To Sleep, Perchance to Dream (the operative word here being perchance)

At 2:30 a.m. this morning, my alarm went off. I take Kathryn to the potty (her body doesn't wake her up, so I do). At 3:00 a.m., I woke up because Alex was sitting on my head.

In college, I never pulled an all-nighter. I had no desire to torture my body in such an insane way. I love my sleep. In the last 5 years, I have had very few uninterrupted nights. All you mommies out there: remember the overactive bladder? The pelvic pain? The kicks that began at 4:30? Then you graduate to sitz baths and nighttime feedings and unexplained crying marathons. Otherwise known as the haze. With one child you seem to finally achieve nighttime sleeping health. Enter child #2. If one cries, the other wakes up. That includes all thunderstorms, strange noises, unexpected poo diapers (or wet diapers or disintegrating diapers). Then it's potty training, bad dreams, allergy coughing fits, and the hamster rattling too loudly on his wheel (Nathan put him in the bath between the kids rooms~ go figure ;o)

So I'm going to bed. I think I'd like just a few hours of intense silence and friendly dark and good dreams. And NO head-sitting!

Quote from Holly Elliff (transcript of Revive Our Hearts, April 15th):
(I really relate to the cute munchkin, flying monkey part ;o)

"Do you remember the moment in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy peeked through the door of her transported farmhouse? Do you remember that moment? Where it was black and white and all of a sudden Dorothy kind of opened the door and it was suddenly beautiful and in color. Do you remember that in the movie?

She was in a place she had never been before. Some of us when we entered motherhood, suddenly we’re in a place we had never been before. I was one of those women. Let me tell you some parallels I see between my life as a mom and the Wizard of Oz.

First of all, most of what Dorothy encountered was unknown. She didn’t know it was coming. She was constantly surrounded by either really cute munchkins or really nasty flying monkeys. Nothing around her was what she expected. Her journey got more and more surprising the longer she went. Her task was something she could not do alone.

Her companions sometimes appeared—now let me just tell you that this is not male bashing because my husband added this line. Her companions sometimes appeared to be brainless, heartless, or courageously challenged. There is an enemy who tries to keep her from accomplishing her task, and there are moments when going back to Kansas sounded really good. But when she needs it, someone wiser than she is always shows up."

End of quote. I would add that I go from feeling like a pretty pink fairy that can do amazing things to being an evil wicked witch that would fall completely apart if someone spills ANOTHER glass of water! Life is funny!

Backlog of Pictures, Part III (and the week of agh!)



This is how our week began. Alex decided to answer the call of the sirens and stick two of his fingers into the sucking-in-part of a moving treadmill. Tie me to the mast, tie me to the mast, folks!!!! Ah, well. No broken bones, just missing a good chunk of flesh of two fingers, one of which he wraps around his thumb for sucking. Hence the huge bandage which makes it appear that the injury is life-threatening. And which also lasted 30 minutes? after we got home from the clinic before it got yanked off.

Then I, mommy, me came down with a stomach virus midweek. OK, there just isn't a pretty way of describing dry heaves and lots of lysol-use, so moving right along. There is something criminal about mothers being able to get sick. Along with the (temporary) extra set of arms I believe mothers should grow when their milk comes in, should come an impervious immune system and extra doses of toddler-proof energy.

Then Kathryn begins coughing for 1 hour, then 2 hours in the middle of the night. Alex is at this point running a fever and beginning diarrhea. Pediatrician says she is having pollen allergies and he's headed downhill with the virus I had, goody, goody! But fingers are not infected. That's good, that's good.

Now, all good stories and weeks must have an icing to the cake, right? Oh, yes. Enter Martha Stewart and Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets. That's right. My reading material has gone downhill, I know.

It wasn't particularly interesting, so I stuck it back in the drop box at our tiny hometown library. I receive a CALL, you know, THE CALL, from the head librarian~ the one that says the book is damaged, pages are missing, you have to pay, etc. I explained (confused) that my children had not had access to the book. Oh, they knew that. I, mommy, me! had cut (with scissors) 16 pages out of this fascinating book. Here enter deep sighs, rolled eyes, drooping shoulders~ whatever~ it's my word against theirs, right? Better is a good name than great riches, and so on. So I go to Amazon and order a new one, expedite ship it, only to find out it's only available in softcover and I, mommy, me! had defaced a hardcover. I'm supposed to talk to the chief interrogator on Monday. I, being gracious as always (OK, so inwardly I'm gnashing my teeth), ask if they really believe I would STEAL 16 pages out of their book, and then LIE about my grand theft. They do. Alrighty then. I've been accused of worse, I suppose. There was the time I was accused of shoplifting a garden hose.

Catharsis done. By the way, I didn't do it.

Backlog of Pictures, Part II

Alrighty then, moving right along to more recent events. My mom came to visit! Oh, this was fun! She came and in true Nana-ness, made cookies, in MY house. OK, these were peanut butter cookies extraordinaire!!! The kids were thrilled she was here.





And since we were sick over Kathryn's fourth birthday and our 8th anniversary, there aren't any pictures from that :(

But then we've got Easter! Kathryn was thrilled with her chocolate bunny and the whole egg-dipping process. I made her dress, which she actually liked~ amazing! (she's a bit contrary ~like me, I'm afraid ~ and tends to dislike what I make a big deal over) We had a wonderful!!! service at church celebrating the best time of the year and the most important event in history- the resurrection of Jesus Christ!




Alex was more interested in showing the neighbor dogs his eggs. For those of you who know my dog-fear-thingie, I just want to say "Why me?" in a high-pitched voice (as in, why do I ALWAYS have fierce-looking dogs next door who bark at me every time I go outside- sigh...)

Back-log of Pictures (be warned!)

The kids and I went to Cincinnati a few weeks back to do a little relaxing. Unfortunately, Nathan didn't get the time off, so I bravely took off on my own. OK, so I'm insane. But it was a nice change of pace (after and before the 10 hours on the road each way with two aliens in carseats!)
Alex napping on his Aunt "Sessy" Chelsea, who attends GBS


Took the kids to a neat place called the Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. OK, RANDOM FACT ABOUT ME~ I love old cemeteries. Not the little flat markers in the ground that just have DOB and DOD, but the REAL cemeteries, alive with obelisks, real epitaphs, beautiful plants... I share my love of browsing through them with my mother-in-law. Actually, the woods behind our house supposedly contain a Civil-War era slave cemetery, which I have yet to explore- added to goals for 2009.



Here's Kathryn on a neat bridge at the arboretum.


Playing games with an attentive Gramme.


Alex taking over the girls' dorm ;)



I've been accused of having an heroine (as opposed to heroin) complex. You know, Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc, save the world one pitiful person at a time, strong-willed, control freak... the connotations are both positive and negative. So I took a picture of this statue so Nathan will know what I want when I move on to glory. Seems fitting somehow :o) :o) :o) Heehee... If you don't understand this, don't worry- it's my strange sense of humor...

Books are like people:
fascinating, inspiring, thought-provoking,
some laugh,
some meditate,
others ache with old age, but still have wisdom;
some are disease-ridden,
some deceitful;
but others are a delight to behold,
and many travel to foreign lands;
some cry, some teach, others are lots of fun.
they are excellent companions,
and all have individuality-
Books are friends.
What person has too many friends?

Chip Ingram speaking on Adversity, 4/2/09

And I quote, "I am absolutely convinced that everything that will be necessary for me to go through this in a way that honors God and gives me what I need is 100% available to me at this moment. That’s my eager focus and expectation. My hope is not based on temporal circumstances changing. My hope is based on a hope that cannot change. And my hope and certainty is that a sovereign, good God, using the prayers of people and the power of His Spirit will give me all that I need so that in the window of time when I’m at the spiritual free-throw line and the entire stadium of eternity is filled, I will have sufficient courage to do exactly what You want me to do."

Perspective is EVERYTHING. How thoroughly such a belief is entrenched in our minds and hearts will make THE DIFFERENCE in whether or not our response to adversity is God-glorifying. Man, I LOVE this quote!

Kathryn's 4!

To my sweet, crazy, imaginative little gal who alternately likes to play Sleeping Beauty and Lucy Pevinsey~ Happy Birthday! We plan to celebrate this Saturday; pics will be posted this w/e. In the meantime, here are a few shots from the last few years...