Thanks Martha!

A million years ago I visited Martha Stewart's website looking for a craft project to do with my daughter. I found a really fun idea that involved melting down old, broken pieces of crayons to make new, fun crayons. It sounded really easy--my specialty. It also sounded really practical since we have about a thousand broken pieces that never get used.

In addition to being St. Patrick's Day today (we're all wearing green--how about you?) it also marks the first day of Spring Break for the schools around here. Last night as I was tucking Ryanna in, I mentioned that she wouldn't have any violin lessons or pre-school this week because of Spring Break. I don't know if she heard wonderful things about Spring Break while she was at church, but she said, "Oh, that's okay, we'll just take naps and relax and stuff." Uh, take naps? From the child that hasn't napped in years? From the child that will fight sleep so hard that the sleeping medicine the dentist gave her had no effect? I was, of course, thrilled to hear that a nap sounded like a good idea.

Well, I thought that I should also plan some fun activities for this week since she can't do her usual stuff, so today we tried the above-mentioned project. It was a lot of fun!!! She really loves the new crayons and so does Owen. AND, although she didn't nap today, Owen and I did, so I call it a success!

Owen played with the regular, undamaged crayons while we peeled the broken ones.

Hard at work getting those wrappers off. I thought violet offered the most resistance.

Our hard work.

I love to do crafts with mom! (She was thinking this--promise!)

Sorry it's a bit blurry, but I love the colors.

After they are all peeled, you chop them into pea-sized pieces. You can group them however you want to. I learned it's better to have approximately the same amount per muffin tin, so they bake at the same rate.

The finished product. If you had muffin tins in fun shapes, you could do hearts or something else more creative than just circles, but either way, it was fun!

Mom, you're the greatest!!!!!

This last week in pictures...

Not a lot to say, so I thought I'd let you view the latest...

Crazy hair day at pre-school...
It was as crazy as I could come up with okay!
New swimming suit for this season--she'll be five in two weeks & wears a size 3!I want to offer this as proof that a belly is only cute before about age 4.
Ahhhh, so happy!
A real smile which is near impossible to get from my four year old. I have no clue what's coming out of her mouth...When expectations and reality don't match up.
This is what's growing in front of my house right now. Isn't it gorgeous? They are from last summer. Winter here is very kind to flowers.

When It Rains...it Leaks!

Since it's getting ready for our regular grass to begin coming back, I thought it was time to add that sprinkler that was missing in our backyard system. I had a landscaping company come and give me a free estimate which sounded totally reasonable to me, so I told them to do it. Since they were here, I asked how much more it would be to trim our hybiscus bushes--the price was right, so I added that on too.

As the guy was getting ready to leave, I asked him if he would look at our drip system since I didn't think that it worked and we hadn't been able to figure it out. He was happy to give it a look and went over to our sprinkler box. When he turned on the system, the box made a rather loud humming noise which it has always done since we've lived here. He told me that it shouldn't be making any noise and that the wires were probably in need of replacement. We went through the programming of each day and noticed that the box displayed--Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Now, doesn't that sound about like the perfect week? Two Saturdays in there? Ahhh yeah. Great for a lifestyle, not great for a sprinkling system.

The cost of replacing the box is not something that I wanted to add to the list and it isn't urgent at the moment, so it didn't get done. However, right after he turned off the sprinkler system, which had been running for maybe two minutes, he noticed that there was a leak right next to our house. We decided to check it out further, so I walked closer and he turned the water on again and the water bubbled to the surface about like the oil gurgles through the ground in the Beverly Hillbillies show. Oh no! What am I supposed to do about this? My man, the landscape guy, does these repairs too! Happy day--add it to the bill.

That's when we turn around and notice there's another leak at the end of the driveway--even worse than the leak by the house. Ahhh, all those mornings last summer when Derek would leave for work, he'd comment on how we must be watering our lawn too heavily because there was always a ton of water in the street. Question answered. Oh yeah, that water bill I got for $150 dollars last November, after I had stopped watering the lawn--that explains that too.

Did I mention he found another leak in the backyard by our shed? My, oh my. What the heck, just go pluck some of the cash off the money tree we planted in the backyard and come back tomorrow and fix the leaks, add the sprinkler, fix the broken sprinkler and trim the hybiscus.


Saturday morning, we all, Derek me and the kids, got up and ate a delicious waffle breakfast prepared with love by yours truly and then we went outside to pull weeds in our front lawn. Derek also edged the lawn. I realize most of you can't even see your lawns through the snow and we're pulling weeds! Our HOA is very picky on two points--weeds and parking in the street. Don't do either or they're likely to come by and post some sign in your yard decrying your terrible negligence. We'd been warned so we had a mission to get weeds pulled and since the landscaping guys were coming, we anticipated a beautiful new yard by the end of the day.

Well, after the first three leaks were repaired, a funny thing happened. Let me explain it this way. When you have a leak, water is not being distributed like it should to all the other places where your underground pipes connect. Once you fix a leak in one spot, you may discover that you have leaks elsewhere that you didn't realize were there because water was never reaching those other leaks. That's right--two more leaks for a grand total of FIVE leaks that had to be fixed.

You know what, the leaks didn't cost that much to be fixed considering how much money I paid in water bills last summer. The two neighbors came out and sympathized and said that a sprinkler system here only lasts about ten years--this house is on its twelfth year, so I guess we were lucky.

I just have to say that there must be some incredible prayers that were answered and blessings that were provided to us while we were in school because since we've moved we've had our TV break, our phone break, one of our cars need major repairs, the other car had to get new brakes, Ryanna had six cavities and some other items I'm blocking right now. Please, let's not have anything else break in the next six months...our money tree is out of season.

A Whole Lot of Nothin'

I usually begin my days in a very structured way. Namely, I wake-up and groan at how early my boy insists on greeting the day--the time ranges from 5:40 to 6:30 a.m. Then, I quickly remind myself that this is my life. It's not going to change and I can only change my attitude, so I jump out of bed with a smile on my face and greet the day. Okay, you caught me, I don't shift gears that quickly, but I do get out of bed with resolve and get on my exercise outfit (no, it's not a matching ensemble with cute bows) and haul him downstairs with me.

After locating something with nutritional value, I put him in his chair to eat a small portion (he doesn't like a large breakfast, he said it makes him feel groggy during the day and hey, could I argue with that?). I put on the tape/DVD and get a large glass of ice water. Yes, it has to have ice in it. I don't like water that isn't chilled--call me a snob. "What tape/DVD do you do that manages to keep you looking so trim and toned?" you are dying to know... Well, it's a random assortment based on my tolerance for pushing myself that particular day. If I'm feeling really tough it's David Kirsch's video that has--I'm not kidding or exaggerating--50 push-ups worked into it. Go read the reviews on amazon.com, it'll kick your booty. If I'm not feeling that tough, I may do a Tae Bo or The Firm or another step tape that I really love. For those who are truly interested, I'll let you know if you want some ideas (not all Tae Bo videos are created equal let me tell you).

After the exercise has ended (I've had to stop the tape and remove Owen at some point from his chair), I usually drink a little bit more and let my body cool down a bit by doing the dishes or a general clean up session of the kitchen. I now also have to clean up the bunny do-dos and feed him a bit as well. Following that, I head to a shower, then hair and make-up. This is all performed by me, not a team of stylists. Although I have wished for that before. Following the Audrey production, I throw my kids in my tub--not their tub--my tub. They prefer my tub because it's bigger and I don't mind of course. I get them dressed and do Ryanna's hair and have her make her bed and brush her teeth. We then usually head downstairs to do a 30 minute violin practice session. After that, it's whatever needs to be done for the day.

Why am I telling you the tedious details that seems to take up so much of my morning? Well, it's because today was so very different. Today, was not a typical get up, get going day for me. My day began at 3:45 a.m. and again at 6:45 a.m. I woke up the first time because I had to go to the bathroom and then my mind started going. My husband thinks I'm crazy, but this is a big problem with me. It's not usually to-do's either that run through my mind. It's thoughts like, "I wonder why so and so hasn't emailed me in a while?" or "Really, how could I be a better parent...what could I change, how am I going to start in a few hours to reach those goals?" Other such thoughts that do have merit, but are best left to be pondered in the daylight hours. Once I get going though, it's hard to stop as it was today. I was awake, tormented with my thoughts and feeling sick to my stomach (that's literal) and didn't fall back asleep until 6:00 a.m. At which time my husband got up and I fell asleep until 6:45 a.m. when Owen greeted the day. I was actually thrilled he'd let me sleep in a bit.

Feeling sick, still, I got up and carried him downstairs where I fed him and then let him watch the new pbs channel that is composed of all their children's programs all day--have you seen this? I read a bit of the new book I'm reading and generally felt yucky all day.

My house looked like trash, my body felt like trash and my mothering today bordered on nanny with serious neglect issues. I am not a TV mom. I allow one hour a day. Seriously, one hour, sometimes two if there's a very good reason. Today? Uh, let's not go into details here. Suffice it to say that my daughter loved today because of all the TV.

Did I mention I'm still wearing the pjs I went to bed in last night? Gross. Real, but gross.

Tomorrow? Tomorrow holds so much promise--another day of TV is what my daughter would hope for I'm certain. For me, it holds the hope of my usual routine. I am a creature of habit.

All Things Ryanna

I figured I had better record some of the things coming out of her mouth lately before I forget. I was reading through a journal of mine a few months ago that was during the time when she was really little and it mentioned cute things she had said or done and I remember at the time thinking, "Oh, I'll never forget this. It's so cute." Apparently, I give myself too much credit--better to get it in the blogosphere.

• A month ago we were driving somewhere and she asked me, "Mom, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I told her that I thought I pretty much was grown-up and that I was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing--being a full-time mom to her and her brother. She replied, "I want to be a chef!" Guess which movie she'd been watching? Being the liberated woman & mother that I am, I told her that she could be anything she wanted to be--including a mom and a chef.


• She has been struggling with being honest lately. This is a rather startling discovery to me as she has always been such an honest child. Even when she knew what she had done was wrong, she'd fess up. Well, without any encouragement, she has become a...how do you say liar in a nice way? Not about everything, just anything she knows will get her in trouble. I found several of her toys with pen scribbles all over them last week. When I asked her about it, she told me she didn't know who had done it first, then she told me it was her friend who had been playing at our house the day before and after I further questioned, she mentioned a friend that was going to be coming to our house. The fact that she still hasn't figured out the time & day thing yet is helping me to be a better parent in this case. After all of those fibs, she finally confessed it was her. This took an ENTIRE day for her to do. She wasn't punished the whole day, I just kept bringing it up from time to time during the day asking her about it until the truth came out. Because she lied, I made her pick five toys she really liked that she would have to give away (which meant they were put in a box where she could not reach them). I told her the next time she lied to me, she would have to pick ten items to lose. Her dad, however, had a similar lying situation happen while he was home. Apparently the loss of items didn't bother her enough and he told her she'd get a spank. I have rarely spanked her and the last couple times I have, it was so softly, she didn't even feel it. Well, her dad gave her a bit more forceful spanking than that and I think it shocked her. She said, "Don't! That hurts!" She lied again the next day and freaked out about having to get her spanking. However, since then, she hasn't lied once. Last night's FHE was about being honest and she really had a lot to say.


• She has been trying to conjugate in the past tense a lot lately and saying the "ed" portion of the word twice or incorrectly. So, it comes out, "We wented to the store." or "I like-ed to do that." Maybe she's been reading too much Isaiah lately?


• We've also reached the point where I'm having to discuss social grace and politeness with her. We worked long and hard on interrupting people and she's much better than she used to be, but yesterday we went to her violin lesson and her teacher came out with a mug in her hand. Ryanna asked what she was drinking and her teacher replied, "Coffee." To which, after many lessons in church and from her parents on taboo items, replied, "Coffee?! YUCK! We don't drink coffee!" Of course her teacher was very gracious about it and said that little children shouldn't drink coffee. Later in the car, I had to talk to her about how other people don't believe the same things we believe and we should be polite to them about what they do because we don't want to hurt their feelings. She understood that one I believe. Such a tricky thing to teach your kids that certain things you believe are wrong--smoking & drinking coffee in particular, they are going to see other people doing all the time.

That's all I can recall at the moment. I'm sure there are other things I'm missing. She is such a sweet, little girl. She is such an amazing older sister and a great help to me. I'm so glad to have her around. Our children are such blessings in our lives.

Yeah!

Owen's favorite new word is "Yeah!" It's actually quite nice to hear this come out of his mouth as he has been saying "no" to eveything this last week while he's been sick.

Hope you have a great weekend!

I Don't Want to Hear It

I don't know if it's because Owen has been really whiny this week because he has this terrible cough or what, but I'm tired of hearing this, "Despite the fact that our marriage is dissolving, we're going to remain the best of friends. We are totally committed to making our friendship last." Or "I will always love so & so with all my heart, but our schedules have prevented us from making this marriage work."

I realize the various reasons why people end marriages is a private affair and it is none of my business, but what I don't want them to do is tell me that they are ending one of the most important bonds between people because of a scheduling conflict. You cancel playdates and nights out because of scheduling conflicts--you don't end marriages.

I also don't want them to tell me that they are going to still be best friends. Really? I married my husband because he was my best friend. I wanted to be around him all the time; I didn't think I could find anyone else better suited to my personal needs and desires. Have you ever read Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott? The ending to that books drives me bonkers because Jo, who has always been best friends with her next door neighbor, who is a male, does not marry him. In the end, they determine that the marriage would've never worked because they were the best of friends. What?!?!? Then you find out that the author never married and you think, "Yeah, now I know why this ending is ridiculous!"

Not that I want each spouse to come out swinging and throwing mud at each other. I just really don't want my kids to grow up hearing that people who were best friends just couldn't make it work. If they fall for this message, what will prevent them from thinking their own marriage is a failure when it isn't all fun and games. There is a lot of simple day-to-day monotony in every marriage. Not that I'm advocating staying in an abusive marriage or one that is unrepairable.

When I worked as a legal secretary/paralegal, we had a couple come into the office once who wanted a divorce. They were completely amicable with each other. They had already decided how everything was going to be divided and all they needed was an attorney to write up the legal papers. In my little experience with divorces, that one was the most difficult for me to understand. I just kept thinking, "Would a counselor be able to save this?" I wanted to see some passion, some anger, some...emotion!

So, next time one of these couples ends a less than perfect union, here's what I'd like to hear:

"We couldn't make this marriage work. I want a career more than I want a spouse." Or, "We got married in the heat of passion and have regretted not having any common goals to work toward." That's not good news, but it is the truth.