Episode 17 - Imbalanced

It is common for us to visit a park while on our coast trips to change things up a bit. And to be honest, I can't think of a better day in the sunshine than acting like kids on a playground when you have the place to yourself.

I call this one "River Dance"

Katelyn's got the moves like Mick Jagger

Kyle pulls out his best ape impersonation and everyone goes down.

Leap of faith

Apparently Kyle wants to do the limbo, not the balance beam.

This is my content little boy on his throne.

And then this is my man at the pasty white gun show.

A picnic lunch is always the culminating activity.

To Be Mediocre

I have a quote mounted on a large board that hangs in my kitchen that reads, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” I look at that quote every day and strive to make every effort to give my utmost best in anything I do. I wouldn’t consider myself an overachiever my any means but I don’t like to fail. Actually, I HATE to fail. I have a competitive spirit and an incessant desire to be dependable. All of these equate to being a little bit anal. I don’t want to be controlling so I work on that. I don’t want to be bossy, so I work on that. I want to have the right balance of performance but still know how to let things that aren’t so important slide.

Lately, there has been a lot of sliding…and I HATE it.

If there is anything I know about myself after 7 pregnancies, it is that my will, my control, my desires, all go right down the toilet as soon as that egg nestles itself in my yoo-hoo. I count my blessings that I have never been “morning sick” but I do a great deal of drooling all over myself while wearing holes in the carpet with my slippers. There is nothing that can compare to pregnancy exhaustion. It is a different kind of tired that rivals climbing Mt Everest while suffering from pneumonia.

And lately, I am sick and tired of being tired.

My new motto has become “just do the bare minimum” and I am a little lot frustrated by how little I get done.

Here is a little checklist to find out if you are tired, mediocre or maybe just pregnant:

· You find yourself with a to-do list a mile long, an aspiration to accomplish it all by noon but by about 9:16am you are out of that “aspiring” energy and then there’s an abhorrent realization by 10pm that you only scratched off #1.

· You frequently tell your children “just a minute” with:

a) The plan to not help them at all

b) The hopes that they will leave you alone and not ask again or

c) Full intentions of getting there in “a minute” but you forget three seconds later.

· Your eyes burn with the heat of a thousand suns the moment you wake up in the morning even after a full night’s sleep and your body feels as though it is time to go to bed, not get up.

· Have a renewed desire to run 50 miles a day the second you get your energy back (or you have the baby) because being sedentary is about to drop your mind at the nut farm.

· The thought of ascending the stairs is enough to make you sleep on the cold tile at the bottom leaving you wimping like a little girl, just to avoid them.

· Your kindergartener arrives at the bus stop with argyle socks, purple crocs, bed head, plaque covered teeth and shorts just after it snowed that morning with a bag of cookies for snack and you give yourself a pat on the back that she made it even that far.

· All homework is done, field trip forms filled out and library books found in the minutes before the bus is to arrive for pick up.

· The thought of making dinner might as well be asking you to mow your lawn with scissors.

· When your daughter starts asking you what experiment she can showcase for the science fair, you fear your head might explode so you reply “go ask your father.”

· You find yourself delegating any chore that requires effort to your children: clearing the table after your cereal dinner, vacuuming the stairs, paying the bills, brushing your teeth for you, etc.

· You catch yourself in the garage, staring at the bikes, wondering why you went out there in the first place. You then start chanting your name, hoping to kick start your brain again.

Now, mind you, most of these might be due to the fact that I have 4 children and that comes at a heavy price but I hate not being able to run myself ragged with accomplishment. I miss success and triumph but it’s the bare minimum for now. I am also aware that the season I am in is short and is not forever.

And all this mediocrity has made me ever so grateful for my normal health. I am grateful to be able to run, move, accomplish, cook and achieve things. I am grateful for my youth and I cherish the fact that I can do so much when I eat right, exercise and steer clear of the man seed.

But let me just say, if I wasn’t ever this exhausted, I wouldn’t know the joy.

You've Been Warned

"Dear Winco Customers,

Here at Winco, we strive to provide you with the lowest cost on your everyday grocery needs. We take pride in offering inexpensive food to feed your families in this rough economy. However, due to recent problems in our bulk department, we have been forced to send out this warning reminding you not to sample the bulk foods. No Sampling signs have been placed on the bins for a reason. If you continue to eat these items without paying for them, we will be forced or raise our prices to match those of small grocery store chains thus driving the cost of food up around the globe.

You have been warned, so please obey our company policy.

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Winco Foods"*

Apparently, pancake mix is irresistible. Just lick your finger, dunk it in, savor the powdery wheatness!

*Not a real letter from Winco.

REWIND - Will Zombify For Candy

October 31, 2011

At that age where being a ballerina for Halloween is SO overrated.

Halloween is so magical. I have not love for the darkness of the holiday but I have a special place in my heart for the candy. Luckily, I can pretend that we are out begging for candy for the kids but my full intention is to sit down with the bucket after the household sugar comas have knocked them out cold and help myself to all kinds of indulgences I was too cheap to spend my precious money on.

If, by some lucky chance, I was home when the first of the trick-or-treaters knocked, they would get a handful off butterscotch discs, conversation hearts and Christmas M&M's that have turned white with age. I prefer to turn off the porch light and follow the kids, coaxing them to hit every house until their fingers fall off from frost bite. We MUST find the houses giving out the Cotsco boxes of full-size Kit Kat!! Run, RUN!!

When we get home, it is mostly a feast for the eyes. A free-for-all cheered on with "this is the best day of my life." We usually bag up our favorites, then put the rest aside for the candy buy back at the local dentist. I have been known to stock up on coupon candy deals just to turn it over for $2/lb. It is also a good way to get rid of those Easter Peeps and cinnamon discs that have been sitting in your candy bucket for 6 months.

It is Rob and my tradition to pick out each others' top 5 candies from the kids' piles without the other seeing. Then we talk hold up our picks and the other says if they are spot on or not. I forgot to grab the most important SKITTLES bag for him and Rob thought he was correct with the line up below. :)

In truth? I like Tootsie Rolls, Laffy Taffy, Snickers, Milk Duds and of course, Reese's PB Cups.

In the middle of it all, enjoying it the most, and causing the most theft complaints...Dorothy.

My plan was to have 5 Dorothy's but with pregnancy exhaustion, I gave up and 2 were Dorothy, one was a candy cane witch and I was a tired mommy just happy to get SOMETHING on the kids resembling abnormal daily wear.

Yes, it was cold, no this is not typical for our baby to be naked, pictures just tell things the way you don't remember.

REWIND - Punkin' Patch

October 8, 2011

I recommend that you stand up for this post because it isn't really "sit down" worthy. Just a nod to the past really.

Thomasson Pumpkin Patch located just south of Black Diamond and minutes from home, we went on a somewhat beautiful fall day and enjoyed every aspect of the words "family time."

By far, the most ingenious pumpkin patch idea...the corn box. Knee deep dry corn kernels for the tossing and the wallowing.

An hour later, much to Rob and my enjoyment, Indy was sporting a lifted kernel. Taking a little souvenir home with him much like a school teacher.





The only thing he wanted to do was milk a cow. I told him it wasn't that kind of place we were going to but then he proved me wrong and milked himself a cow. Neener, neener were his first words.

Sensational activities for all ages, moderate costs and a day well spent.