This is how math works in our house:
Innocent toddler toys + weirdo eight year olds =
Curly haired toddler + long night in bed =
Cleaning out craft supplies + sticker crazy girl =
Almost 7 years in a plumbing shop + a going away gift =
This is by far the coolest going away present I've ever seen!! The toilet handle is the on/off switch!! I LOVE IT!!! It is hilarious!
Today Brandi and I had our last crafting day together. The worst part is that the kids are all now at an age that craft days are really much more productive. The kids can entertain themselves very well, there are two of us to watch all the little hands, it is enough of a break from the normal routine that they are all very well behaved, one of us can always be working on the craft instead of feeding/changing/burping/holding/kissing boo-boos etc..., and of course the kids are so much cuter playing together. And now that we have all that worked out...we're leaving...typical. It was great fun today, thanks Brandi!!
We are also trying to get one more "last time" in for everything we can think of. Monday night will be the last singing practice with Tony's group. Tomorrow is Gabe's last IEP meeting at school. We will have our last family picture session with Mary on Sunday. We want to have one more game night with our friends from the base (now that Shane is finally home from Qatar). We want to have one more date night before we lose our church family babysitters. And we might even squeeze into the last military banquet at our church. 12 more days left...
This is probably not a good thing but I'm in church meeting rebellion. I decided today that the church here just isn't going to work for the next couple weeks. The church just isn't doing for me what I think God made it for (and I can't see that we are meeting anyone else's needs either). See, knowing that I'm leaving all these blessed and wonderful people just makes being with them depressing. I spend every second thinking of nothing but how much I'm going to miss this person and that person and even that person way over there. And we've gotten to the point that other people talk to us about nothing but our moving, cause really, why talk about anything else since we won't be here to experience anything else. We might be able to squeeze into the military banquet before leaving, but nothing after. Pregnancies we will never see the results of. Retreats we couldn't go to even if we wanted to. Classes we won't attend. Singing songs we won't be singing here. Games we won't play...etc. And as I've said many times, I'm NOT one for going away parties. I can go to other people's parties because a) I don't HAVE to talk to them as long as they see me, and hugging requires no speech b) I can leave whenever I want to. You put ME in the middle and it is sheer torture. Everyone says, "Yeah but other people need to say good bye to you. It is for them not for you." My response is this. The best way to show me you'll love me and miss me is without making me stand in front of a group of people (many there simply for whatever free food they can find) and watch them all stare at me. I have no problem with hugging necks, accepting whatever it is that people want to say, and visiting. Don't make me do it in front of a crowd or with some kind of spotlight in my face. I'm a corner dweller and putting me in the middle induces my flight response. If people need to say good bye to me that badly, my address is in the directory and my phone number (with attached answering machine since we all know I don't answer the phone) is in the same place. I welcome any one that wants to say whatever it is they need to say...even if you want to yell at me. I'm good with that. Just leave the crowd out of it. You are welcome in my home and on my machine....
Much love,
Ms. Queen of Anti-Socialism
I've gotten so out of the habit of writing that now, when I want to write...I got nothin'.
With the looming disaster of renting out our house, we find ourselves having to do something we aren't very good at...keeping the house in "show" condition. I'm kinda hoping that this short time of having to do this will make it a habit I can try to keep up with later....HA!
I have gotten in the habit of sitting at the computer before going to bed. All because of facebook and those silly games. And now that I've gotten burned out on the games I find myself sitting here doing nothing and wondering why I'm awake. So maybe I can take this time (like I'm doing right now) to blog more regularly. Which, lets face it is so much better than wasting my life away plowing, planting, and harvesting...(can't believe I said that...)
To the Ard family, we love you!! We think of you every day and pray that comfort and peace are where you wallow.
As we all know, Christmas was tight. Here is what having a tight Christmas makes:
For Gabe's wonderfully loved shadow, the first bag I've ever made...
For Uncle B, the first CD holder and coffee cup sleeve I've ever made...
For Brandi's boys Wesley and Riley, the first felt food I've ever made and first sewn letters...
(Brandi- act surprised when I finally swing by your house to drop them off...)
For Gabe's homeroom teacher (I'll be making one for his resource room teacher as well), the first decorated clipboard I've ever made...
For Steph, same bag for Gabe's shadow, only we bought the pattern with her in mind (then I found the fabric the shadow's is made with for her...)...
For Mary, my first camera strap and first envelope pillowcase...
I also made three sets of PJ bottoms for Gabe and Hope each, which there will NEVER be pictures of...yikes.
And I made my first photo board for a family tree for Carol, which I managed not to get pictures of apparently.
I attempted to make Hope and I new stockings for Christmas but gave up the fight after 10:30pm Christmas Eve night while still waiting for Santa to do his thing. I'll finish them up for next year I hope.
I had fun making most everything. Some projects were more fun then others but only based on which projects seemed to work out the way I wanted them to and on whether or not the things I used worked or not (don't ask how much spray adhesive I used or worthless Mod Podge or how often my seam ripper was used) . I DO hope that we have another tight Christmas soon as I really do like making things for people. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a wonderfully blessed New Year!
So my crafty Christmas is now on the downward slope. Hoping I don't get burned out before I'm done with it all. I've been trying to be good about taking breaks to relieve the brain and so far so good. I'd show you some things but a lot of things I can't show for fear of letting the cat out of the bag. So I'll save up for a big "after Christmas" post. The best part of one of my breaks was rearranging my craft space. Mary gave us three cabinets from her house that she thought would be good for my stuff. I'll tell you what, they are AWESOME!!! Way better than I thought they'd be. I'm normally and all or nuthin' kind of girl. I'd rather totally complete a project than to be stuck somewhere between getting it off the ground and finishing it up. SO many of my projects have bit the dust because once my mind decides I need to move on to something else, I rarely go back. SO organizing my craft stuff has gotten a little overwhelming. So much stuff and no idea who, what, when, where, or why. So when Mary offered these cabinets I thought "yeah, okay, it'll get me started." But they fit almost EVERYTHING. Almost. It is way better than having scrapbook stuff here and sewing stuff there and card making stuff somewhere yonder and oh yeah that kid crafty stuff is around here somewhere... Anyway, having everything organized, at least in my head, has given me the added push I needed to get goin'. I don't feel as overwhelmed. Still some organizing to be done but for now....whew. Just for fun, here is proof of one of today's breaks:
