Mommy of Many®

This last week has brought a lot to my schedule. You never really know how much you can fit into your life until you start pushing things closer together to make room for more. This week I started working 3-4 mornings a week at a chiropractic office, picked up a weekly blogging gig AND joined the coolest team of people who are banning together to make new media work for small businesses in this area. It seems that juggling the kids’ schedules, running my website, building my Silpada Designs business and cleaning the house just weren’t enough to truly keep me busy. My hatrack is now full! I will not be taking on any new chapeaus for awhile. I’m super excited about all these new ventures! The chiropractic office offers me the chance to learn new skills (office work), the blogging feeds my love of writing and joining the team fills my love of being social. Yea! And not to mention that they all help me make that new car payment! Good Stuff!

Gabriella, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to think I’ve taken on enough. She spent an entire evening of keeping me in stitches while she told me why I need to get married and that it should be before Easter and then detailed exactly how I should go about finding this new husband. Did you know that looking at people’s faces in the grocery store is a sure-fire way to figuring out who a good life-mate would be?! Gabi thinks so! She walked through the grocery store with me making such exclamations as, “Look at him, he looks like Rod Stewart.” Or, “He already has a son, so he’ll know what to do.” Then she pointed out that the guy checking us out had a job and liked talking to me. Nice! I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard, in a long time. I also don’t think I’ll be taking her grocery shopping with me again anytime soon.

Doing the Dance of the Children and Enjoying my Hat Collection~

After weeks off from the “regular” routine, after weeks of visiting with family and friends, after weeks of kids sleeping as late as 10 am, after weeks of not tackling all the things I said I’d do “over break”, I’m faced with only hours before I’ll be awakened by the jarring sound of the alarm. It’ll be time to be on-task and in work mode.

It was a fabulous break! It was full of visitors, good food and lots of fun. All my kids were together for the first time since last December. Yes, this meant more work in some ways, but it also meant the wholeness that only comes when they are all here. Each of them holds a piece of the puzzle that makes the house full. Yes, I know that kids grow up and out, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s a completeness to them all in the house together. It was good for the younger kids to reconnect with their older siblings who are away at school. It was good to hear their stories and to visit with them and good to have them lend a hand in all the things around the house.

This was our first Christmas since we’ve moved and since my divorce. The kids did as well as could be expected with going back and forth between houses. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we all gathered in my house and celebrated. Yes, there were moments that were strained and even uncomfortable, but this is new, all of it. We did well!

~Sigh~

Now it’s back to mostly “regular” life. I make a late-night trip to the airport for Maddi tonight and Mariah is staying until the 22nd. But other than that, it’s back to the busyness of sports, school and alarm clocks. It’s time for me to refocus on my business and time to finish packing all the Christmas decor back into boxes in the garage.

I’m thankful for pictures that create an indelible image of moments in time. There were good moments to capture and I’ll be happy to revisit them when I miss my older kids!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

The last few days were full of uncertainty and decision making. It was time to hand the gas-guzzling 15-passenger van over to be sold but that meant I would have only my VW Passat. There were 2 problems with that-It wasn’t running properly and it didn’t fit myself and the 6 kiddos that I have at home. I had NO money for a downpayment on anything and NO money to fix the VW even if it was what I was going to have to drive. On the first day of the uncertainty/decision making the decision I made was to curl up on my bed, cry and take a nap. Hey, at least I made a decision! Day 2 is when the work began. 2 of the most beautiful, loving, hardworking friends you could ever ask for started asking me questions. Real questions, like-what do you owe on each vehicle?, what is the VW worth?, can you get any $ for a dowpayment?, what are you looking to drive?. You know, the stuff that makes you actually start tackling a problem and finding out what you can and can not do. Once I started gathering information I realized that I had the title to the VW and (as long as I could drive it to wherever I needed to get it to) I could trade it in. Then out came computers and Iphones and the search began. After looking and talking and visiting dealers, I came away with a 2010 Town & Country that seats 7, with a warranty that will keep my mind free of worry. I had someone by my side who knew all the things I do not and who offered moral support when I needed it.

As I signed a zillion papers the tears started to flow. I just bought a car! Me! In MY name and with all the things I decided were important to have for my kids. I am now completely responsible for this vehicle. It scared me and made me proud at the same time. One more step to knowing I’m ok-to knowing I can do what needs to be done and that I have a loving support system to hold my hand and pat my back and help me heal and be whole. It still chokes me up! How did I get to be 40 yrs old, have 9 children and not know what I was capable of? I am thankful EVERY day for all the beautiful, strong, encouraging people who surround me each day and have helped me lay the stepping stones on this path I’m walking.

With faith, love and trust I will continue to find out that I am strong, whole and entirely capable of all that needs to be done to get my children successfully into adulthood and myself into living the life ahead of me, fully!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

So, tonight I got a valuable lesson in patience and clear-headed thinking. My sink was backed up. Not just backed up but full of all sorts of icky looking things in brown water AND backed up. I pushed up my sleeve and reached into the disposal. I fished out a few items-carrot top, onion peelings and 1/2 a lemon. I tried the disposal again, got a nice water show, but didn’t make any progress on getting the sink to drain. Now, in years past my way of handling this would have been to pick up the phone, put a call into Housing Maintenance (for those who have never lived in Military Housing, let me just tell you that Housing Maintenance is amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! There is always…ALWAYS someone to answer the phone, take the description of what’s wrong/broken/clogged/needing to be replaced and then they determine if it’s an emergency or if it can wait to be handled within the next 24 hours). I lived in Housing for the last 12 years. I pretty much didn’t need to learn to fix anything. But now…different story.

After clearing whatever I could find I ran the water and the disposal again. Nope! So I reluctantly went and got the plunger. The only thing that allowed my ick factor to use the plunger is the fact that it’s new. I made a mental note to purchase a Kitchen-Only plunger to keep under the sink.

One of these brightly colored cuties would do

So I plunged and I gathered and I learned that water that won’t drain down the sink WILL come out the handy overflow thingy on top of my sink . Ok! So I made sure it was aiming into the sink and I plunged all the water out of the sink through the overflow. Along with the water came many many potato peelings, carrot peelings and of all things-onion peelings. Someone (who does not live in my house) needs a lesson on what can and can not go down the disposal!

40 minutes later, with rough, dry hands, I cleaned the sink with soap and hot water and replaced the bathroom plunger behind the toilet, where it belongs. And though I wasn’t particularly pleased about having to learn this lesson, I am patting myself on the back for a job completed (not sure about well done).

Doing the Dance of the Children and Learning Something New Everyday~

Well ain’t that the truth!

I never do this-I never publicly complain about how it is. But tonight I’m hot! I’m so dang hot and I’m so sick of being on 24/7 and having every single waking moment be about the well-being of my kids (as it should be), only to have an angry teen berate and bully me because they don’t get what they want. Guess what?! Sometimes the answer is “NO”! No, you are not allowed to watch an inappropriate movie and NO you don’t get to bully me because of my appropriate parenting. And dang it…I’m sick and tired of being blamed for how unfair it is that your life had to change. You know what?! Mine did too! And I don’t always like it. But I’m making the best of it and I’m working my behind off every moment of every day to make sure I’m doing the very best I can for all of you. Sometimes that’s going to mean you’re being parented and teens, even in the very best of situations, aren’t always happy with being parented. But it’s still my job!

It’s not fair!

Yep! Totally not fair! It’s not fair that everything I thought I was working for was a sham. It’s not fair that after 9 kids and 40 yrs of life that I have to worry about how to keep food on the table and a roof over most of those kid’s heads. It’s not fair! But it’s life! It’s life! And honestly, fair or not, each day brings something beautiful and I am working SO hard to give as much of that beauty as I can to my kids. That’s the goal of each of my days. I want them to feel loved, protected, secure and free. And you know what?! I want the same for myself. So go ahead, be angry. Call me names. Tell me it’s unfair and that I’m horrible. I’ve done what I needed to. Every single step I’ve made has been put before me and I know that God’s with me each day. And I won’t stop parenting. Not because of your fit. Not because of your anger. Not because you bully me and not because you tell others lies about who I am. It’s my job and I’ll keep doing it.

It’s not fair, but it’s true!

Doing the Dance of the Children!

My last couple of days have sure been a roller coaster full of icky, angry teenage angst/A fun day in SF/Some Great Pump-Me-Up Silpada Training/Happiness at Seeing Max be proud of an accomplishment/Fun Kid-Time Crafts and, of course some house cleaning.

2 nights ago, there was lots of angry time in my house. I hate it when that happens and I’m suddenly nominated for The Worst Mommy’s Club. It totally sucks the life out of me and does a number on the little ones. I then have to spend time getting my head back on straight and remembering that just because a teen is angry at me, doesn’t mean the words they’re spewing are true. This can, sometimes, take days to undo. Ugh! But at the same time, I have to ease the little ones’ minds after all the guck they’ve heard. It’s a tough, energy sucking job. This episode ended in a teen staying away from home for the last 2 days. This is UNACCEPTABLE! I haven’t received a call or visit from the parents where my teen is staying and I don’t have any contact info for them. So this morn I let my teen know (through text) that if I didn’t have the info by noon, the school and the police would be called. I’ve been told that my teen will be coming home after school. If not, well, I’ll go back to the plan.

On a lighter note, I got to have my mind soothed by heading into San Francisco, yesterday. I was treated to a fabulous lunch and a tour of a friend’s floral studio before heading over to a Silpada Designs training session. Perfect timing because I have a string of parties coming up and I needed some fresh energy! I got it! I’m excited to get out there, show off this fabulous jewelry, meet some great people, have some fun and make some money. All Good Stuff!

I got to take this beautiful wreath home. It’s draped over my dining table, waiting for me to find the right thing to do with it.

This afternoon Lex and I went over to a local yogurt shop to join Max, who was arriving with classmates in a Hummer limo for selling a certain amount of cookie dough. He was so happy! Afterward, we stayed for a craft time they were hosting (this is getting it’s own blog tomorrow, b/c there’s some Good Stuff to share for all my local mommies! Come back tomorrow to check it out!).

Heading back to school.

So, it’s just about time to start the afternoon pick ups and I’m feeling ready for it!

Doing the Dance of the Children Through it All~

It’s been a hell of a week.

Through out this years-long process of separation and divorce I’ve been pretty quiet about all I go through. I’ve tried hard (and succeeded) at finding the positive in each day and staying focused on what’s most important (keeping my kids safe, stable and feeling as “normal” as possible). But some days/weeks it’s REALLY hard to have any coherent thoughts at all. I keep getting the rug pulled out from under me. Every single time I rely on the information I’ve been given or settle into feeling secure about what’s been agreed upon, it all changes. It messes with me! I go from being a positive, strong, focused M.O.M. to a mush-brained, semi-frantic, mess. I just want to be able to count on what I’m supposed to know!

Now I’m in a situation where I stand to lose my house and face the real struggle of feeding my kids and where the routine everyone has fallen into is being threatened to be turned upside down.

I don’t have time or energy for being messed with! And honestly, I end up going quiet when it gets like this, because it takes energy just to speak about it.

I know God has a plan. I KNOW and BELIEVE it. I’ve been shown time and time again that it’s going to be ok. But being human, I get all low and scared and my thoughts turn to gloom and doom. It messes with everything! My podcast has suffered, my blogging goes silent and I forget how strong and worthy I am.

Ick!

Yes, I’m strong. Yes, I hold it together while raising these kiddos and making darn sure there’s food and shelter and transportation and meeting with teachers and keeping tabs on what Max needs and pushing forward with getting all that will help him. I cook, clean, do the laundry, fix hair, bathe kiddos (often with the help of Maddi and Anna), support their sports, meet the neighbors and school families, go on field trips, take them to bday parties…

Could I catch a break?! All I’m asking is for a plan that’s agreed upon and upheld. Is that really too much to ask for?!

Ok. I’ll stop ranting. But I thought that maybe, just maybe if I opened this door and let it spill out that the feeling of holding my breath while smiling would leave me.

Doing the Dance of the Children…No Matter What!

I’ve been spending time each day exploring all the new places around me and this is by far, one of my VERY BEST finds! There are global issues that make us all feel so small and helpless and Human Trafficking is at the top of that list for me. As a mom it’s one of those things that absolutely hurts my soul and I’ve never known what to do, except pray for the victims.

A couple of days ago, Lex and I were on the hunt for a new place to grab some iced tea or coffee and I saw the sign for Origins Coffee & Tea. It intrigued me because it said something about making a difference. A coffee house making a difference? I had to go in and see what it was about. I’m sure glad I did!

Origins Coffee and Tea was started by dads who couldn’t let this issue go without a fight. You can read Chad Salstrom’s blog here. Arianna, Maddi and I went in today to find out about volunteering and we were able to meet Chad, get a tour and hear a little of his personal perspective. The shop is run by volunteers who are asked to give a minimum of 4 hours a week for 3 months. These are people working for free to help this important cause. You can easily sign up to give a little time, but if that won’t work for your schedule, you can simply patronize the shop. It’s spacious and comfortable, offering free wifi and is open from 6:30am-11pm each day. Chad showed us the meeting room they have available for groups looking for a place to hold a meeting or a gathering. There’s no charge for this room! Think about holding your next meeting there and let the coffeehouse provide your drinks and refreshments.

I’m so excited about this shop and what they’re doing! The girls and I are signing up to donate our time and plan on visiting the coffeehouse often. I’m drinking coffee anyway, my caffeine addiction might as well help out those in need!

This is seriously Good Stuff! If you’re local to the Rocklin/Roseville area, consider visiting the shop, bring your laptop, your friends and your goodwill!

Doing the Dance of the Children With the Hope of Helping a Little~

Sometimes its hard to juggle what each of my kids need. It’s easy to decide to label them for their strengths and task them accordingly. Every so often I’m reminded that I need to be mindful of their weaker points.

Getting ready for school is always a flurry of activity and me shouting out orders for tasks that need to be attended to. I’d make one heck-of-a drill instructor (not always the BEST quality in a mom)! But on a couple of recent occasions I’ve had a kiddo meltdown during this routine. The excuse has been clothing or shoes and not liking what’s available (how I miss uniforms!), but I know there’s more to it. I know that my tough, locked on, lil kiddo is more likely thrown off because the outfit that they’ve picked out and are not being allowed to wear is more tied to being in a new place and trying to figure out what’s going to be “acceptable” to this new peer group. Ugh! The brainwork that goes into parenting! This requires me being firm about what’s acceptable to be worn to school, but also takes me spending some time (usually in hindsight and after school) to sit with the child and discuss what’s really behind the meltdown over what’s being worn.

I’ve had to realize that under the tough exterior is a fragile little person who needs less drill instructor and more tender, Mommy time. I’m working on softening up my voice. I wake up with the intent to use a kinder, softer voice and it lasts about 1/2 and hour, while I watch everyone meander around with no actual direction and then the GET-ON-TASK, CAN’T-YOU-SEE-WHAT-TIME-IT-IS voice kicks in.

A lesson to keep working on. But you can bet I’ll find time this afternoon to take the lil one aside and talk to them about what’s behind the clothing and shoe issue. I’m hoping that picking clothes out the night before and getting them approved ahead of time will help.

Doing the Dance of the Children~

All of a sudden my house has gone from girl-dominated to boy-dominated. Yes, I have 3 of each in the house right now, but my older 2 girls pretty much have their stuff down and I’m not “managing” them as much as I’m “managing” the 4 younger kids. And 3 of those 4 younger ones are boys. I am the oldest of 9 children. I have 7, yes 7, sisters and 1 brother. He’s the youngest. He was only 5 years old when I left the house with my oldest child. Then I had JJ, who was surrounded by 4 sisters. Now, I’m scratching my head and trying to figure out what’s the “norm” for a houseful of boys who are fairly close in age.

For the last few weeks I’ve found myself in constant “STOP IT” mode. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s me that needs to stop it and just let them battle it out, annoy each other, argue, wrestle and fight. I really just don’t know. I feel like they’re constantly throwing things, banging on things, battling each other and competing. Normal boy stuff? I sure hope so because I’m feeling worn out and my throat hurts from repeating the same instructions and directions a ZILLION times each day. How much is just what boys do? Even with an age difference do they still have to establish a pecking order? When do I intervene?

Help!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Wishing it Was More Like Dead Poet’s Society than Lord of the Flies~

In my life-long quest to never be late, I am often accused of being anxious about time. This would be true!

When I was growing up, we were late to EVERYTHING. My mom did not and does not think schedules are important and I often heard her say things to the effect of, “I have 9 children…”. Even before I had 9 children of my own, I was determined to be on time or early to everything. I’ve done a fairly good job of making that happen, but in the process, I’ve made my kids hate me in the mornings. I am always budgeting the minutes in each day and dolling them out in a miserly fashion. One of my children has picked up this trait and he watches time to the very minute. I appreciate this!

This morning was the first day of me getting all the kids to all their schools. Until now, the girls have had a morning carpool. They will continue to get rides 2 days a week, but today was all me. Last night I let all the kids know that we needed to leave at 7 on the dot. This morning I woke each of them to, “Good morning. it’s time to get up and get going. We need to leave right at 7.” I probably reminded them of the 7:00 leaving time another 3 times before 7:00 actually got here. Overkill? Yeah, probably, but it’s what I do. So, 7 rolls around, Gabi doesn’t have her shoes on, Max is playing with Legos and Lex is building a marble track. My heart started racing, my tone completely changed and I started hustling everyone through what they still needed to do. We were in the van at 7:06. Completely unacceptable by my OCD standards. I gave them the speech about the importance of being on time and that I gave them ample notice of the morning’s schedule. We drove over to the high school, dropped the girls where they asked and drove away. I looked at the clock-7:14. I started thinking, “Wow! That didn’t take long at all!” (my girls used to go to school 15 miles away from our house and I’d have to drive them to school and then get the other kids to school and myself to work by 8am. I tell you this to give you a lil insight into where my mind was). Then I started driving toward Max’s school. I knew that there were 15 minutes before the earliest time he could be dropped off. I knew it wasn’t going to take me 15 minutes to get there. Hmmm…. So we drove to the school and toured the neighborhood. I announced that we had 10 minutes before Max could be dropped off. Lex piped up, “Mom, if we have 10 minutes then you got mad about nothing this morning”. ~Sigh~ Leave it to the 5 yr old to hand you a bag full of truth. I said, “Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t know we’d have so much time. I’m sorry I got upset. You all did fine”. Lex replied, “It’s ok. It was just nothing”. I dropped Max off, drove over to the other school, parked, tied Gabi’s shoes, walked Gabi to class, met a mom who’s daughter is in Gabi’s class, walked Lex to class, kissed him goodbye and drove away. All with time to spare.

Live and learn!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Watching the Clock~

What a week! Everyday of this life as M.O.M. keeps me Doing the Dance of the Children, but with the start of school, this week held extra Dancing. The first day of school went as smoothly as we could expect when living in an area for only a week and juggling 2 elementary schools that are on the same bell schedule. I got Tristan, Gabi and Lex to their school and Max and I waited outside the classroom with Lex until the teacher came out. All the other parents were full of a mix of emotions. You could see the pride, excitement and that twinge of sadness as their lil ones headed to the line for their first day of being a “big” kindergartener. Me? Well I was anxious for her to hurry up and open the dang door already so I could get Max over to his school on HIS 1st day and not have him be late. Yes, I took pictures, hugged my lil guy and told him what a great time he was going to have, but I was toe-tapping for the moment I could dash out of there. Sure enough, I got Max to his school and everyone was already seated at their desks. ~Sigh~ His teacher knows that I’m single-parenting and juggling 2 elementary schools, so she’s forgiving. Thank goodness!

1st Day 2011-Lex Kinder, Gabi 1st, Max 3rd, Tristan 6th

Lex on his 1st day of Kinder. My lil guy’s a big boy!

Gabi on her 1st day of 1st grade. Beauty!

Lex in front of his classroom, pointing to his name

I have to add that Max is also very forgiving. I was worried when I had to tell him that he was going to be in a separate school from his siblings. But I think the key to having him be ok is giving him as much information as possible and presenting it in a positive way. His teacher seems GREAT! She called me after the 1st day to give me a rundown on how Max did and what she observed. We discussed his particular needs, strengths and challenges. She seems compassionate to his needs and determined to help him have a successful year. I couldn’t ask for more. So far, he seems happy. He has expressed that he wishes he knew more kids, but I know that will come. There have only been 3 days of school, these things take time!

The other kids seem ok too. Lex is happy with his teacher and class. He’s a really easy-going kid and he plays easily with other kids, so I don’t doubt that he’ll make friends quickly and be a happy kindergartener. Gabi says that kindergarten was harder than 1st grade. We’ll see how she feels in a few weeks, but I do know that the curriculum and expectations were more rigorous at the last school. I have mixed feeling about that. Wait, that’s not the truth. The truth is that I’m sad that I can’t give the kids the level of education they’ve become used to. But I can’t beat myself up over it. Even if we stayed in San Diego and even if I wasn’t getting divorced, that education could no longer be afforded. So I have to accept this change and trust that the kids will be ok. At this time it’s all I can do. If things change in the future, I’ll revisit the subject.

That brings me to the 2nd day of school. THAT was a juggling act! I had to leave the night of the 1st day of school so that I could be in San Diego for our settlement hearing the next day. We had come to an agreement the night before, but the trip still had to be taken because papers had to be signed and an appearance still had to be made. I chose to live in this area for many reasons. I didn’t choose this lightly. I weighed cost of living, schools and the fact that I would have a ready-made support system of friends and family in place. That support system proved itself this week! My sister came to stay with the kids overnight and then got them to school the next day. Then my friend, Jen (who has been more than any friend could be expected to be over these last 6 weeks) came to do the pick ups. Once the older girls were home from school (btw-we’ve been plugged into a carpool by a great group of ladies who have stepped up to help me have a little time to get settled. A friend from high school happens to have a high schooler at my girls’ school AND lives in my new neighborhood. She got us set up with a carpool and also walked baked goods over…YES! THAT is Good Stuff!), they took over for the evening and I flew back in late that night. Whew! Doing the Dance for sure!

While I was in San Diego I managed to see several people, get all the important paperwork done, appear in court, run errands and meet up at Costa Brava with friends before heading to the airport. Have I ever mentioned how much I love Costa Brava? No? It was great to pop in for a little while, enjoy some tapas, sangria and wine and be treated to a round of creme brulee shots and my favorite dessert…I’d tell you what it is, but I have NO idea how to spell it. It’s vanilla ice cream with a burnt top, like creme brulee and it sits on a bed of sliced strawberries. YUM! That restaurant is so warm and welcoming! It always feels like a home away from home and the food is Mmmmm! So good! If you haven’t gone, you should!

Great ladies and our round of creme brulee shots

Enjoying that dessert!

I got home late, picked up the house (it’s amazing what 6 kids can do to a place when left alone for the after-school/dinner/bedtime hours) set my alarm for 4:15 and went to bed.

The kiddos were happy to wake up and find me there and ready to get the routine rolling. I made lunches, signed papers and heard all about the girls’ high school classes. Then it was off to school and time for this M.O.M. to tackle more of this house. The kids headed off for a weekend camping trip with their dad and my brother and I tried to get my head around what tasks I should complete while I have no little ones demanding my attention. But first, I went and played Bunco! I’ve been invited to join a group and was happy to get into something social. In the last 2 years, I had really pulled away from all the social activities I was used to being a part of. I’m enjoying jumping in again!

Everything is coming along nicely. We’re settling in and I’m hoping it all starts to feel homey and “regular” soon. I’m EVER grateful to all the wonderful people who have made this transition as smooth as possible. I truly couldn’t ask for better people in my life.

So, I’ve stocked the kitchen, unpacked more boxes, hung more decor and am preparing for a load of dirty, stinky, tired kiddos to arrive at sometime tomorrow. It’ll be my job to clean them up, wash the dirty clothes and convince them to go to bed to be ready for school on Monday morning. Wish me luck!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Grateful For The Music~

In the midst of all my moving and trying to get kiddos set up for school that starts NEXT week, I had the opportunity to speak with Gretchen of MommyCast as a Mom Correspondent for the show. Check out the show here. And the topic?…Moving with children, of course!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Sharing the Good Stuff~

I can’t believe so many days got away from me! But each of them has been full of work and keeping the kids busy and entertained.

All the work has paid off in the housing area! We are getting the keys to our beautiful new home on Friday! We are all very excited to live in this house! I’ll post pics when I have some, but it’s a great house in a great and convenient area. Now for the work of getting everyone enrolled in schools and getting ready to unpack and set up when everything arrives. Clay offered to DITY the move so we don’t have to wait 3 or so weeks to get all of our stuff. Anna took him up on his offer and on Friday she will ride down with him to San Diego (I think that in addition to her wanting her things before school starts, that the added bonus of a trip back to SD motivated her pushiness). We should have all our belongings on Monday. Let the work begin!

Other than all the paper work and computer work I’ve been tackling, there’s been trips to the river, a swim lesson for Gabi and Lex, an overnight trip to Grandma & Grandpa’s, visiting with Auntie Peggie, trying to catch crawdads and lots of laundry.

Now the kiddos are headed out to a camping trip with their dad and I’m going to catch my breath, go through paper work, try to get school stuff in order, pack up all our belongings from our friends’ house that we’ve been staying in and try to be ready to tackle all that’s before me.

Dance, dance, dance! Doing the Dance of the Children even on the days that I’m on my own~

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and in it’s right time. This belief is the only thing keeping me from going crazy about not having a house yet. I’ve filled my days with looking for a house and keeping the kiddos busy and entertained.

We’ve had lots of fun visiting with family and friends and exploring new water play. My beach kids are getting introduced to the river. I’m much more nervous about this than they are. In fact my nerves are frazzled because they’re fearless! I’d like to instill a healthy dose of respectful fear! I’m ever grateful for the people who come into our lives each day and bring little doses of good things! Yesterday the kids got to participate in a little bit of fishing. Max was mesmerized! Fish! Real fish, straight from the water that are still alive! All 4 of my younger kids enjoyed learning about the process and being able to touch the fish as they came out of the water. Good Stuff!

I’m waiting on a phone call for a house I’ve put an application on. Everything is hinging on getting into a house. I’ve got to get these kids registered in school! It starts in just a couple of weeks! Ugh! But my nerves get soothed by little things each day. Yesterday I heard a conversation between Tristan and Max. They were talking about “home”. Tristan said, “Home is where somebody loves you”.

This sentence from my 11 yr old to his younger brother made me feel so much better! They’re ok! They’re being kept busy and happy and they’re not as stressed as I worry they are. To let go and trust like a child is definitely a goal.

Doing the Dance of the Children and Waiting For it All To Fall Into Place