Charming

Here's a run-down of my week:

Kenny goes out of town.
I run around and get kids up, fed, to school, home, do homework, get to dancing, church, etc. etc.
I rearrange the house.

By myself.  Or until I realized that if I did one more "PiVot" (Friends reference here) that the desk may end up out the window.  I call up a neighbor and she kindly and quickly came over to help me get this incredibly heavy desk the rest of the way down.

This is major rearranging.  I'm changing room # 1 (Office) downstairs to room # 2 (Play room)and room # 2  (Play room) to room # 3  (Girls' room) and room # 3 (Girls' Room) to room # 1 (Office).  That's 3 changes, folks.  And lots of wall hangings that will take an eternity to re-hang. But hopefully a lot of getting rid of and simplifying.

Because if you take a look at this pile of stuff in the waiting room #4 (Our room) , it's obvious we are in need of some giving-away practice. 

But the kids have had loads of fun with every single one of their toys sitting out, in the open, all willy nilly, with no reason or way to clean them up.  That's the good life.

For me, not so much. And for Kenny who came in at 1:30am this morning from South Carolina, poor guy, a major shock.  Well, he's been married to me for 12 years, so not that much of a shock.  I tend to "re-arrange" on a regular basis.  I have to keep reminding him that my poor-timing and devotion to change is charming.  Yes, I think charming is the perfect word.

Astro Photo Op

I had to get rid of that grumpy photo from yesterday.

This Astros/Mickey Mouse combo is so much more upbeat.  Despite their lagging stats, rookie players, and fired manager - GO ASTROS! We will never leave you or forsake you :-)

And speaking of the Astros, did you hear that Roger Clemens (recently fallen, previously beloved Astro) has signed to play with the SugarLand Skeeters?  Really.  True fact.

Let her down gently

It's been one of those days, or weeks, I guess.  I don't want to make this a sob post, but beware if I dip a little into the poor Jen pile of sorry.    I've always worn my sickness on my face, always, always, always.  And while I know this is certainly not the end of the world and my problems are minute, for me, they are a burden.  What you see here in this terrible photo I can't believe I'm making public, is the herpes simplex virus at its worse.  Any sign of sickness or worry and I can bet one of these will appear either on my nose or lip.  It's just the way it is.  I can look back over elementary school picture days, and there in my 2nd grade yearbook, you'll see a little lump on my lip.  Some people are just lucky, I guess. 

But, this was only the beginning of this sad tale.  With this little herpes virus, I went to an interview. One I was excited about.  I"m ready to work, want to work, and now I have a blister on my nose to show for the worrying I've done about this work.  I went back and forth, do I mention to the interviewers that this isn't usually what I look like?  Nope. I just went in confidently and acted like it didn't exist.  Did it cost me the job?  Hmm, no probably not.  I was turned down for other, more academic reasons I'm sure.  But, disappointment, none-the-less when you read this "let 'em down gently" kind of email:  we are sorry to say, . . . We truly believe in your talent, . . . we will keep your application on file and contact you in the spring . . . .

Then, after jumping back on my feet and searching other avenues of employment, I again got the same kind of reply from job interview 2:   so unfortunately I don’t have anything open for fall right now. I would definitely like to keep your info on file, though. 

This bad news was coupled with more bad news about my School Library Masters not being an accredited degree for public libraries. Which I kind of knew, but didn't.  Just an argh! day,  really. There's nothing more humbling than finding out you're unqualified for a job, even if it's done gently.

But this too shall pass, as my mom is find of saying.  And the Lord will put me where he needs me.  Just not in my time.  If there's a fruit of the spirit I need more than any other, it's patience. 
So Lord, humble me.  And grant me the patience I need to wait a little more. Because your timing is so much better than mine.  
And all God's children said, Amen!

Rain trumps Rigidity

   I'm a bit rigid.  I have a hard time admitting that, but truth be told I'm a bit on the strict side when it comes to my kids and messes.  You wouldn't know it from the looks of my perpetually cluttered house, but I have a hard time just letting the kids go wild, letting them run when it means they'll be tracking in water and dirt.  But, since I know about this problem of mine, I'm trying to be a little less, um, how would the kids say it, "mean" and a little more flexible.  See picture above.
    After the weekend of camp and a week of crazy with school starting and Lanie's birthday rigamarole, we hadn't had a moment to breathe.  This Saturday was it.  And I was, as you would expect based on my earlier description, cleaning house.  K was outside cutting down bushes that turned into a forest of trees.  The kids were fending for themselves until I heard the thunder and rain pitter patter outside.  Next thing I know, the kids have rain boots and rain coats strewn across the kitchen as they made their way outside.  Then those same boots and coats were discarded around the yard and all 3 are soaking wet, jumping in the trampoline.  This poor trampoline has seen better days and with the heat rising to 100, there's been little action lately.  But the rain changed it all.  I think this was the happiest 30 minutes of the whole day.
     I think I may have cringed a minute when I realized the mess that would stumble through the clean house and up the stairs to the shower, but as I said, trying to improve.  I went outside and watched  them, and snapped my pictures.  If I were really a good, fun parent I would have thrown caution to the wind and jumped in with them.  But let's not get too crazy.  Learning to be flexible takes time my friend.

On a side note, look at how much work K did.  An amazing difference. And there's still so much to do.   Of course when the kids were watching The Lorax later in the day we felt a little guilty since there was no one to speak for the trees he had just cut down.

Not sure if the trash guys will pick this up.

Little Lanie

 

    My little Lanie, who doesn't seem so little anymore, turned 4 today.  For the longest time, I've felt like with Lanie, we could still hold on to baby things: baby toys, baby blankets, baby bibs.  But, as long as I've held onto these things thinking we might use them again, she might play with this again, truth be told, she's growing past all of those things that have been in our house for the past 9 years.  When you have a new baby in the house every 2 years, those baby items never get fully stored.
    But today, today I think we've crossed over to that place so many of my other friends who have older children confronted years ago.  With relish, they threw out all of those baby items, ready to make room for elementary toys.  I don't know if I relish that, at least not today.  In fact, I'm a bit choked up right now thinking about it.
    When I think back to 4 years ago to the night of Lanie's birth, I remember the full moon as we walked into the hospital.  I remember Mike and Tina sitting with us late into the night until I was ready. I remember watching Michael Phelps get his 7th gold medal and Usain Bolt (sp?) breaking the world record.  I remember that the nurse had to come into our room to borrow a chair which I thought was odd.  Why wouldn't there be enough chairs in the incredibly quiet wing of the hospital we were in?  I remember that I was terrified of the pain to come since I wasn't getting an epidural and finally when the pain was at it's height, I remember asking the doctor if we could just stop now.  I think I told Kenny a few times, "I can't do this."  I remember the moment the doctor told us, "It's a Girl!" and I cried with such surprised joy because I couldn't believe that God would give me two girls.  I remember how beautiful Elaine Oleta was, even as a squishy baby.  She had her brother and sister's beautiful brown eyes.  And I remember bringing her home and in the quiet of the night, watching her little body breathe up and down.
      I remember thinking that since she was my third, she'd be my laid back one.  But she isn't.  That character trait went to the middle child.  Instead, as far as 4 years can tell, she is my free spirit with a side of stubborn.  And while I complain about that challenging side, I watched her tonight in all her birthday glory and was charmed.  I see this little person who loves to entertain.  She wants to dance with you, for you, around you.  She wants to tell stories and tries adorably but incorrectly to include phrases she's heard others say.  And she wants nothing more than to live in her own make-believe world, surrounded by the people who love her.
     To my little dreamer, I pray your 4th birthday brought you the same joy that it did for me.  And while I know I can't keep you little, I'll hold onto 4 as long as I can.

6:30 AM

The alarm went off this morning, and I rolled over.  Lanie is saddled up next to me sleeping.  We're not sure when she made it in.  Elijah is already awake, dressed and ready for breakfast which is to be expected.  Lydia is sleeping soundly and unhappy to be woken up.  But after K's attempts at humor and his Finding Nemo chant of "First day of School, First day of School" they were dressed and downstairs eating breakfast before I could muster the energy to move.

It was all looking good until I noticed Lydia wasn't eating.  Oh no, I recognize this.  She told me she didn't want to go to school.   Over and over she told me, as if she thought I would relent and say, "Sure, why not, stay home."
It was charming to see my almost 4-year-old encourage her big sister that "school will be fun, Lydia.  Don't you want to see your friends?"

It took a good 5 or 10 minutes of reminding her about those first weeks of Kindergarten.  She didn't smile, she rarely talked and yet by the end of the year, the shell was gone and she LOVED her teacher. That didn't seem to help.  I finally got out of her that she just didn't want to go to school all day.  "Why can't it be a half day?"  She's always been my kid who wanted to home school, not for the all the benefits that people who actually home school do it for, but because she doesn't want to get up and go anywhere. Elijah helped out by telling her what to expect the first day.  I'm not sure what she thought they would have to do - multiplication tables or give a speech or something overwhelming, but he seemed to put her at ease.

On my last ditch effort to build some thrill in the car, I asked all 3 of them (who were oddly sitting together in one row, sibling green t-shirt solidarity, I guess) what they were most excited about on their first day of school.  The responses say it all.

Elijah:  Finding out who my P.E. teacher is going to be.

Lanie: Just playing.

Lydia:  Nothing.


Oh, Lydia, it may be a long year. 

The Day Before . . .

                     I promised the kids 1 more crazy day before school starts.  And this was it.

                                                         Water Slides, Water Balloons

                                                                   A Circle of Friends

 

                                                                              Food 

                                                       & Shaving Cream (thanks for the idea, T)                     

                                                                     And Scene.

Camping Kids

    This weekend Elijah and Lydia got a taste of church camp.  It wasn't a complete week like some of their friends did this summer, but a short two-nighter at LoneStar Lutheran Church Camp that our church put together for the elementary kids.   They were in need of chaperones so Kenny went as well.  I'm not sure if that counts for embarking on kid independence but it was a start for them to see what goes on while at camp.
    I was a bit jealous of them.  Camp is really my thing.  But they needed men for the trip and someone had to watch Lanie, so home I stayed home.  I also visited with my friend Karen from Florida who was passing through Texas and who oddly enough, I met as a camp counselor in Illinois about 17 years ago.  We talked so much about camp, I felt like I really was with the kids experiencing archery and canoeing and campfires.  And because technology is so great, I got texting updates from both Kenny and my friend, Tomika who was also on the trip with the kids.  She alerted me that Lydia  cried at night (which I was afraid of).  I'm not sure what happened to my girl.  She's always been easy-going at bedtime and had several sleepovers,  but for the past two months she's experiencing some anxiety from who knows where and she wants us there with her.  We tried going out a few nights when we were out of town and had free babysitting and she struggled every time.  So, taking this trip was a huge risk.  With Kenny there to sneak into the girls' bunk (oh the jokes that must have brought), she made it through but I'm willing to bet without his presence, I may have gotten a phone call to come pick her up in La Grange, Texas at midnight. 
     Despite the first night of tears and a couple the the rest of the weekend was without incident.  They were so jam-packed with activity that the kids and the chaperones were completely worn out when they got back on Sunday.  I got the text that they were on their way early in the morning and in the middle of the sermon, two tired and cranky kids, and one bearded husband stumble into our aisle. 
     What makes me laugh is how LONG the trip seemed to those chaperones.  Ask any of them and they'll tell you that the day never ended.  Tomika told me that when the last song was sung at the campfire, she mentally checked it off her list and praised the end of the evening. Church Camp is not for everyone.  And since I've been through all my camp photos this weekend while on my memory trip with Karen, camping is not glamorous.  It's gritty, and dirty, and challenging.  At the same time there's nothing more unique than that last campfire with kids and counselors singing praises in a wooded field while sitting on logs someone structured to face a cross.  Just can't beat it.  I only hope my kids are those gritty campers who also love sitting on logs, crackling fires, and singing praises.

Apparently, grasshoppers were aplenty

The Girls

The Boys

       

Canoeing was not Elijah's thing

The archer

Bible Study time

    

We had the will, but not the power

        It's mid-morning and I need to run an errand to Walgreens to pick up some pictures.  I get this grand idea that me and the kids should bike/walk there for some exercise.  We've made this trip before, and I guess it was fine. No bad memories come to mind.  So we all agree, grab a little bottle of water and after 4 more "just one more thing" runs inside the house we hit the road.  Elijah out first on his bike, Lydia next with her training wheels, and then me and Lanie bringing up the rear while I push her trike. 
       About 5 minutes in and after we've had to stop at least 3 times for water breaks, hurting helmets, and because Lydia fears steep driveways without help, we decide to stop at the gas station merely a block from the house.  It's not looking good.   We grab some gatorade, fuel up and start back out.  I swear, it is over 100 degrees as we piddle down the sidewalk.  I think about all the people who drove by and thought, "Who is that crazy lady with all those kids?"  Elijah would sprint ahead only to sit and wait.  Lydia would lag behind because her tires were close to flat only to cry for me to come back and help and Lanie wanted to stop each time she saw a flower.  It was not a leisurely walk for the faint of heart. 
       Thirty-six minutes and forty-two seconds later (I set the stopwatch) we were at Walgreens, sweaty, sticky, and thirsty.  Before we hit the glory of the AC, I was calling Kenny to "please pick us up!"  While I think me and Elijah could have made the trip home, I wasn't about to make it with the girls.  By the time everyone picked out a snack and I got my pictures, Kenny was there loading the bikes and laughing, at me.  And this was only funny because when I was in college, Tina and I made this mistake a lot.  We had pretty lofty goals of walking an hour across highway bridges, up hills, and over railroad tracks all for the sake of adventure and exercise only to realize we were totally crazy and could no way walk back up that hill or over that highway to get home.   But, we could always find some sweet thing to come and pick us up. We were very persuasive.
      Our plans were indeed great. Our will was strong.  But reality was never our strong suit.  And apparently I've learned nothing in the past eighteen years. 

Just One More Swim

We had to make ONE MORE TRIP to Angleton Pool with friends.

We are feeling the weight of the end of summer at our house.  Lots of talk of going to bed early so we can be ready for the 6:30am wake up time next week.  I am so unprepared for this.  We've had late nights and late mornings all summer.  And it's been lovely (the late morning part). 

But it all ends in 7 days.  That's not a lot of time to make up for whatever we've missed this summer.  And we haven't missed much.  We made a long list of the outings we've made the past two months and each kid starred their top 3, or 5, and Elijah went to 8.  

What I miss is the kind of summer that comes to most people's minds when they hear the word Summertime: downtime.  Sure we're not rushing to school at an unreasonable hour, but we're rushing everywhere else all for the sake of FUN.  And the kids have had a blast, so job well done. I can pat myself on the back.   Now if we can save up these last days and fill them with board games, barbies, babies & books - all without leaving my carpeted room or getting out of my pj's - that would be summer completed. 

GO, DOG. GO

Before reading this entry, go to Tina's.  Notice in it she says she hopes at her son Nate's birthday party that they have a 3-layer cake.  Enter Jen. 

It's a funny story.  Me and K and the kids were at Barnes and Noble shopping for books for Nate's 2nd birthday on Thursday night.  Nate loves Go, Dog. Go so we were picking out every dog book we could find.  I made the mistake of calling Tina to check on a couple and this is our dialogue.  (Not word for word, but generally you'll get the picture.)

Jen:  So, does Nate have the board book Go, Dog. Go or just the bigger version.

Tina:  Those are great ideas but if you really want to give him a gift then you can make a dog cake, like the one on top of the dog party tree.

Jen:  No, really. So he has the board book?

Tina:  Really, I'd love it if you could make the cake.

Jen:  Seriously?  Really? 

And the conversation continues.  I finally realized Tina was serious and because I love her, and I love Nate, And I do love to make cakes that we promptly left Barnes and Noble empty-handed and headed to Kroger for cake mix and frosting, lots and lots of frosting.  You see, I've never made a 2 or 3 or what turned out to be a 4-layer cake.  I called my go-to cake-making friend Sharla and she gave me some great advice that probably saved the day.  In the past all my cakes have mushroomed and by the middle of the party, the cake has erupted in an earthquake.  Not this time.  I learned a few tricks. 

This time the cake only partially fell apart as we drove it from Pearland to Katy in a made-up cake box we created from a crate in the kids' room. We got to the party, Tina gave us big dogs and little dogs to add to the top and there you have the Go, Nate. Go birthday cake.  I can't say that Nate cares one way or another that it was a 4-layer cake, or that there were dogs on top of it, or really if he knows who I am.  He's one of the Hergenrader 4 who hasn't been around us enough.  Give him time.  In a couple of years, when we're on some Hergenrader/Ward adventure trip, I'll bring it up.  I'll let him know his godmother loves him and shows it with sugary love.

See, layers!  Amazing!

The birthday boy!

  

A Favorite Moment . . .

... When we walk out of the library and the kids take a bench and read.  It's almost as if the walk to the car would be too long.  They have to open the book immediately, the first chance they get.  All is at peace.  If it weren't so hot, I'd linger there longer to enjoy this favorite moment.