Daybook~Mid Week
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For Today…June 22, 2011
Outside my window…it’s raining. FINALLY. Oh glorious rain how we have missed you. I admit you put a cramp in my plans for the day, but I have already rescheduled lunch for cupcakes, so all is good. This morning, the Baby Hulk came up with words to describe the weather. He is so smart.
I am listening to…Lance teach the boys how to jump. Yes, jump. I teach the kids to read, write, count to 100 and so much more and he teaches them to jump. This is why you need two parents. Every kid needs a parent that is fun. I wish I was that parent.
I am excited about…this weekend. Lance and I are celebrating our anniversary. Alone. I am extremely hesitant to leave my kids alone. Visiting grandparents for the week? Never. Weekend sleepovers? Never. I blame my parents for my feelings on the matter because we never left home to stay with relatives, and quite frankly, I don’t think I missed out. I loved being with my family. But my mother has reminded me over and over how lucky I am that my husband wants to spend time with me. I know that, I just miss them so much. So a couple of times a year, we leave the boys and take time for us. And my parents have an amazing time with the kids. And despite the fact that they never sent us away, I know they wish I would send the kids to stay with them. They love them so much. And because they love them so much, I trust them and will enjoy a weekend with my husband. I promise to enjoy the time away and not call too much. Besides, like my dad says, mom never answers the phone!
I am wearing…black workout shorts and a Longhorn t-shirt. And they aren’t sweaty yet. Going to the gym later so that Lance can watch No David while I workout.
I am so grateful… for my parents, for many reasons, but right now for the help they provide to us.
I am praying…for patience. Oh how I need to work on this one. And gentleness. That’s a hard one for me, maybe even harder than patience because I don’t think I’m naturally a gentle person. I’m kind of loud to begin with, you know what I mean? I love my kids so much and if you read this blog with any regularity, you know I want them around all the time. I don’t dread summers, I hate the school year, don’t understand why Squirt would stay at work for three extra hours and so on. That said, I’m not really a patient person. Or a gentle one. And who wants an impatient, sighing mom? Not my kids. So for them, I continue to work with the help of this little book, Small Steps for Catholic Mothers.
I am reading…Under the Banner of Heaven. I am almost halfway through with the book and have at various times thought about putting it down. The author is just so anti-Mormon. I finally skimmed the end of the book, and if I read correctly, the author isn’t a Christian. I seem to remember reading something about there “might be a God”. I could be very wrong on that. Whatever his beliefs are, he is no fan of the religion. And that is fine. I just know I have no desire for this guy to EVER write a book about the Catholic Church. I’m not saying that all books about specific religions have to be written by people from that religion, I just think someone’s bias needs to stay out. I do know that I now have a million questions about the Mormon religion which means I have an email to write to my Mormon friend so we can get together to discuss.
I am creating…lists of summer fun for the kids and school plans for the Fall.
From the learning rooms…so I said we weren’t really doing school this summer. Just reading and narrating books, working on handwriting and some math drills to keep up. We have yet to finish one book, no narrations and no math work. To keep myself upbeat and calm, I took out the calendar to show we needed to get serious. And they kind of were.
One of my favorite things…a friend who wants to homeschool as much as me, but isn’t. This means I have another person to talk about school with who understands exactly where I’m coming from. (Although we certainly talk about much more than school, things like working out and margaritas!) She has two kids who are the same age as Goose and the Baby Hulk. We are averaging about two playdates a week with them. Tomorrow we’re hitting the Art Museum to show the kids some Modern Art, we’ll come home and make our own art with them. Yesterday we went to Miller’s Outdoor Theatre with them. Afterwards we had lunch on the playground, the boys played nonstop and saw several animals. They came home and were excited, maybe too strong a word, to write in their nature journals. I am hoping tomorrow goes well, and I don’t end up with paint all over the house!
A bird for nature study
I wonder if the bird is scared of No David.
The momma
To live the liturgy…we are having Super Saints this summer. Yay! We were supposed to have company yesterday, but that was cancelled at the last minute so we missed this week, but we’re on next week. I think the boys really need this as much as me. It keeps us tuned into the church so much better.
On keeping home…I have discovered a new trick Squirt can do. Clean the bathtub. SO excited about this one. I hate cleaning the bathtub. And really, he is the only one who uses the hall tub so it makes sense for him to clean it. Plus, he is stronger than me and does a much better job than me. I have been trying to have the other kids start some small chores. I am of the mindset that I like things clean and little ones don’t clean the way I want. Why have them clean only to clean up again? But I understand the need to have them learn. So we are starting slowly, like cleaning off the table after breakfast and lunch.
From the kitchen…it’s one of those bad weeks. Lance made a brisket on Sunday that was amazing. I am content to eat leftovers all week. The rest of the family isn’t. I only have one more day to plan a meal, then it’s my mom’s problem to feed them something. Did I just type that? Sorry mom!
On being fit and happy…I think I have to admit two things. I am over 40. I was really skinny before I got pregnant with Baby Z. I might never get that skinny again, esp if I continue to eat sweets every day. I am cheap and don’t want to buy new clothes. That’s more than two. And there’s another…I am slightly vain about my weight. I want to be skinny and fit into my old clothes. My birthday is coming up and I would rather ask for a GC to Lakeshore Learning than a GC to a clothing store. How am I supposed to reconcile all of this? Not sure that I can do anything except get over myself. Or stop eating so much. Thank God I like to workout.
A few plans for the week…
- dinner with Jessica before she leaves for Spain
- Museum of Fine Arts and art lesson
- Cupcakes with Chelsea
- time with my amazing husband
A picture thought I am sharing…
It’s been a while since I’ve posted pictures of my girl. She is so sweet.
From Denise:
Love the Mari pictures, she is the perfect, sweet, happy baby girl in every picture. Gotta be all that love for her in your family!
Please share your wonderful children with their Grandparents as much as possible. I know you want them all the time, but as a grandparent I can’t tell you how much it means to us to be close enough distance wise to see our grandsons weekly. I feel so horrible for my parents, we lived hundreds of miles apart & they saw the boys twice a year. As they grew older it was a week at a time, always missed boys but it was great for all of us.
Have a great anniversary trip with Lance!
From Jenn:
Girl you are gorgeous! Believe that! And you are truly an inspiring Momma! I want to sit down soon and talk about how you got into homeschooling with the little ones and what steps to take. Maybe on our wine and cheese night? Let’s do it! I’ve been looking at the painting with a twist calendar but nothing’s jumping out.
Is that Small Steps book a daily devotional? I need/want something like that. But I also just love anything that helps me refocus on what God’s called me to do. Anyway, let me know.
Y’all have a super weekend!
From Lance:
“•time with my amazing husband”
Quite frankly, it’s about time I started getting a little more credit in this blog.
From Denise:
Hey Lance you got credit in Nicole’s blog for teaching the boys to jump! Seriously though, always look forward to Nicole’s inspiring blog. Nicole you are a lucky woman, not too many men I know plan any kind of Anniversary Celebration. Much less the great one’s it sounds like Lance makes.
Glad no one got sick, injured or had an eye infection or any other disaster struck, this year.
From Shea:
I liked Under the Banner of Heaven. I didn’t take him as being so much anti-Morman as he was anti-Fundamentalist Mormon. I’m opposed to extremists in most religions, and manage not to judge the entire religion based on their fringe.
From Nicole:
Thanks, Jenn! You guys have to come over soon. That way I can show you some of my stash. And yes, on the book, will bring that for you to look at too. It is really good. Just daily prompts that are so helpful to me. Things I really need to focus on as a mom.
Let’s just make a plan soon!
From Nicole:
I am lucky, Denise. And this weekend was amazing. SO great and relaxing. Just what we needed. And maybe the best anniversary yet.
I was just thinking of poor Goose last year. That was horrible. So upsetting for all of us.
From Nicole:
When I say he’s anti-Mormon, I think it’s b/c you can tell he thinks a lot of it is ridiculous. At least, that is what I’m reading as he talks about the history of Mormonism. I feel like I’ve read quite a bit of the book, and we’ve yet to talk about the super fundamentalists. I mean, he has, but still mostly in a historical way and …I just can’t express my thoughts in writing. Have to discuss in person. You’ll have to tell me how the book ends b/c I don’t see myself finishing it.