I'm not the perfect mom, not that I ever thought I was or anything.........

13 days until school starts. I'm countin' em down people.

In a brief 13 days, there will be a calm quiet overtake our home each afternoon as just Sammy and I will be left here when the two older ones are out gettin' educated. And as hard as I think it is going to be to send ally on her last year of elementary school and emily on her first- the idea of some quiet, non-bickering time is more than I can handle.

13 days folks, 13 days.

Half Way Day!

It's Vacation Bible School week! I can only announce that now that it is officially half way over. I've been worried and nervous about this week for many weeks. It's the first time we've had VBS at our church since before Dan and I joined the church- over 10 years that I know of. In my mind, back in January, I was all "heck, vbs, cakewalk, no big deal" but as the week grew nearer, I began to worry about, well, everything. But with two days down, I can officially say it seems to be going beautifully! All the glory goes to God, this week must have been in his will because he has provided enough hands to work with the children, enough children to keep the hands busy, and materials to teach his word. My station, you ask, is the craft room. I am a sucker for all things glittery and glooey. So far so good. The crafts are simple and plain, but seem to be doing the trick for our 37 small wonders. Here's hoping the rest of the week goes just as well. Although I love VBS- I must say I will be relieved when it is over.

As far as today goes- it's a rainy day that has made my children a bit squirly. I am trying to work up the courage to take them out in public just to get them out of the house- the library maybe, and then to the grocery (yikes!) I'm supposed to go to work today, but there is NO WAY I am taking these three houligans into the office. I am not strong enough for that today.

And here is the surprise for the week- Dan is back on days! Hallelujah! I'm not sure how his schedule keeps getting all flipped around, but I am happy now. It makes it hard for me to try and work- even if it is just 12 hours a week- but who cares. For now, our life is a bit more back to 'normal'. I guess, for us, this is our normal : )

Good Grief Guinea Pigs!

So- as I mentioned earlier, we have another guinea pig now! Emily is holding Giblet, and the new one is in front of Allyson. His name is Chocolate. Why Chocolate for an all white guinea pig? Who knows, Allyson picked it and the other two agreed. Dan and I allowed Allyson to buy another guinea pig because, heck, we already had one and I was already changing the cage and buying the food- why not.

Here's the kicker.

Guinea pigs love companionship, right? That's what the 16 year old at the pet store said (in all fairness, the brochure said it too). Not Giblet. We gave them a week and poor Chocolate has the battle scars to prove it. They fight non stop, just like my children. Except they have sharp teeth and they have bitten and scared each other good. So now it's either find a home for Chocolate (can you hear my children crying?) or get another guinea pig cage. Hysterical.

For now, Chocolate is living in a huge plastic tub. Glamorous I know. We'll figure out some more permanent arrangements soon.

In the meantime, anyone looking for a sweet all white guinea pig??????

Ugg.

Today= Blah

I've cancelled today's post on the account of today being crappy.

I'll be back tomorrow with some witty (or not) non-sense about nothing.

YARD SALE!

One thing that sounds easier than it actually is to do with three children is have a yard sale. So of course we are having one, because there is not enough stress or dismay in my life.

Yea, good times.

A quiet evening...........

The kids played outside all last night until 9:20- when the sun began to set and I declared bath time. They were filthy dirty, so baths were a must.

It was nice to see them and the neighborhood kids just play. They rode bikes, played basketball, and paraded our guinea pigs around. Did I say pig's'? Yes- I haven't posted yet but we have another guinea pig now, his name is Chocolate. I will put some pictures on as soon as my lazy behind gets them off the old camera.

So back to playing. It was a great night here in old Indiana for outdoor playing. I noticed Sammy down the street at the 17 year olds house, sitting and chatting with her. When they returned I was informed that sam is her 'boyfriend'. He looked so giggly.

At one point I heard screaming. I looked up and here came Sam tearing up the road on his tricycle with Emily chasing behind him and screaching. There was no way she was going to catch him, so she was pretty far back. He came flying up the driveway, screeched to a hault and grabbed a guinea pig out of his bicycle basket. Ahhh, it all came into focus. He'd kidnapped one of the pigs. He proceeded to run up the driveway, carrying Chocolate upside down straight out in front of his body. Oh how I wish I would have taken my camera outside, it was hysterical. Needless to say, the pig got restored to it's rightful owner and all was well in our world again. The girls know better than to leave a pig unattended, Sam loves to grab them and put them places.

A little while later, here came Emily with one of the neighborhood girls driving in a two seater jeep. Where on earth are the guinea pigs I asked. They had squeezed them into a small narrow compartment in the back of the jeep, of course, and were taking them for a ride.

I need to take more time to sit in the front yard and watch the kids play. It was refreshing and enjoyable. I just need to focus on how to relax. That is my downfall, I constantly feel like I should be doing something. But just sitting there was nice. And since none of my children are young enough to eat strange things they find in the yard, I can actually sit down now. I have apparently lost my ability to just sit, so I am going to work on that.

Culture

Because I am a mother who believes in introducing my children to the arts, I desperately try to constantly introduce my children to different types of theater, arts and such.

So of course, we spent the evening at the demolition derby! There is nothing like the experience of that culture. Old crunched up cars, men chewing tobacco, t-shirts and whootin and hollarin! I'm a good mother like that, learn from me people.

It was a fun evening and my children seemed to love it. Not only was it loud and destructive, tractors were involved so even Sam was enthralled. Despite the last hour and a half of emily and sam poking and picking on each other, we had a blast and I can't wait to go again next year. Allyson, suprisingly, was the biggest advocate for staying until the end (she was worried it would be boring- ha!) What a loud crazy night, full of mud and noise! Fun I tell ya!