Stressed Much?

I've mentioned the overwhelming amount of events going on through this month. So far I'm handling it well(?)! Except for a few glitches.

My husband has a tendency to set things down and forget where he put them. This tendency has morphed into a habit of epic proportions this past month. We have three keys to the truck. He never knows where he last used any of them. Occasionally I find one and put it on my keyring, but when he needs the truck, he can never find his key or his spare, so he just takes the one off my keyring. And then, of course, no one can find it later.

I'm not much better. I went to a sale and bought several shirts this weekend. This morning I was searching for the green one to wear to work today. I couldn't find it anywhere, and was really getting frustrated. It finally hit me that the shirt I was looking for was the one I decided not to buy after all. No wonder I couldn't find it in my closet!

Two weeks to go. This week, in addition to work, cooking and houseguests, we have to finish (start) decorating for Vacation Bible School, finish washing all the laundry the boys brought back from camp, clean the house for the church group coming in on Saturday, and host Luke's graduation open house on Friday night.

Oh. I also have to finish (start) writing the lines for the skit that runs through all five days of Vacation Bible School, and coordinate the million and one details that haven't been handled yet.
Breathe... Breathe...

The Good Neighbor Hodgepodge

Yes, I know. I never call or write anymore. You're feeling neglected. I get it. But since I've nothing else for you to read, why don't you sit back and cruise through the hodgepodge? Then leave a comment and click on this link to head over to Joyce's and see what the rest of the hodgepodge world is doing? There's a good cyber neighbor!

1. In what way are you your own worst enemy?

Hmmm. Perhaps by patronizing the few blog readers I have until they no longer return? Would I really do something so self-destructive? 

2. Jacques Cousteau's birthday was Monday, June 11th...ever been scuba diving? Is that something you'd like to try? What's your favorite 'under the sea' creature?

I've done snorkeling, but never scuba diving. I believe claustrophobia might get in the way of me enjoying scuba diving. And my favorite under the sea creature is Aquaman. 

3. On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable are you in and around the water? (1=not at all, 10=very) Do you know how to swim and if so how and when did you learn?

I'd give it a 10 in the shower. I'm very comfortable there. 

4. What's something you do to motivate yourself to tick an item off your to-do list?

Cleaning the house is always on my to-do list. Nothing motivates me more to tackle cleaning than knowing that we're having company. We have two guests coming in tonight, and staying for 10 days. The day they leave another dozen are coming in and staying for a week. Apparently I needed a lot of motivation. 

5. What makes a good neighbor? Are you a good neighbor?

After years of watching Mr. Rogers while growing up, I can confidently say a zip up sweater and a pair of sneakers makes a good neighbor. I have neither. Draw your own conclusions. 

6. Who loads the dishwasher at your house? Is there a right way and a wrong way?

No one loads it until I tell them to because apparently no one is motivated by a sink full of dirty dishes other than me. Since it's that hard to get them to do it, I can't afford to be picky about the way they load it when they finally tackle the job. 

7. You know it's summer when_________________________.

This one stumped me. It's always summer in Florida. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Random thought? RANDOM THOUGHT?!?!?! Did you read my answer to #4? In addition to all that company, I also have to plan a graduation open house, and plan and coordinate Vacation Bible School. The dozen guests are coming down to help with VBS, so they're actually staying with us the week we're having VBS! There is not room in the blogosphere for all my random thoughts! Here's a random thought: what was I thinking!?!?!


 

Breathe...Breathe...

I never got the Lamaze thing down very well. I know after six kids I should be an expert, but I think I set my expectations too high. They said it would make you cope with the pain. Somehow I translated that to get rid of the pain. Big difference. Especially when it didn't do what they promised, never mind what I hoped for.

When we were blissfully ignorant parents-to-be for the first time, we attended Lamaze classes and faithfully practiced at home. Unfortunately, I never did get the breathing patterns down right. At least, that's why I'm chalking Lamaze up as a giving-birth-coping-mechanism-failure. Terry, on the other hand, took to coaching like a natural. I think it's because the term coach conjures up some mental image of sports. Or maybe he just naturally likes to be in charge and tell people what to do. At any rate, my our birthing experiences were marked by his rhythmic chants:

"Breathe...two...three...four; breathe...two...three...four..."

It never worked very well for giving birth, but the concept has stuck with me through the years. I think I would have studied and practiced harder if I'd realized that Lamaze isn't just something for the labor and delivery room. It's a coping method needed throughout my life as a parent.

*When the kids would scream because they were about to get immunization shots ...

*When I sat at the health department for hours, wrestling six screaming kids while waiting to get immunization shots ...

Breathe...two...three...four; breathe...two...three...four...

*When I had to wash Stephanie's hair four times to get all the clumps out after she and her brothers had a mud fight ...

*When I picked up the pieces to the last remaining music box in my collection, after the kids had broken all the others through the years ...

In...two...three...four; out...two...three...four...

*When I sat through a competition performance and hid my own anxiety because I had to calm down the ones who were performing ...

*When I watched all six kids jumping on the trampoline at the same time--and coming within centimeters of smashing their heads against the edges numerous times ...

*When Matt informed me that he wanted to invite a girl he'd met twice to come stay with us for a week during VBS ...

*When Matt answered my "why" question with, "Because she's hot."

*When Luke kept waking up during the night because he was having nightmares about snakes ...

Take a breath...two...three...four...and now another...two...three...

*When Joel was diagnosed with meningitis when he was six days old ...

*When Matt accidentally electrocuted himself with a 220 plug while we were living in Uganda ...

*When Stephanie had to have surgery because we discovered she'd been walking around with an inch long piece of toothpick buried in her foot for over a month ...

You can do this...three...four; another breathe...two...three...four

*When I taught Matt to drive ...

*When I taught Stephanie to drive ...

*When I taught Luke to drive ...

Get back in your lane!...two...three...put your blinker on!...one...two...

*When I visited the emergency room with Nicky for his broken collarbone ...

*When I visited the emergency room a month later with Paul, who needed eleven stitches just above his eyebrow ...

*When I visited the emergency room a month later with Joel, who had broken both wrists ...

We can get through this...three...four; they'll be fine...one...two...

*When my firstborn said "I do" to the girl of his dreams ...

*When my daughter told me she was dating a wonderful man who is studying to be a missionary ...

*When Luke started looking at college options ...

In...two...three...four; out...two...three...four

Who knew Lamaze would come in so handy? It's gotten me through all these momentous (and sometimes dangerous) life moments. Like tonight when we go to Luke's high school graduation ceremony. There'll be pictures and smiles, celebrations, memories and a diploma. And underneath it all you may hear my coach murmuring,

You can do this...two...three...four...you'll make it through this...two...three...four...

What A Hodgepodge!

Nothing like a Hodgepodge on a hot summery day! And just to keep you cool, we're starting out with something cool from the 80's. Hey, it just doesn't get any better than this! So leave a comment here, and then dash on over to Joyce's to see if anyone else remembers the 80's like you do.

1. What's something you miss about the 1980's? If you're too young to miss the 80's how about the 90's?
I miss big hair. Because then I'd be in style again. I also miss the A-Team. They were so cool. *Sigh*

2. Do you have a library card? If so, how often do you visit?

I have a library card, but it's not for the town I live in and so it does me no good. Interestingly enough, we've been to the library here in town once or twice. Is it bad that I prefer to look stuff up on computer? Then I don't have to worry about returning it on time. Which is a problem for me. Anything concerning "on time" is a problem for me.

3. What's the secret to success?

Don't aim too high and then you'll always hit the mark.

Just kidding! The real secret to success is found in Josua 1:8.  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

4. This is National Backyard Games week...what's your favorite backyard game?
I like lying in the shade in a hammock, reading a favorite book. Hey! That would too be a game! Or at least a challenge. Especially since we don't have any shade. Come to think of it, we don't have a hammock either. Okay, scratch that. I used to like playing football in the backyard until my mother told me I was getting too old to tackle boys.

5. If I dropped by today what would I find on your coffee table?

You would actually find my coffee table leaning up against the wall in the garage because someone recently got a little rowdy and broke it on one side. No one knows who did it, and I'm still seeking the culprit.

6. Do you own a bicycle? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Is that something you enjoy?

I have one and I like riding as long as there's no going up and down hills and no dogs chasing me and stuff like that.

7. What's your favorite cheese?

The kind melted on top of a freshly baked pizza.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Why do guys put the back of the seat so far down that they almost seem to be lying down when they drive? That's very annoying, especially when I have to keep putting it back to normal every time I want to drive.

Growing Pains

Why is it that when my children are growing up, I'm the one having growing pains? It hardly seems fair.

Or maybe they're not growing pains. Maybe they're just pains.

Case #1: I mentioned to my husband last night that yet another one of our boys need to begin the wonderful rite of passage known as shaving. Although I probably really shouldn't worry about it. As soon as he's told to do so, he'll want to do anything other than shaving. Just like his older brothers.

Case #2: Three of the four that I'm homeschooling have finished their lessons for the year. And yet, they still must travel to work with me several times a week because, even though they're old enough to be left on their own, they don't necessarily do well when left unsupervised too many days in a row. So now I'm trying to find ways to keep them occupied five hours a day. One of them acts as though I'm killing him because I require that he read a chapter of a book each day. It's a fiction book that's geared to his age and lots of fun. You'd think I was making him read Scottish Chiefs.

I've got them doing a typing course, getting a head start on next year. They all love being on the computer, which is a privilege not often extended. But I've only got one laptop, and taking turns seems to tax their sharing abilities. Plus I repeatedly find them playing games on the computer instead of doing the typing.

I should explain, by the way, that my very gracious boss is a proponent of homeschooling, and has been wonderful in allowing me to bring the boys with me on the job. That way I supervise their schooling while completing my work at the same time.

Sort of. Some days it works better in theory than in practice.

Case #3: They all also have that end-of-the-schoolyear energy that is so detrimental to everyone's health and well-being. The boys sit in a conference room with a whole wall of windows to do their schoolwork. I can see them through the window from my office. Last week Son #2 brought a bag of candy with him to school. And no, I do not allow that. Son #3 began crawling under the conference room table to get to the candy. Son #4 started crawling over the top of the table to get to the candy. All of them began rolling around the table in their executive desk chairs, playing a form of candy keep-away. (Apparently I went longer than one minute checking on them through my window. My mistake.) I became aware of the problem when they slammed into a bookcase and sent a lamp crashing to the floor.

Who knew school was a contact sport? Lest you be confused, let me assure you that none of my sons are two years old. They are ages 12, 14, 16 and 18. They know better.

Case #4: Son #2--I'm not sure why I'm not using their names in this post, but live with it--is getting ready to graduate from high school. Among other things, I'm supposed to provide 20 pictures of him at various ages for a display that is being put together for the seniors. (A private school nearby is graciously allowing our homeschooled son to participate in their ceremony.) My problem is, I don't have that many pictures of just him. And the ones that I do have are awful, fuzzy and completely out of focus. I'm suffering major guilt that I have not done a better job of recording my children's lives through photography.

I think I'm signing up for a photography class this summer.

Case #5: Son #1 and Son #2 got into an argument recently. They brought the problem to me, mostly because each of them thought I would set the other one straight. Except that they were both right and they were both wrong. While I was trying to sort out the mess, they continued arguing, and I couldn't get a word in edgewise. I finally stepped between them--except that my head only comes to their chins. Their argument didn't even slow down as they continued talking over my head.

And that's when I struggled with the desire to share my growing pains. Or at least cause someone else some pain for a while. It's a good thing I'm going out of town for a few days because I definitely need the break.

I just hope at least some of my furniture is still intact when I get back.

Where Has the Time Gone?

With a title like that, you'd think this would be a nostalgic post.

You would be wrong.

I'll probably do nostalgic later this week, but right now I'm just shocked because I came on my blog and suddenly realized that it's been an entire month since I lasted posted. I'm ashamed. And quite frankly, I don't know why you put up with me.

(Crickets chirping)

I see. Apparently you don't. Well, whether anyone else still comes by or not, I'm blogging again. Although I can't say for how long. Life interruptus and all. Just to give a little picture of what's going on, right now I'm knee-deep in planning our church's annual ladies luncheon. That's this Saturday.

A week after that I'm going out of town.

A week after that our son is graduating from high school. (That will be several blogs-worth because I'm not dealing well with this at all.)

Two weeks later the boys all leave for camp. This is the first year that all of them are old enough to go. (I'm not dealing well with this at all.)

Two weeks after that we have Vacation Bible School. All of my children will be helpers because none of them are young enough to attend VBS anymore. (I'm not dealing well with this at all.)

It may be the month of May, but I'm really looking forward to July.

With that summary out of the way, I wanted to briefly write about Mother's Day. This year's holiday included a mediocre meal at Bob Evans (my first restaurant choice was too crowded and we would have had to wait too long), some nice cards and a computer program that I'd been wanting. I'm glad I spoke up and asked for it because my husband did the shopping for Mother's Day this year. He sent his mom something from Cabelas. I learned early in our married life to be specific about what I want.

I also got some fun cards and one that made me cry. This is the wording on my husband's card for me:

For my Wonderful Wife
You take on so many important roles in our family--wife, mother, stress reliever, referee, organizer ... I can't begin to name all the things you take on and do so well. But what I can do is recognize how hard you work and how much love you give.

For taking care of us, for being the heart of our home, for being the wonderful woman you just naturally are ... you are appreciated and loved so much.

When he signed it, he thanked me for being his best friend.

You're crying now, too, aren't you?

The boys gave me a card with a cartoon bear on the front that said they couldn't bear to watch me working so hard all the time. When you open up the card, the bear is covering his eyes and saying, "that's better!"

Matt and Kylee's card said, "Do you ever wonder how different life would be without us kids?"  Inside it said, "Mom, Mom ... stop smiling."

My life is always better when there's humor in it. How was your Mother's Day?

Springs in the Hodgepodge

My title makes me think of springs sticking out of a couch. But the Hodgepodge is much more pleasant than that experience. So sit back and enjoy the questions and answers and then fly on over to Joyce's to join in. Come on, you've been wanting to for weeks if for no other reason than because you can answer these questions much better than I can. So prove it! I'll be watching!

 1. Spring is in the air (at least in my neck of the woods) and the birds are singing...what's your favorite bird?

Our spring involves temperatures in the upper 80's and visits to the beach. Not that I'm complaining. And birds sing around here all year round. When they leave your place to fly south for the winter, they end up here.

2. Speaking of birds...do you tweet? If so tell us your screen name and we'll come flocking to your Twitter site. Even if you don't let's all pretend here that we do-in 140 characters or less, sum up your week so far.

I have a twitter account, but I don't often use it. My week thus far? Happy. Healthy. Busy. Oh, and sunburned.

3. Its been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

I try never to post on my blog or on facebook anything that I'd be embarrassed about later. Well, I did blog about falling down in the choirloft and my inability to bring a decent dish to a potluck, but I mean seriously embarrassing stuff. If I left out all embarrassing things I wouldn't have anything to blog about.

And no one gets my password. I mean no one.

4. It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball movie? If that's too hard, what's your favorite sports themed movie?

Most movies in our house involve shooting and fist fights. 'Tis the nature of living in a household of males. My hubby did like the Rocky movies (boxing, if you're wondering about the sports-aspect), but then when I was in labor he started chanting "No pain! No pain!" as if he were a boxing coach and I was in training. Yeah. We don't watch those movies anymore. I am finally speaking to him again, though.

5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

I like asparagus. But when you ask about the way it's prepared are asking how I like to fix it or how I like it fixed for me? Because there's a big difference between my efforts and the efforts of someone who actually knows how to cook.

6. What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers???)

These days it's Luke, my eighteen-year-old son. He's got a permit but no license. (We're never in a hurry for our children to start driving on their own.) He's got to get the experience and get on out of the way, though, because Paul turns sixteen in October and he's already chomping at the bit to get his turns behind the wheel. I have serious doubts as to whether or not I'm going to make it through all four boys.

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

Absolutely I can juggle. Housework, childcare, homeschooling, work, church work, cooking, laundry. Piece of cake. Plus, you should see me do it in my clown costume. : )

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I don't really have a clown costume. I'm not overly fond of clowns and some of my boys are downright scared of them. Not that they admit it in public, but try taking them to a circus and see what happens. Seriously. Try taking them. I could use a day off.