Oh, Sick!

I didn't post anything yesterday because I wasn't feeling well. Blame it on PPD, SAD, PMS, or just plain being SICK. I woke up with a horrible headache and I felt very pukey. I am not one who throws up easily. When I am sick to my stomach, I just lie very still for 24 hours, until the sick goes away. John doesn't get this. He thinks I should just barf and get it over with...but I just can't!

So, yesterday I spent the day in the horizontal position. Thankfully, John got up and took the kids to school for me and got Lincoln a bottle. Later in the day, I was able to walk downstairs, in the hunched-over position, to take a nap. That helped a lot. As the day progressed, I felt better and better.

It's so funny, how when you're not able to clean, you want to! I was lying on the couch, helplessly looking at the disaster grow and grow around me. The kids are pretty good about cleaning up, so the disaster did get back under control. But the things I typically do, didn't get done. This would include dishes and laundry.

So, you guessed it! That is what I am doing today. I have to admit, though, I was already behind on laundry. I had a huge mound of clothes on the basement floor. When I got to the bottom, the clothes were actually stuck to the floor! Oh, YUCK! In order to stay on top of laundry, I have to do laundry every day. This doesn't happen, so I am always behind.

This morning I finally got the kitchen cleaned. There's something about having a clean kitchen that makes the world a happy place to me. We have an older house. It was built in 1944. There was no dishwasher when we moved in. We immediately bought a portable dishwasher that hooks up to the kitchen sink. Well, about 2 or 3 months ago, it started leaking everytime I did a load of dishes. It would take about 6 towels to mop up the mess. But, on the bright side, the kitchen floor was always clean! So, about 2 weeks ago, we finally replaced that dishwasher with a new one. I am so grateful for dishwashers!

Being sick can really give me a much needed change in perspective. I feel so much better today, and along with that, I have renewed energy. Along with the laundry and kitchen, I got a closet organized that had been driving me nuts. Now, I just have 6 more closets to organize, several cupboards, my desk, the china hutch, the top of the fridge, the boys' bedroom...uggg. The list keeps growing. But, as I've had more children, I've become more forgiving of myself. Where I use to expect perfection, now I just want happiness. Happiness is so much easier to come by!

For the unaware:

PPD= post-partum depression
SAD= seasonal affect disorder
PMS= pre-menstrual sydrome
SICK= uh, sick

Cynthia

Things That Never Last At Our House

1. Milk. We go through at least 1 gallon of milk per day. That's 7 per week and 356 per year. Wow.
2. Bread. We go through 2 loaves of bread per day. Micah and Hunter love "peanut butter and honey and straight-cut sandwiches."
3. Toilet paper. I don't know how much we use per day. Probably 1 roll. We buy those huge packages from Wallie World (aka Walmart) and that seems to last about 1 month.
4. Peanut butter. See #2.
5. Honey. Again, see #2.
6. Paper. I am constantly buying copy or computer paper. I also stock up on notebooks when you can get them at Wallie World for 5 cents a piece. My kids love to draw, and draw, and draw, and draw and write stories.
7. Diet Coke. I drink at least a 2 liter bottle per day. I know, it has already been established that I have a problem.
8. Quiet. It is quiet between the hours of 10pm and 6:30am only. This is probably why I stay up late, you know, so I can hear myself think.
9. Boredom. With so many of us, you can't stay bored for long. It's fun here. I think I'll stay.
10. Anger. Thanks to a wonderful example in my husband, no one stays mad for long. He is quick to apologize and so, we are too. There's a lot of love here. Love crowds out anger.

Cynthia

Thank Heaven for Little (and not so little) Boys

Micah (5) and Hunter (7) are angels when they are alone. But, when they're together, they seem to have a hard time keeping out of trouble. They are best friends. Micah looks up to Hunter and is his little shadow. They are like two peas in a pod, Donny and Marie, Bert and Ernie, or Milli and Vanilli! This is what they did today, while I was busy doing other things:
1) Micah stripped to his underwear and danced around. This kid does not like to be clothed.
2) They took the dog leash, which is one of those retractable ones that can get really long, and wrapped it around the legs of the highchair, legs of a kitchen chair, and the chair that goes to the computer desk. This took me about 15 minutes to untangle.
3) They played with Wynter's Nintendo DS. Enough said.

Now, for the oldest, Mark. He is 15 and thinks he knows all he needs to know. School is stupid. Chores are gay. Life is not fair. But, other than that, he's pretty fun to be around. He is 6' 2" now, and frankly, it's frightening. He was so excited the day that he realized he could see the top of my head, including all of my gray hairs. He still gives me hugs and says "I love you." I try to think of that during those times I want to wring his neck. I almost did that when he put Micah(who, you remember, was stripped down to his underwear) out on the porch and shut the door!


Tonight, he was delaying, and stalling, and putting off going to bed. He thinks he can charm himself out of having to go sleep for the night. "Mark! Get to bed!", I say. He starts talking to me about this or that. "Mark! Seriously!", I say. "But I want to talk to you.", he says. He leans against the wall, and there's this little creaking noise. He says, "My muscles are so big, they will put a hole in this wall." Ha Ha Haaaaaaa Ha ha ha....I laugh hysterically and thank him for giving me material for my blog. Then he says, very seriously, "I'm never going to talk to you again!" Then he went to bed. Wow, this blog is really coming in handy!

And, there's Lincoln. He is so sweet. He is now at the phase where he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He'll be crawling soon! He's growing up so fast! We also set up his crib today. Until now, he's been sleeping in a little, portable crib. I set him in it, as Micah and Hunter watched. Lincoln just giggled and giggled. He seemed to love it. Then Micah says "Now we have to have another baby for this empty bed!" HAAAAAA HAAAAA!! Kids say the funniest things!


I love my boys. They wrestle, they get dirty, they (Hunter and Micah) don't always aim correctly while peeing, they (Mark) hate school and life, but life would not be the same without them. Cynthia

I say, "Hello Monday!" And Monday says, "I hate you Cynthia!"

I'm still having my usual Monday hangover, even though it is now 6pm. I woke up this morning and said "Hey, Monday...can't we be friends?" And it said "No way!" So, after I got the kids to school, Lincoln down for a nap and Micah parked in front of the tv, I snoozed on the couch. When I woke up again, due to husband banging around in the garage and Lincoln waking up, Monday still didn't want to be friends. Well, I tried! Maybe next Monday!

I have been accused of being an anti-cheeryite by a Monday morning lover. Hey, I can be cheery with the rest of ya'll, but just not on Monday morning. I love the weekends because John is home!! His work schedule is Mon-Thurs, 4pm to 2 am. I'm home with the kids 4 evenings alone to handle dinner, homework, play-dates, etc. But, on the weekends, John is there to help. We also go on a date or 2.

Last night, on a whim, we decided to do a McDonald's run. We were both so hungry and all of the kids were in bed. I got my coat and shoes on. John got his coat and shoe on. He could only find one shoe. So, he hopped out to the car on one foot...his left foot. Apparently he is right-footed because it was not a pretty sight. Then he had to use his barefoot to push on the brake and the gas pedal. This would account for the whiplash that I got. Hee hee! It was fun.

After eating our food, I just didn't want to go to bed. This is how it always is on Sunday night. If I go to bed, then Monday comes faster. So, I end up staying up super late and then have to literally drag myself out of bed to get the kiddos to school. I really pay for those late nights, but I still haven't learned. I stay up anyway.

When I climb the stairs on Monday morning, I can almost hear the dreadful, suspenseful music. You know, the music in movies that let's you know that something bad is about to happen. John and I sleep down in the basement. The main living area is upstairs. When I reach the landing, I just don't want to look. And then I do, and the psycho music starts playing. The kitchen sink is filled with dirty dishes. The table top is nowhere to be seen. The tv room has popcorn crumbs all over, as well as toys that I can trip on and break my neck. The laundry basket in the hallway is overflowing, as well as the garbage can in the kitchen. Somehow, even though I had seen this same mess the night before, it grew scarier while I was sleeping. The house has imploded! HELP!!!!

I scurry and hurry and get the kids off to school. I'm the mom you see at the school with her hair tousled and she's still in her pajamas. Motherhood has stripped me of all my pride. I really don't care what anyone thinks. At least I get my kids to school on time (mostly, I'll save that story for another post).

I arrive back home to the cutest baby, babbling and playing on the floor and Micah half asleep, asking for a peanut butter and honey "straight cut" sandwich. (This means he wants his sandwich cut in half.) I oblige, and include a cup of strawberry milk that I know he'll ask for exactly 2 minutes after I crash on the couch. Oh,wait! I've got to feed Lincoln too! I make him a bottle and hand it to him. He drinks it while lying on the floor. He's not content to be in anyone's arms anymore to be fed. --sniff sniff-- They grow up too fast!

I evenutally get a shower. This could be anywhere between noon and 9pm. I never thought I'd be this way, after getting up, showering, dressing, doing hair and make-up at 5am in the morning to make it to seminary before school. But, here I am. I'm tired. Better said, I'm whooped! This is why Diet Coke has become my friend. I admit that I'm addicted. But, no one can take it from me, it's all I have! Okay, that's very dramatic. But, for now, it is true. Someday I will overcome my addiction, but I can only handle one goal at a time.

I want to be friends with Monday. I know the only way to do it is go to bed earlier (scream), and plan ahead (gasp). I never knew being a grown up would be so hard. I actually have to be responsible for myself as well as 6 others (7, if you include John). Hee hee. Mark (my 15 year old) says that he already knows everything he needs to in order to take care of himself and that being a grown up is so easy. Oh boy, John and I got a good laugh out of that one!!! So, we told Mark to hurry and move out now, while he knows everything. He wasn't too keen on that idea.

Well, I guess I should act more my age and be more responsible. I have to call a truce with Monday. This can't go on any more. I will take the first step. I will go to bed earlier next Sunday. If that goes well, I will try to take another step. Baby steps. I can't go around leaping, someone (me) could get hurt!

I hope you all had a great Monday! Cynthia

Today was the day that we finally painted Savannah's room. We have had the paint for a couple months. Got around to it tonight. We had plenty of help from both Wynter and Savi, which, is a good learning experience. For us. In patience. Sure they love helping and had fun, but now there is paint in their hair, on their faces, socks, shoes, etc. It was mostly contained, but there was plenty of clean up afterwards. It was great. They are not high quality painters, but that was never what it was about to begin with.
Now for tomorrow's second coat! LOL
John