#!/usr/bin/mom

My life right now

Well, I haven't been taking many pictures lately, sorry for that. As much as I love my new 50mm lens, I've been having trouble settling into the things I usually enjoy. I haven't taken photos; I haven't uploaded the new born photos from the DVD that Loana sent me. I've been getting bored after only a few minutes reading blogs, and I haven't even felt like Twittering.

I have been reading, though. I finally read Barbara's Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room, which she sent me as a thank you for some help I gave her with her blog. This is an excellent book. Honestly, I'd put off reading it because spiritual self-help books tend to make me feel a bit hopeless and overwhelmed, like everybody's got something I can't seem to grasp -- I love Beth Moore and Elisabeth Elliot, but they do make me feel that way -- but Lord, Please Meet Me in the Laundry Room was nothing like that. If anything it was a great read just for the interesting insight into her life and family. I'm always curious about the lives of non-fiction writers whose books I enjoy, and Barbara is so open and transparent, both in her books and articles and on her blog, that she always feels like an old friend. Not just that, but an old friend with lots of experience and good advice. I absolutely recommend that you read any book of hers you can get your hands on.

What I have been mostly doing, however, is working on my long-term struggle to actually act like a housewife and spend time, you know, cleaning my house. I haven't been perfect, but Mark and I worked out a sort of mini-routine for me to work on to get the mornings down pat before we move on to sorting out the rest of the day, and I have been doing a pretty good job. You'd be so proud of me -- I'm cooking breakfast every day! That's right, no more having the kids fix themselves cold cereal; I've been making eggs, bacon or sausage, and biscuits every morning. I'm thinking that I'm going to start cooking more bacon/sausage, putting cheese in the eggs and jelly on the biscuits, and maybe even add some fruit on the side as part of my quest to rearrange our diet. The idea is that by having your biggest meal at breakfast, your second biggest at lunch, and your smallest meal at supper, you train your body to burn more calories during the day rather than storing them as fat while you sleep. It's supposed to help you lose weight as well as have more energy during the day (which is actually the part I care about). The only sad thing is that I love the huge, delicious, heavy meals Mark likes to fix for supper. I guess we'll just have to be careful to eat smaller portions.

I've also been tackling Mt. Laundry. I've been behind on the laundry for months. I was already behind when we did the big winter to summer clothes switchover in March, and while I managed to wash all of the winter clothes and store them away in our bursting-at-the-seams overstuffed closet, I only got about half of the summer clothes washed. (They all needed to be, because they smelled musty from being stored all winter.) I've been trying unsuccessfully to catch up ever since, and today I finally accomplished it. All of the clothes are clean, except what the children just took off to go to bed! The only problem now is that I have about 6 loads of clean clothes that need to be put away, but all the drawers are full to overflowing, the boys' clothes cubbies are so full they are falling apart, and I'm out of hangers. Even the cabinet where we keep towels is so full it won't close all the way! I guess when we switch back to winter clothes I'll go through and get rid of anything that doesn't fit or is worn out, but in the meantime I'm just going to buy a whole bunch of hangers and be glad that we actually have lots of clothes hanging space. (Although every closet in the house is packed with boxes, baskets, dressers, cubbies, shoes, baby stuff, and toys, we don't actually have much hung up. So I just need to buy lots and lots more hangers.)

I was going to have a bit of fun on Wednesday; we were planning a playdate with Julie and her kids. Julie's daughter is one of Anna's very favorite friends in the whole wide world; they met at a homeschool ballet class a few years ago (although I actually already knew the family from my grandparents' church) and though they don't get to see each other often, she has a very special place in Anna's heart. I was going to take the opportunity to play some more with my new lens, and of course share the photos with all of you, but then Seamus woke up early Wednesday morning throwing up. Anna was next, then Mark, and even the dog was in on it. (Actually, we're not sure what's up with Harley. He's started throwing up in the mornings, but otherwise seems completely fine. Isn't that odd??) So we had to reschedule our playdate for next Wednesday; I can't wait! After that we're having another playdate with the new friend who sold me my new lens, although we haven't picked a date for that one, yet.

I'm also looking forward to a lovely 4 day weekend, since Mark's boss gave them all tomorrow off, and of course Monday is a holiday. (Have I mentioned that the company Mark works for rocks? They expect a lot from their employees, but Mark is thriving in an atmosphere where everyone works together and gives 100% all the time, and the bosses definitely know how to encourage and reward all that hard work. I also met Mark's immediate boss at his birthday party, and he and his wife seemed like awesome people -- the sort we should definitely hang out with.) Tomorrow we're planning to let the kids wash the cars (yes, "let" -- kids LOVE to put on their swimsuits and play with soap and water!), and sometime this weekend I'm going to clean out either the garage or my bedroom closet. Tonight Mark is out having a drink, so I'm planning to read and set up a couple of programs on my computer -- one to help me memorize Scripture, and one to automatically start playing music in the morning since that puts me in a good mood but I always forget to do it.

Actually, I should probably get to that stuff right now, since it's after 10 and I don't want to be up too late. Night, y'all!

posted @ 09:23 pm -- comments (1)

Am I a mean mom?

Apparently I am the only mom in the neighborhood with rules, and the other kids in the neighborhood don't like it. These rules seem reasonable enough to me, but they always seem to be a big problem for everyone else:

• My kids aren't allowed to play until their chores and school are done, and I don't care if that means they don't get to play at all. If my kids spend all day fooling around and daydreaming instead of doing their schoolwork, and that means they aren't done until dinner is ready, oh well. If Anna spends four days sitting in her bedroom not cleaning, when she's supposed to get her room clean every morning, I don't feel sorry for her. They know what's expected of them, and I know that my expectations are reasonable, so if they choose slacking off over getting to play with their friends, that's their choice.



• My kids also aren't allowed to leave the house or have friends over if I am asleep. I won't be taking naps in the afternoon once we start school in September, but this summer has been hard on me what with being pregnant and then recovering from the c-section, so I've been napping with the little kids. Frankly, I don't think it's safe for kids to be roaming the neighborhood without an adult being at least awake enough to notice if they don't come home, and I can't be responsible for the safety of other people's kids when I'm sleeping.



• Once the kids come in for dinner, they stay in. We have a routine: we have dinner, Mark reads to the kids, we clean up from dinner (including washing dishes), everyone gets ready for bed. By then it's usually 9, at least, and even in the summertime that's bedtime.

I think this is pretty straightforward. In practice it usually means that the older kids are able to go out and play with their friends from 4-6pm. That's two hours every day, and that doesn't even include the time they spend playing in the yard with their siblings. And yet every single day I have to deal with kids waking me up from my nap to ask, "M. wants to know if I can come out and play?" Um, the answer is still no, just like it was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that!!

Some other, in my opinion completely reasonable, rules:

• My kids aren't allowed to go play at someone else's house when their parents are not home. My oldest is only ten -- she isn't even legally old enough to stay home alone! And yet someone's mom thought it would be fine to invite her over to play and not mention that she wasn't going to be home. Grrrr. (Someone's mom also likes to send her daughter to play at my house when she's going to run errands, like I'm a free babysitting service.)



• I expect my kids to be nice to their siblings -- even siblings who are much younger or of the "wrong" gender. While my normal policy is that you can't force people to play with you, I don't appreciate girls from down the street coming in to my kids' yard, occupying the clubhouse that my kids all made together, and then insisting my sons can't come in. Hello? My sons built that clubhouse!



• If my kids want to bring their friends inside, they need to pick up their toys first. I don't want the whole neighborhood to see the absolute wreck my kids can create in five minutes. If they've done their daily chores and the house is messy again they can play outside, and have popsicles. Yes, I am the mom who provides the whole neighborhood with popsicles.



• Other people's kids are not allowed to play in my bedroom. You may recall that I recently turned half of my bedroom into a playroom for the big kids. Previously they weren't allowed to play with puzzles, board games, art supplies, or other small-child-unfriendly toys if the little kids were around. Now they can do those things any time they want, provided they stay in my room. However, it is still my bedroom, and I just don't want neighborhood kids traipsing through there.

I honestly don't think this is so horrible, but my kids are constantly relaying the requests of their friends to break said rules. They always tell me, "I told them we aren't allowed to, but they keep asking!" Well, obviously, because they know eventually you'll give in and ask me! Then, about half the time, a no from me is immediately followed by the friend's sudden desire to go home, which is in turn followed by my kids crying. Sigh. They really need to learn that such fair-weather friends are not really friends at all.

I seriously hope that my kids don't act like that at other people's houses. I've tried very hard to teach them to respect adults and to follow other people's rules even if they are more strict than my own. For instance, Grandma doesn't allow kids to watch movies that my husband and I think are just fine. When my kids mention this I always say, "Well you should respect Grandma's wishes and not watch that when she's around." After all, respect for Grandma is more important than what movie they watch when we're out, right?

That's what it's about: respect. When you show respectful obedience to grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends' parents, you show respect for your own parents and, by extension, God, from whom all earthly authority flows.

posted @ 06:52 pm -- comments (5)

Cash & Gifts Accepted

A friend suggested that I set up a PayPal donation button. I gave it some thought, and decided what the heck, why not. I also added a button for my Amazon wishlist. You can find both down there in the sidebar, under the title "Donate." Please feel obligated don't feel obligated to send me anything. (All major credit cards accepted! LOL.)

posted @ 12:01 am -- comments

Wordless Wednesday and Special Exposure Wednesday: Bear Creek Park

From that Katy Photos at the Park meeting that no one showed up for:











See more photos at Wordless Wednesday (5MFM) and Special Exposure Wednesday.

1. Anissa@Hope4Peyton 2. Muthering Heights 3. Elaine 4. Alisha @ Izzy N' Emmy 5. Marcia "HDMac" 6. Monica @ Daily Dwelling 7. Wendy 8. Sandy M 9. Rickismom 10. Sara@My Sippy Cup Runneth Over 11. Shannon @ Gabi's World 12. xoBeau 13. TheAngelForever 14. d 15. TJ Hirst 16. Cate O'Malley

17. christina 18. Mojo 19. Tiff@Three Peas 20. DJ 21. ryanne 22. debi - mom to 9 23. michelle 24. killlashandra 25. Kristin 26. Laura 27. Heather B. 28. Julie @ A Celebration Of Our Journey 29. The Traveler 30. You're next!

posted @ 12:00 am -- comments (31)

I wish I could draw

I wish I could draw. I get these really detailed ideas for drawings, but I can't get them out of my head as anything better than stick figures. This one is for a new header image for my blog. Don't expect to ever see it up there, because I can't draw.

To the far right of the image is me, sitting at my computer desk. I'm facing to the right, with the computer between me and the rest of the living room. There's a Linux penguin sticker on the computer. On the desk next to my computer is my DSLR. Somewhere nearby (stacked on the floor next to me? in a bookshelf?) are a bunch of books with the titles visible: The Bible, Believing God (Beth Moore), The Man In White (Johnny Cash -- yes, that Johnny Cash, and yes it's a book, a novel in fact), Mommy Teach Me (Barbara Curtis), Ina May's Guide To Childbirth (Ina May Gaskin), Irish Saints (Robert T. Reilly), Godless (Ann Coulter), PHP For Web Professionals (Christopher Cosentino), Understanding Exposure (Bryan Peterson), and You Slay Me (Katie MacAlister). (I doubt the authors would fit in the drawing, but I figured y'all would be interested.) That pretty much covers most of my varied interests.

In the center of the image, Diarmuid is laying on the floor on a green blanket. Around him are his three big brothers, each showing him something: a frog, a baseball glove, and a robot made of Duplos (those are the big Legos.) They are each wearing a different pair of Superman pajamas. Aoghdan's are blue pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt with little Superman logos all over them. Seamus' are blue pants and a blue long-sleeved shirt with red cuffs at the wrists and ankles and a large Superman logo on the chest. Hamish's are red shorts with a small Superman logo on one leg, and a short-sleeved blue shirt with a large Superman logo on the chest. Seamus' pajamas have a red cape, too, which our all-black German Shepherd, Harley, is tugging on, trying to get him to come play. (Harley has a red collar.) Maybe it would be cute for Diarmuid to be wearing a little Superman onesie, although he doesn't actually have one.

In the far left part of the image Aryanna is trying to take photos of her two little sisters. Sinead is dressed up like a princess and dancing around. Aisling is trying to put on a princess dress, too, but the waist is stuck on her shoulders, her arms are reaching out from under the skirt, and you can see her regular clothes and bare feet sticking out the bottom.

In the background, on my living room wall, are images of Texas, probably the flag and a map of Texas, because I imagine those would be easier to draw and more easily recognizable in a drawing than the Alamo or the San Jacinto monument. I really do plan to decorate my walls that way; I even have framed photos of Texas on my wishlist.

(Frustration! Just as I finished writing the above, the laptop froze up. It always freezes up about ten minutes into using it! I had to copy the second half of this post, which was still on my screen, to the desktop, and then re-write the first half.)

That pretty much sums up my life and my family: God, kids, homeschooling, reading, computer, photography. And occasionally frogs.

(PS, I just realized that it must seem strange that my husband isn't in the picture. I was imagining this as daytime during the week, when he would be at work. However, he is represented in the image by the Linux penguin, and you can probably assume that I'm chatting with him on that computer.)

posted @ 04:12 pm -- comments