Hitting The Wall...

Ah… life…

Yesterday Grace and I headed out for Junior Festival, where she proceeded to participate in eight events (the ninth being composition, which she didn’t have to do anything specific for, last night) and I proceeded to fill the role of “Room Chairperson”.  I must have done alright, because no one told me I was the worst room chairperson in the history of Junior Festival or anything.  I actually kind of enjoyed it.  Grace, however, had some rough spots.

In a lot of ways, I think it was a good life lesson…  That lesson that everyone has to learn at some point that goes something like this:  “You can’t always be the best at everything you do”.  This lesson comes particularly hard to perfectionists.  I am one, I know.  Grace is one, she’s learning…

At any rate, there were some tears, and then Grace picked herself back up, finished the rest of her events, and went on.  Another good life lesson learned:  “You have to go on”.

 

I may have mentioned before… ahem… that this family took on far more than we really should have this spring.  About halfway through our drive home, last night, I sighed and said, “I am so tired”.  Grace looked over at me and said, “Mom, I think that’s the fifth time you’ve said that”.  And you know what?  I really, really didn’t know I’d been uttering those words for fifteen minutes.  We laughed and made a joke out of it, and every few minutes for the rest of the ride home I proceeded to say something like, “Hey Grace!  You know what?  I am so tired!”  Right before we turned into the driveway, Grace said, “Mom… (and I waited for it)…  I’m tired!”  And she is.  And I am.  And that’s just life right now…

We got inside, changed the sheets on Seth and Grace’s beds to prepare for company, welcomed our guests, talked for awhile, and then had quiz practice…  all before 11:15pm.  Then Grace crawled into Miah’s bed (Miah was sleeping in the toddler bed, but I hear she woke up in the middle of the night and snuggled down with Grace), and set her alarm for 4:00am in order to be up in time for the quiz today.

I woke briefly when they were leaving and then crawled back under the covers until 7:20 at which point the face of a mischievous little six year old… ahem…  Ian… was all up in my face, ready to take on the day.  And it’s a good thing, too, because not only did we need to get up and dressed for Upward basketball, we also had forgotten it was our day for snacks, so we had to make a Kroger run!

Apparently sensing my hurry, Miah dressed herself…  shirt inside out.. pants backwards!  She was so proud!  Caleb got himself ready, also.  Ian never senses my rush or listens to my words about how quickly we need to get ready.  The kid wakes us all up and then waits for someone to do everything for him!  So, as I was combing his hair while Caleb simultaneously put Ian’s shoes on him; I was nearing the end of my patience, already…  before 9:00 in the morning…  I draw the line at brushing his teeth!  We waited… and waited… and waited for him to emerge from the bathroom.  Then we finally piled into the Nazarene Limousine to make our snack run.

Miah...  all dressed, by herself...

I forgot to mention she is also wearing a pair of Grace's socks...

We decided they made good knee highs and left those on...

She looks ready to cheer, too, doesn't she?

I started to back out of the driveway and there was suddenly this crashing, banging sound.  Of course, I pulled forward again, quickly, saying (loudly), “What was that?”  Caleb, ever practical, actually bothered to look through the back window and informed me that it was just some bricks.  No way.  Just absolutely no way.  In 5 ½ years, friends… and family… and strangers have hit the wall, but I never… ever hit the wall… ever…  I got out of the van, and sure enough that’s exactly what I had done.  I can't believe I didn't get stuck.

Oh, the metaphorical reality…

Well, you can always count on my kids for comic relief.  When I got back into the van, Miah exclaimed, “Mommy!  That was fun!” and Caleb went on, unfazed, as if nothing had happened asking, “Mom, did you know you can think of the world sort of like a pizza?”  Really?  Does no one else realize I’ve hit the wall?  Wow…

The rest of our morning was rather uneventful… except for that moment when I seriously couldn’t stand it that Ian was falling down on the basketball court every three seconds, so I screamed at him to, “Get up and stay up!”  Yeah…  I totally became that awful sideline Mom today…

We decided to come home as opposed to heading out to see whatever was left of the quiz in “Quizapolis” as Miah calls it, and at present I am finishing up a delicious bowl of tomato soup and listening to the sound of, “Bolt,” playing in the living room.  It’s an excellent afternoon for a movie.

I really wish I could hibernate for a couple of weeks.  That is highly unlikely, but I think we’re all going to take Monday off… of everything…

Then we’re on to the final Upward game of the season, District Celebrate Life for talent, the Upward awards celebration, Miah’s 3^rd b-day, my last class for the year, and Easter weekend… after which point we will turn the calendar to April… oh, beautiful April… with nothing special on the schedule…

L.        

Happy Pancake Day...

... and Music Day... and Basketball Day... and Movie Day...

The kids actually reminded me, the other day, that National Pancake Day is in February.  Sure am glad someone mentioned it before lunch time on Facebook!  This resulted in pumpkin pancakes for lunch and dinner.

Here they are...

Well, some of them...

I quadrupled the recipe:

Since it's also Tuesday, we spent a lot of time at the piano!  I always wish that I had taken some shots of Grace, early on, because she has grown so much over the course of the past 5 years of piano lessons! 

At any rate, here's the view I have every Tuesday afternoon 

of Caleb & Mrs. Spahr:

And here's Grace:

And then there's Grace and Mrs. Spahr

Practicing the duos that Grace will be performing with Anastasia

at Junior Festival this year:

Caleb got in some computer time, too...

Gotta love Music Maestro... Fantastico!

Phil took Caleb and Ian to basketball tonight and apparently got them something to munch on at Little Caesar's, because they brought back some cheese for me...  as if I have anything to dip in it!  Where's my Crazy Bread?   Somehow I don't think leftover pumpkin pancakes and cheese make for a good match... (and yes, there are still some leftovers)...

I enjoyed watching Aladdin with my girls, and then Miah went off to bed and Grace and I caught a couple of episodes of Saved By the Bell.

Seth has been sporaddically working on homework tonight, even though we're on Winter Break...  Get it done already!

And that's life on this typical Tuesday in February...

L.

Game 1, 2013...

We had our first Upward games of the season today!  Since we have kids in all three age groups again, it makes for a long day, but we had a good time.  I am increasingly impressed with how much easier it is with Miah this time around.  No more all day stroller rides in the gym!!!  Other than choosing terrible seats for the first two games (and by terrible I mean that I kept kicking the ball back out on the court in order to avoid collisions with kids and cameras), and that one moment when Ian almost ran back into the tunnel when he wasn't sure where to go, it was a pretty uneventful day!

L.

 

 

Oh... Tuesdays...

So this is what my day looked like…

• Wake Up (6:00am)
• Exercise
• Shower
• Breakfast
• Ian and Miah Baths
• Homeschool
• Miah’s Music Class

  
So... just before class I remembered that Miah threw up on her regular sweatshirt/jacket over the weekend...  It is, apparently, still in the massive laundry pile...  Yes, as a matter of fact, she is wearing the top half of her Halloween costume...
 
... But music class still went well.  Here Miah is helping the horse puppet "sing" into the microphone...
 
... And here she is playing Peek-A-Boo with a scarf...

• Lunch
• Homeschool
• Caleb’s Piano Lesson
• Grace’s Piano Lesson
• Homeschool
• Caleb’s Piano Class
• Make Dinner
• Come to realization that there is no time to eat dinner, pack kids’ dinner in Tupperware
• Pick Caleb Up
• Come to realization that Ian is not wearing shoes and sort of needs them to play basketball
• Pick up Ian’s shoes
• Ian’s First Basketball Practice Ever

 
Watch out world, here he comes...

... Shoes and all.

It's fun having Daddy to help out!

• Grocery Shopping
• Caleb’s Basketball Practice

 

Classic Caleb in every way!

 


Miah was so good at practice.  This is the first time I haven't taken her in her stroller! 
Grace was pretty helpful...

Of course, Ian had to get in on the action, too!

• Put the Groceries away while Grace gets Miah to sleep (Thank you, Grace!)
• Hang Out With Brandi
• Check Facebook
• Come to realization that neither a blog post nor a school assignment can possibly be accomplished
• Talk With Phil
• Fall Asleep (12:40am)

Yep…  It was one of those kinds of days… 

L.

It Was A Day...

Tuesdays are always a little on the hectic side for us right now, purely because of the choices we have made for scheduling.  That's perfectly alright with me, because I prefer one insanely crazy day every week as opposed to five or six days that just have something scheduled for an hour or two each.

I woke up, got myself, Ian, and Miah ready to go to Miah's music class, and rushed to the van thinking we would be slightly late.  In fact, we were ten minutes early, and the music studio was not yet open.  At five minutes until class time, I hauled the kids out of the van and waited at the door.  And then it hit me that it was sort of strange that no one else was there.  Of course, this is the point at which I remembered that Miah's class actually starts an hour later than Ian's and all along I had Ian's class time in my head.  Nice.

So...  I decided it would be a good time to go vote.  Of course, this was complicated by the fact that I can never remember which precinct number I live in, and our polling place has changed no less than three times since we moved here five years ago.  I went home, did a quick Google search, and found my polling place.

Ian was not all that excited about going with me to vote, but then he exclaimed, "It will be a good experience for me, so I'll know what to do when I'm older!"  I was proud of him for grasping that concept.

On the way to the polling place, Ian wanted some clarification, again, about who I was voting for.  I told him, "Romney".  Miah, in an attempt to be a good little Republican started chanting, "Brownie!  Brownie!  Brownie!"  This is, indeed, how she pronounces Romney, which I find rather hilarious.

When we reached the parking lot, Ian jumped out of the van and shouted, "Hey Mom!  Why is Obama bad for our family again?"  Between choking and trying to cover his voice with my coughing, I explained that it is illegal to campaign at the polling place and that he would have to "hush", but I could tell him more about Obama's policies later.  Thankfully, I think we were the only people in the parking lot at the time.

I am not sure whether the people in the polling place were looking at me as if I had grown a second head because I was wearing my Mockingjay pin or because I had two small children in tow.  There were actually two precincts voting at this place, and it never ceases to amaze me that the line for the other precinct is always almost out the door, but there is never anyone there from my precinct.  Oh wait... maybe it is because every house on our street goes up for sale on a regular basis!  I'm telling you we must be terrible neighbors!  At any rate, I got to walk past all of the other voters who were patiently waiting, because my precinct's voting booth was empty, per normal.  I made my selections, pushed the red button, and found myself highly disappointed that there were no "I voted" stickers.

Of course, then we went to music class... and back home for lunch... and off to private piano lessons... and back home for dinner...  After which, Phil dropped Caleb off for his music class, and then went to vote.  He, also, passed the long line of voters from the other precinct and had what amounts to a walk-in voting experience.

After a quick change and a round with the dishwasher, we picked Caleb up and headed to Upward basketball and cheerleading evaluations.  Whew!  What a day.

We are home now, watching the returns come in.

I learned something about myself, today, that actually has very little, if anything, to do with what I've just written but rather with the deeper emotional and spiritual part of my being.  I apparently still have very deep wells to draw from if I absolutely have to.  I didn't think they were still there, but they are.

Random thought...

The Genie's line from "The Return of Jafar" came to mind tonight.  "He's a genie, and genies can't kill anyone.  But you'd be surprised what you can live through"

Also, a couple of songs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HtXIKvDLy8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEKOz3gXD4E

L.

Multitasking At Its Best...

This has been the strangest day.  Somewhere in the midst of applying for yet another job, preparing for HallowedWorship next week, trying to figure out the logistics of Upward basketball and cheerleading for my kids this year, checking on my book sales, baking chocolate chunk cookies, submitting school work, working out details for the quiz program in West Jamaica, and working through calendar issues, it occurred to me that I have a lot on my plate.

I'm not complaining.  The truth is, I don't do that well if I don't have a lot on my plate.  And I'm really excited about most of what I'm looking at right now.  In recent weeks I have been trying to get rid of all the stuff that doesn't really matter.  I think I'm doing relatively well with that, although I have still spent far too many hours at this desk today.  It's slow progress, but that's much better than no progress at all.

I'm going to go serve those cookies now, and I might even read a book or two to Miah and Ian before the evening hits me at full force.

Enjoy life.  Walk in the light you have.  Trust that things will turn out right.  Rinse.  Repeat.

L.