Do you ear me?

Ears.

7 ear infections in 9 short months equals surgery.

I know they are a dime a dozen.  I think more children have surgery to have tubes now than not.

I will be a complete wreck.  But Blue needs to have this procedure.

Please remember us Tuesday.

29:36

What does 29:36 have to do with you?

Absolutely nothing.

What does 29:36 have to do with me?

Absolutely everything.

You see, 29:36 is the time that I finished my very first 5K.  That's right, I did it.


It could have been an emotional ending, but I fought back the tears.  It truly is mind over matter.  I wanted to quit during the last mile.  I wanted to walk the last hill.  I thought there is no way I would finish under thirty minutes, and I was beginning to think I wouldn't finish under thirty-five minutes.  

And then, I rounded the curve.  I saw the official race timer.  I dug deep and kicked it into overdrive.  And I finished under thirty, which was my initial goal.

It wasn't pretty, but it was months of hard work put to the test.

A few things I wanted to share:

The race proceeds went to the family of a nine month old little boy, who had bacterial meningitis.  And when big brother thanked everyone, tears flowed.  Sweet, little Drew has had many encouraging doctor visits in the three months since his illness, but the road is still long.  Pray for Drew and his family.

There was a military man that completed the race with his 80 pound bag on his back.  It was an extremely humbling thing to witness.

Also, a police officer completed the race in his vest and thirty pounds in it.

Which in the scheme of things makes what I did look like small potatoes.

But I'm proud.

Grab a snack and get cozy

I have so much to tell you about.

A lot has happened in the last month and half since I blogged.  I am totally ashamed.  A month and a half.  That's embarrassing.

But let me redeem myself.  You are about to understand why.

Let's rewind.  You remember, I put my notice and quit my j.o.b.?  Well, we had been dealing with should we move or should we just stay put for about the last year.

How about on the day I put in my two week notice, an amazing couple came to look at our house.  The whole time I was showing my home, I was thinking in the back of my mind, "There is no way I am selling my house.  I just put in my two week notice."  And so they left, fully admitting that they would be shopping around.  I told them about places I knew for sale that may be worth them checking (I'm terrible at selling my house).

Then, they came back.  This time they asked a few more questions.

And then, they came back again.  This time bringing family.

You would have thought that I would have thought they are serious, but I'm just sitting around twiddling my thumbs.

Bam! They made an offer.

And panic and chaos, and the crazy OCD mom and wife went into overdrive.  She works hard for the money.

And Bam!  A couple from our church called and said they were about to put there house on the market.  Location: where we wanted.
Acreage:  what we wanted.
Bedroom/Bathroom ratio: what we wanted
Barn: check
Off the road: check
Fence: check

So we rushed out to check it out, and they took the sign out of the yard and said "We will wait on you."

And I'm thinking, "This is NUTS."

And it has been nuts.  It's been affirmation that God had his hand on our situation the entire time.

It was God's way of saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

He knew it was exactly what I needed, and He would know.  He designed me.

Bam! Bam! I got a perfect job at a preschool where I only work part time.  I passed the Praxis I and II, and this spring, I plan on pursuing an alternate route to education.

Can you say roller coaster?  Physical and emotional roller coaster.

So, I sit here typing you from our new home.  I plan on posting pictures soon.

 

Have we met?

I don't even know myself anymore.

I think I used to have an identity. I'm only kidding I still have an identity.

I'm Little and Blue's mom.
I'm Husband's wife.
I'm the crazy music lady at VBS.
I'm the mom of that little girl who has the summer cast.

I mean, what summer is truly complete without a cast?

At least it's pink.

Oh, I hope you don't think it's devastating to Little. The next morning, she hugs her cast and goes on and on about how much she loves it.

Now, I love accessories. I love bracelets. And shoes. But a cast? Um, not so much.

The word "love" may be slightly overused. However, I stand by the fact that I love bracelets and shoes. I truly love them.

I'm beginning to love jeans. Now that I'm down a (you're going to need to sit down, I'll wait) whopping 35 pounds.

That running I've been doing is seriously paying off. Oh, don't give me too much credit. I still haven't ran that 5K. But I will. I may run it in my jeans, because I'm almost loving them that much.

If I had the energy, I would post before and after pictures, but it's late, VBS graduation was tonight, and it's all I can do to breath and type. Literally. I'm having to alternate breathing and typing. I'm that tired.

I'm about 8 pounds away from my goal, I think. I say I think, because it's not so much about the number. I think that comes with age. Before, it was always about the number.

The problem is I'm having to slowly revamp my closet, because those things that didn't fit six months ago, definitely don't fit now. But it's from one extreme to another.

I've been trying to run in the elements a little more. Heat and humidity are not my friends. Especially when I run outside. Especially with these bangs. Summer bangs are rarely a good idea. Note to self.

So I've been working a back-breaking one day a week. I'm selling clothes, shoes, and jewelry at a local specialty store. And I love it. I've always loved retail. Both as a consumer and distributor. Makes my heart skip a beat. My closet has never looked so good.

So, if you see me, it's really me. Just a much healthier version of myself.

Annual blog post

I am so incredibly busy these days that I am just going to schedule my next post around next summer sometime. Trying to post, like ever, is just not working out. For you or for me. Pathetic, I know.

And because the only time I have to myself is from midnight to about 2 AM, I have to sleep sometime. Tonight I'll blog instead of sleep. I will say that it's really not time to myself, because Husband is heavily, heavily breathing next to me. The only reason that I allow him to heavily, heavily breathe next to me is, unless I'm creating life through pregnancy, I'm freezing most of the time. And therefore, the heater with complimentary noise machine is much appreciated, at least some time.

Other times, he gets the elbow to the ribs, the shaken husband syndrome, or the "Roll over" yell.

So what has been happening?
For lack of effort on my part, I'm just going to outline it for you:

1. Routine check up for Blue incidentally found ear infection.

2. How am I suppose to know that the baby that is routinely fussy and rarely takes a good bottle is suppose to have an ear infection?

What's that you say? Oh, ear tugging. Not this little one. Not only does he tug and pull on his ears when sleepy, he also scratches his forehead, runs his fingers through his hair, and hums loudly. So it may just be that I will know he has an ear infection when he can verbally communicate it as plainly as "I have an ear infection."

3. I haven't gotten on the treadmill all week, and I feel like a bad person. Well that, and the sweet love who has a mommy that can't tell he has an ear infection. That also makes me feel like a bad person.

4. Little is getting more and more witty every day. She is truly hilarious.

The spaghettoes are really terrible this year. You should use bug spray, because it will kill the bugs (points to ground, as in their final resting place), and they will fly away (flaps her arms) like bees. Bees make honey, and I like honey (licks her lips).

We just went from mosquito talk to honey in seven seconds.

4. We are in the process of a lot of changes, but I will have to disclose all of that a little later. The 2 AM shift will be here soon.

I can explain

Yesterday, we all slept to the point that we were rushing around trying to get ready for church. At some point, I forgot to rinse the conditioner out of Little's hair, which resulted in a very sleek looking hairdo.

The good news is that I'm the Sunday School teacher, so the lesson cannot technically begin until I get there, which is a good thing considering it was ten after when we pulled into the parking lot.

Our wonderful pastor had someone who worked with the children to ask them why their mommies are so special.

"(Little) says her mommy is special because...."

I let her cook with me.

I read to her every night.

I kiss her bo-bos.

I tickle her back, like a million times a day.

No. None of these.

I am alive

I have totally, without any shred of dignity, neglected the blog. I so did not want to be that person, but I am.

So let me think what's been going on.... Ballet, tee ball, housework, church, tee ball, housework, rinse, and repeat.

I honestly do not know how I ever had time to work. Our life is far busier than it ever was when I worked.

And I have some really lazy rascals around here. I start out every morning with big plans.

(Today, we are going to the cleaners and to run by the grocery store.)

(Today, we are going to go by the bank.)

(Today, we are going to get some lunch and to get gas.)

The most amazing thing happens. There is no explanation, but I cannot get out of the door. I start making an effort to get showered, dressed, and the barn painted (that would be make-up) around 8. The next thing I know it's lunch, and Little is not even entertaining the idea of going anywhere. Then, its time to get supper started, and I tell myself that we'll get it all done tomorrow.

And tomorrow is the same exact thing. It's like that movie "Groundhog Day," where Bill Murray keeps reliving the same day over and over.

I am uploading a mass amount of pictures from my high-resolution phone camera album. I honestly do not know where they will post. The beginning of the post? The end? Or some random place? Wherever they are, I hope you enjoy. Little and Blue are growing so fast!