There was no doubt that that's what she reeeeeeaaaaaaallllly wanted.

 

 

Little Sissy spent her own money to get the birthday girl some new earrings and makeup.

 

Not to be left out, Little Buddy found and washed a special set of rocks and acorns in her honor.

 

Because 8 is kind of a big deal, she got to have her first sleepover with a friend. Note to self, it's probably not a good idea to do that when you have a cold AND you have to get up early for a party the next day. By 10:30 I was ready for everyone to be asleep!

 

We get kind of into these theme parties. Hubby is always a good sport about the getup I make him ask him to wear.

 

Nana and Papa got festive for the occasion too. She even whipped up some bell bottoms!

 

My super talented friend Emilee made the cute peace out cake and tie dyed cupcakes. I am very sad to learn that she is retiring from the "cakes for Christy" business now that she has a real job.

 

Peacing out with all my siblings. What a fun day to have everyone there!

 

The skating gang. Big Sissy and I tie dyed t-shirts for all the guests (under 10) instead of filling up treat bags with random plastic things. I think they were a hit, and I feel quite a sense of accomplishment about doing something crafty that looks cute!

 

It's not even 9:00 and every little person in my house is soundly asleep. It was a fun and tiring weekend for all. Big Sissy before bed said, "I have some money. I have my own skates. I have my ears pierced. For this moment I have everything I've ever wanted plus some extra." I love seeing her thankful heart. We truly are blessed!



Winds of Change

I like to think of myself as a go-with-the-flow, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl.

Except I'm not.

I get really nervous about change. That's why I get haircuts only about 3 times a year. That's why I used to stay in dating relationships long after they'd "expired." That's why it's hard to watch my kids growing up so fast. I don't know what's coming next.

Sometimes, though, I'm ready for a change. And when I'm ready it happens. Fast. Like when I decided to start recycling. Before Hubby knew what was happening, I had recycling bins ordered and I was intercepting every piece of trash before it hit the trash can. Or when I decided my basement was crowded enough and I organized a garage sale in a week. I feel like change is happening in me. I don't know if it will be a fast one, but it's coming.

A presidential election is tomorrow. I REALLY hope that brings some change. But more than that I'm ready for a change in my personal direction. I've been so focused on being a mommy for so long that I forgot to see who else I was. As I'm studying counseling, I'm really remembering my call to ministry. And things are popping up everywhere that hold lots of potential. So maybe I'll go into a traditional school counseling role when I'm done. Or maybe I won't. But the change is that I'm open to whatever it is that God wants me to do.

Feeling the Love Tonight

If you have known me or my children long, you know that Big Sissy has loved music since she was a baby. All the baby books told me I should play soothing music as part of her bedtime routine, but after a while I noticed that her eyes stayed wide open as long as music was playing--like she was memorizing it. As soon as the music stopped, she would roll over and go to sleep. She's also been singing since she could talk, which was pretty early. She used to make up songs before she was even 2.

 

So we were super excited when (a) we found out about a great piano teacher 5 minutes from our house who leads worship, writes music for movies, plays in a band--who also has the most patient and gentle spirit with children. He's pretty amazing, really. He had Big Sissy writing her own compositions from the very first week. He also teaches theory, chording, and classical styles. He lets her zoom through the books that are too easy, and now she's in a Disney book that she LOVES. Oh, I almost forgot about (b). So (b) last Christmas my parents bought the kids a nice keyboard so she actually has something to practice on. This summer she officially began lessons.

 

Her first recital was Saturday. I don't know who was more nervous. I was having flashbacks of a formal auditorium at SIU where you could hear a pin drop as each student silently walked up for his torture--I mean, performance. Ick. *shudder.* Thankfully Big Sissy's first experience was in a crowded back room of a local coffee house. I could drink my latte and calm down while she did an amazing job playing a duet with her instructor. Scroll to the bottom to hear the Lion King's "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" I've probably listened to it 50 times so far. It just makes my heart burst with pride and exitement for her.



 

 

Both of the great grandmas were able to join us for this monumental event. I think they knew more of the guys on that back wall than I did. :) It was cute watching them try to drink cappuccino out of those newfangled cups with the hidden hole in the lid. I actually know where the hole is, though, and I wasn't doing much better at keeping the dribbles off of my chin. It's good to laugh at yourself, right?

 

Warming up with Eric

 

The girls were surprised at how many of their friends from Hope Church also take lessons from either Eric or his mother. They always do a combined recital.

 

Our precious little piano-playing pumpkin

 

 

And the video...

Dorothy, Dino, and a Diva

Happy Halloween to everyone! Our day began with pajama day for the girls (the school's way of discouraging costumes at school, I believe). They were pretty giddy about that. Little Buddy and I went to the gym, but as we were getting out he melted down because he didn't want to be embarrassed about having a costume on in the gym. I couldn't let him take it off because I hadn't brought him a jacket since his costume provided enough warmth. So we left the gym without going in and went to the post office and made a delivery and a Kohl's trip in his costume. It's funny that he's already so sensitive about his clothes. I spent all morning trying to convince him that he's a KID and he's supposed to be excited to wear costumes. He was not convinced until he got to school and saw all the other kids also in their costumes (he was skeptical that I was making him be the only one there too).

 

 

 

After school we ditched homework and piano practice with reckless abandon and got ready for the fall festival at church. We live in an older neighborhood with almost no kids, so no one feels like they are missing out on trick or treating. And there's nothing creepy at church. And they get candy but not pounds and pounds. They also get to see friends, play games, and bounce in a bounce house. So it's a win/win for everyone.

 

Meet Dorothy, Dino, and Diva. Aren't they all adorable?

 

 

Little Sissy and her buddy playing festival games

 

 

Big Sissy training for the Hunger Games :)

 

Little Buddy concentrating hard for the sake of candy

Though Your Sins be as Scarlett

I won't lie. My kids are sheltered. And I'm pretty OK with that. They don't watch TV, but that is mostly because we have old rabbit ear antennas and we don't get very good reception. They do watch movies sometimes, but apparently they haven't seen Gone With the Wind. We were at Pasta House eating lunch one Sunday (because kids eat free, of course), and Little Buddy saw this poster hanging in the lobby. "Look, Mommy," he says. "That lady is getting baptized!"

 

I look back at this every time I need to smile.

Time to be liked and not "liked"

I'm pretty sure no one reads this any more since I haven't blogged in a year, but I have grounded myself from Facebook and trying to recall what it's like to type out my thoughts in more than a sentence or two at a time. Why get off of the biggest social media site there is? Well, I think because it's the biggest social media site there is. I have/had 600 friends on Facebook, all people I am at least loosely connected with, and by the time I take the time to read the details of all their lives I have lost the deeper connections with the fewer--MUCH fewer--that God has given me to nurture at this moment.

Also I'm addicted.

I'm addicted to knowing what everyone is doing and wearing and eating for dinner and who they're hanging out with in their spare time. I am addicted to being "liked" when I post something clever. I'm addicted to having something to do when I have to wait for any length of time anywhere. Do you know what I used to do? Pray. Think. Imagine. Dream. Write. Plan. Remember. Play. Sleep.

It's time to go back to those days. I seriously had to ask my husband what my blog url was. I couldn't remember. Even now I'm having trouble navigating the site. But it will come back to me. And the people who actually like me can keep up with me here. And though I won't be "liked" nearly as much, I think I'll be liked better--by the people that matter.

Thanks for welcoming me back.

Allison Wonderland

Little Sissy is leaping and bounding towards learning to read. It's all very exciting for her, but at the same time it's rocking her world. It started when we were reading a Tangled book about colors. She knew that Rapunzel was wearing a purple dress, but she paused when she got to the word because it didn't make sense to her. All along she has been saying "jress" and is still convinced that the books (and I) are lying about the real way to say it.

Same with "chruck" (truck).

I had to laugh today when we were reading Alice in Wonderland and she kept saying "Allison" even though it clearly said "Alice." Apparently they printed that one wrong too. Every time. In every book. Because everyone knows her name is Allison Wonderland.

Here's to hoping that she can rise above the conspiracy theory and learn to chrust me again.