So THAT'S what a "weekend" is!?

I don't know if other moms out there feel like this, but to me a Saturday may as well be a Monday or Thursday...my kids don't go to public school and my husband VERY rarely has a weekend day off. My routine pretty much stays the same from day to day. So I do not grasp the excitement people feel for The Weekend.

Until this past weekend, that is! It was awesome! The kids and I drove my brother to the airport. He stayed at our house for a month so we were all ready to say our goodbyes. After we dropped him off we went to visit a friend of ours whom we have not seen in about three years. By some miracle we were able to spend the entire afternoon with our buddy, whom is usually extremely busy, at a beautiful park where there were two separate playgrounds and a shallow stream that ran through with many bridges for the kids to cross and play on. The day could not have been more perfect-God is good! The children took off their shoes and played in the water, got completely filthy, added grass stains to their outfits: just perfect! You can measure the amount of fun a child has had by the amount of filth on their clothes and body. My kids had a BLAST.

After the park we all decided we were hungry and went to eat. Then we brought our friend home, washed up, put jammies on and loaded back up in the car for the hour and fifteen minute ride home. After years of sleep deprivation I have become a bit neurotic about my bedtime routine. I have done this many, many times (dress the kids for bed so they fall asleep in the car), and it always works flawlessly. I am a bedtime genius. I left at 7:15, which is the exact time I would get the kids to bed if we had been home. All they had to do was fall asleep and I would move them to their beds when we arrived home.

About 20 minutes into the ride I looked in the mirror with satisfaction as Sarah's eyes closed. A quick check on Patrick showed he was not far behind-he looked as if his eyes were shut and he had big blue eyes painted on his eyelids. I swear I kept watching him and that child never blinked once. (lol) Luke, of course, had blood-curdling screams coming out lasting the *entire* ride, save the last 15 minutes. So my plan back-fired for the first time: Sarah slept long enough that she felt rested up, Patrick just stared the whole way so I assume his brain shut off as if he were asleep and resting, and Luke kept himself awake by screaming.

We walked inside at 8:30 and the kids were in great spirits...I was not so happy. I made them a bed in the living room (they wanted to camp out) genuinely thinking they would fall asleep watching TV. WRONG AGAIN. They partied like I have never seen them. They were awake at 10:30 when my hubby got home from work. They were awake when said hubby and myself realized we could no longer stay awake. I took the baby into bed with me because (thankfully) he was ready for sleep. They were even awake at 12:30 when I came out to check on them. Daddy was passed out on the living room floor and Sarah and Patrick were watching Pirates of the Caribbean (I still don't know how she learned to use the DVR!?) and had sugar cookies scattered about. Sarah was holding a butter knife covered in orange Halloween icing. Between them was the container of frosting. At that point I didn't really care anymore and simply turned around and went back to bed. At 1:30 am I checked again and the cookies were cleaned up (or more likely eaten), and the rugrats were FINALLY asleep. I couldn't believe they stayed up so late; that is a first!

Sunday was fun, too-Rick got off work at 2 o'clock and was able to come home for supper with us. Patrick turned 4 years old that day so I made him pirate cupcakes (he is obsessed) for after the birthday dinner he requested: corn and macaroni and cheese. They all went to bed at their normal time I'm happy to report. Daddy laid down with them since it was a special occasion (birthdays and holidays are the only time he ever puts them to bed; the rest of the year it's mommy), and while we tucked them in we told Patrick his birth story, which we do every year for each of them. This was the first year he really understood what his birth story meant and that was special for me because I truly consider it an honor and a gift from God to be a mother-no matter what I blog about. ;) He had lots of questions and Sarah had a few too. After we were done talking I left with baby Luke and counted down the minutes until Rick gave up and came strolling out with two wound up kids behind him. 13 minutes. He lasted longer than he normally does.

We had ourselves a fantastic weekend; I am grateful for our many blessings. :)

Writing Style...?

I saw this on a friend's blog (Thanks, Jessica!) and found it interesting. This is a true story: I knew my result before I even hit "Submit". This leaves me with a dozen unanswered questions...Has my writing technique been stolen this whole time I've been "writing"!?...Have I been influenced so heavily that I've subconsciencly picked up this style?...Is it possible I was simply drawn to this author because we are both brilliant? Did I alter my mind forever the moment I picked up one of his novels before my age hit double digits? Hmmm...this is the stuff that will keep me awake at night.

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

(P.S. I have read nearly every book he has written-including his alter egos-I also own a bookshelf that is dedicated to King novels. Perhaps I should channel other writers for a while.....)

Let the Homeschooling BEGIN!

Today is the first day of public school. My kids and I were hanging out together passing the morning the way we always do and Sarah noticed a school bus pass by the window. She realized that meant school was back in session and for the first time ever she seemed interested in going.

I have already made up my mind to homeschool her (and the boys, of course) so for a split second I wondered..."Am I doing the right thing?" In approximately 3 nanoseconds a solid, unyielding "YES" resonated throughout my entire being. Yes, this is the right path for our family. No one is going to be a better teacher for my kids than ME.

To make Sarah feel more official, I made a big deal about all the "school stuff" we did today. For example, the letter of the day is "B" and the color is blue. So we made blue play dough and banana bread. We rattled off every "b" word we could think of (well, almost all of them!). And we filled back packs with blue objects and Sarah went to school (aka-her room) and passed along her knowledge to her baby brother. It was such a good day!

**I am abandoning my post and switching gears...I have to share this story:
While I was writing this I had many thoughts going through my head. I planned on getting really in-depth about the misconceptions of homeschooled children (they are unsocialized freaks for example), and how the drive to homeschool is built-in...I was just stopped in my tracks. Patrick came and tugged at my shirt and he excitedly said, "I made Jesus". So I came and looked at his mound of play dough and sure enough there was a cross made by pressing a plastic knife through. He said he wasn't finished yet and started making blood spots and wounds.

I am honestly not sure what to do with this? This has been happening for months: he is fascinated by the crucified Jesus. I don't remember how it even started, but one day I explained what happened to Our Lord (the story of His Passion basically). I have walked into the room and seen Patrick standing under the crucifix, starting intently; several times he has even started crying because of Jesus' injuries. Another time I caught him in his room. When he saw me he had a look on his face like he was busted. Ususally this would mean there was glue in his hair or something was broken, but when I checked things out he had climbed onto a chair to reach the crucifix and brought it in his room to stare at it. He thought he was in trouble for touching it; all I did was walk away and leave him to it. He kept it for a long time and when he was finished (with whatever his little mind was doing) he simply put it back in its proper place-no damage, no swordplay...nothing improper at all.

Wouldn't be amazing if I am raising a priest!? :) But I don't know what to say to him. I get uncomfortable...I am making a promise to myself (and my kid!) that I will start praying for guidance. Hopefully when things like this happen God will take over and give me something wise to say instead of just standing there like an idiot and not taking advantage of chances to teach. I am taking a guess, but maybe God is helping me come back to Him through Patrick? I don't know...but it is working.

Markers Part.....Oh Forget It, I Lost Count

I rebuke Wal-Mart and their 20 cent school supplies!

Those kids are always 1 step ahead of me, no matter how much I plan in advanced to avoid such situations. I was thoughtfully putting crayons in ziplocks and writing names on the bags with Sharpie because I am a genius and I know doing so will prevent fights when they decide to use the art supplies.

Meanwhile........

Naps are for Weenies

Two days ago the baby decided he was sleepy very early in the day-9:45 am. The older kids were in a rare state and actually playing together nicely so I decided it must be a gift from God and took the opportunity to rest. Naturally, after only about 2 minutes Sarah came into the room asking me something and I silenced her in a rush and gave her strict instructions to "do whatever; just don't bother me".

So she went into Luke's room with Patrick and they were talking amongst themselves; it is not uncommon for Sarah to use the baby's room as a nursery for her dolls so I knew that was what they were doing. For 45 blissful minutes I snuggled my little guy and smelled his fading baby scent.


I never heard any arguing, crying, objects smashing into the walls, or furniture being dismantled. I was a little unnerved, but I was enjoying the peace and I was afraid to interrupt the play because they almost NEVER interact together for that long without incident.


Luke opened his eyes and squirmed and so our siesta was over. Hours passed and eventually I needed to go into Luke's room for something. This is what I saw:



I had already started cleaning when I snapped the photo-it was much worse. Anyone who knows me knows I have a touch of OCD: all of the clothes are organized according to size and season. Not anymore. The crib is usually quite inviting with stuffed animals and cozy blankets (as nobody ever sleeps in it). It was was stripped bare to the mattress and covered in cookie crumbs. The tiny jackets and cute clothes which need to be hung are kept neatly in the closet in order from smallest size to biggest and, of course, season. They were scattered all over the floor and about a dozen hangers were snapped because they tried to swing from them on the closet rail. What really scares me is they were able to completely ransack the room so swiftly and silently. I honestly was fooled into thinking they were playing house.


My 45 minute rest cost me a days' worth of work. I realize that the children are old enough to know better-they know that tearing stuff up like that is NOT okay. However I didn't know how I should react since I clearly told them to do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't wake Luke and I up. So the next morning we started re-organizing the clothes, putting the crib back together, and getting the diapers back on the shelves. Each time they asked to get into the pool I answered, "We can't play in the pool today because we have to clean the baby's room that you destroyed." Believe me, they asked literally every 3 minutes. But I never gave in. Finally order was restored and we could do something fun. I'm hopeful my technique worked at least a little because I heard Sarah telling Patrick if he messed up his room "mommy will be mad and then...no pool!"


Dear Lord, Please don't ever tease me with a nap again. It's just not right. Amen.

Last Thursday my hubby and I packed up the truck and headed to South FL for our niece's wedding. On Friday the five of us donned our swimsuits and went to the beach first thing in the morning. Just us, towels, sunblock, and the beach-that is definitely the happiest I can get (okay, okay...Disney World is a tie).

The rest of the weekend passed; visited family and went out to eat quite a bit. The wedding was on Sunday and our plan was to leave early Monday morning as Rick had to work that night. I dressed the kids and they looked extremely cute in their fancy clothes. I made sure to take lots of photos so I would always remember just how sweet they were at this age.

Five minutes before we left the wedding venue I looked down at the table where I had laid my phone literally two minutes prior...GONE. We had no choice but to give up searching; it was obviously stolen and not coming back. I bawled the entire way back to my mother-in-law's house. Sobbing like I haven't in a very long time. It wasn't the loss of the $500 iPhone, not the money that was lost in apps and music. It was the pictures. All of them just....gone. My youngest child's memories from the time of his birth...just gone. Like they had never happened. I am an idiot and haven't backed up my phone in ages so there is no way to recover them. The only pictures I have of precious moments with my baby are on Facebook. There were so many on my phone that I never shared on Facebook-his first smile, first tooth, first skinned knee, first EVERYTHING. We never think we will forget, but we do. All those little moments that make up motherhood. Siblings sharing hugs, chocolate-covered faces, playing in the rain. Things that would not interest your "friends" online, but that meant the world to you as a mom. They fade in your memory; that's why we take photos. I have not gotten over it yet.

Thanks to that loser taking my property I was also locked out of my e-mail and Facebook accounts. So there I was: no phone, no e-mail, nothing! Literally completely cut off from everyone! I didn't know what to do-I was used to constantly being connected. I had become one of those people who are dependent on technology-I don't know anyone's phone number or e-mail address by heart; in the past I could recite dozens of contacts...not anymore. My phone contained my ENTIRE life. It was a wake-up call. When I laid down at night I would pray, "Please God, I NEED my stuff back-bring it back!" After the fist couple of nights my prayer changed to, "Thank you God for forcing me to realize how I have been managing my life. I wish you could have picked a cheaper way, but...thanks."

After days of pleading with Yahoo they agreed to grant me access to my account. From there I was able to get into my FB and look at the pictures that I no longer have. I was taught a valuable lesson: BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!! Once they are gone they are GONE-forever. Also, while it is fun and convenient to be connected at all times, it is all too easy to get wrapped up in it. That week without the ability to be online was awful! I felt lost!! But my kids and I spent more time together. Don't get me wrong-I spend ALL of my time with my kids. However, it was different because I knew there was no use in wandering over to the laptop. I didn't have a phone to turn on and zone out with. So our time was uninterrupted. I don't spend much time online at one sitting. It's too dangerous in this house. But I do check my phone a lot...maybe out of boredom with the daily hum-drum, maybe because I am lonely. Whatever the reason, I never thought much of it until I wasn't able to do it and I saw how much I accomplished.

I really do try my best to engage with my children: we build hotels with blocks, finger paint, bake cookies, all of those fun things. But this past week I went through clothes, caught up the laundry, cleaned closets. Simplified.

I did replace my iPhone. (YIPPEE!) But now it will just be an awesome, fun phone...not a distraction from the things I am trying to avoid in my life.

Chasing Batman

Two days ago we took my younger cousin back-to-school shopping at Target. We ran into someone we know from church and he pointed to the ceiling and said, "Look!"...so we looked. There was a huge black bat flying frantically around in the corner.

Patrick immediately screamed, "BATMAN!!" and ran across the store. I had to grab the baby (who now weighs more than a quarter of my own weight!) and run after him while dragging Sarah by the arm. I got nervous because Patrick was out of sight, but it didn't last long since I could follow the shrieks of "BATMAN! LOOK!! BATMAN!!!" When I caught up to my son the bat had clearly realized it was in his best interest to vanish because it was nowhere to be seen. It really made Patrick's day. :)