April Fools

Is today really the last day of March?!? How can that be? When did March...well....march right on past?

Yes. I'm punny. You can send me your accolades in the form of chocolate.

April 1st is known as April Fools Day. As if you didn't know. April 1st is one of those holidays that don't amount to much for me. Add it to St. Patrick's Day, Flag Day, Wear-A-Blue-Sweater-And-Yellow-Hat Day. I don't celebrate them.

It's not that I'm no fun. I just don't have the creative energy to plan fun things for these holidays. Next to Christmas and Easter, I sort of relegate these other days as fodder for the calendar-making companies.

Do you celebrate April Fools Day? What way(s) have you celebrated it? Post your story in the form of a comment.

Coffee

Coffee. It's the fuel for life. Last night was a late night. To make matters worse, Nora woke in the middle of the night. She's been doing this every now and again lately. She wakes up screaming. I end up crawling into bed with her, because she wants and needs me to cuddle her. It usually takes her about an hour or so to settle back down to sleep. Guess who is dragging this morning? I've officially drained the coffee pot. Hopefully I can keep moving all day long without losing my steam.

Oooops!

Remember when I posted that Grace's last indoor soccer game was last Sunday? I was wrong! Ooops! Luckily for Grace (and me!), we ran into one of her teammate's dads yesterday afternoon while grocery shopping. He saw us, smiled, and said, "See you later, right?"

So NOW we're officially done with indoor soccer. I double checked with Coach Joe just to be sure.

Dukin' It Out

Lately the big girls have been bickering more than ever. I'm sure the early stages of hormonal fluctuations are playing a part. That, and the fact that sisters just naturally bicker.

I'm reminded of my mom. I remember she would always tell my sisters and I that we don't have to always like eachother. Then she would remind us that we're sisters for life. Basically saying that we'd better work it out.

After a particularly loud morning today, I've decided that I'm not going to referree anymore. Well, I'm sure there will be times that I do step in to stop the fighting simply to save my own sanity. But I think maybe we should let the girls 'duke it out' a bit. Let them develop interpersonal skills by learning the art of compromise, debate, and forgiveness.

Since Dianna already has sparring gear for karate, I joked that we should get a second set for Grace. We could set the girls loose and let them settle their score physically. Then Gordon reminded me that while Dianna is a purple belt in karate (meaning she's learned some skills), Grace can kick serious butt on the Wii boxing game. There's no predicting who would be the victor from a physical fight between the two.

Friday Five

Five Random Thoughts from a Crazy Mind...(in no particular order)....

1. Chocolate always makes me feel better, even if only momentarily.

2. I place too much stock in what other people think of me.

3. There's nothing better than a snuggle with my kidlets, except maybe a bear hug from Gordon.

4. I'd rather go camping at the shore with the family than stay at an all inclusive resort in the tropics.

5. I've been coughing so much lately that my abs are starting to feel sore....I wonder if my tummy will look any different by the time this cough is gone for good..?

Where is Spring?!?

In yesterday's Project 360 post, I shared pictures of the kids playing outside last Wednesday, Thursday, as well as a bright, sunny picture of my book and cup of tea from Friday. The week ended on a gloriously sunny, warm note.

And then it all went away.

Mother Nature is playing games with us New Englanders. She's tempting us with a taste of the sunny days to come and then smacking us with cold and yucky precipitation. Or maybe Mother Nature is trying to give us hope. To remind us of the light at the end of the tunnel, to renew our faith that Winter is almost over.

Either way, I'm ready for spring. I'm ready to have sunny day followed by sunny day followed by yet another sunny day. I'm ready to see my tulips and daffodils blooming. I'm ready to have a lush, green lawn.

Slacking off is so much more fun when you can curl up with a book OUTSIDE, in the warm sunlight. ;)

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday -- Project 360

Yes. I admit it. I missed a couple of more days. In my defense, I was sick with the flu. Any pictures I might have taken wouldn't have been very pretty. Noone wants to see what I see when I'm down and out with the flu.

Wednesday, March 9

Saturday, March 12
Sunday, March 13

Monday, March 14 -- Gordon and I enjoyed milkshakes by the firelight after putting the kids to bed for the night.

Tuesday, March 15 -- another mouse in the garage....or maybe it's the same one from a couple of weeks ago....either way, it 'caught' itself -- got stuck in the empty trash can.

Wednesday, March 16 -- the kids were excited to play outside in the early spring weather Thursday, March 17 -- the second day in a row of springlike weather!

Friday, March 18 -- it was so warm and sunny by Friday that I decided to hang outside on the patio all morning long, slacking off and reading my book while the Little People played!

Sunday, March 20 -- Grace's last indoor soccer game of the season.....they'd lost, but didn't give up without a fight!

Monday, March 21

Raising Kids is Sort of Like Training Dogs

Yep. I just said it. Sometimes raising kids is sort of like training dogs. Before you go calling CPS on me, let me explain.

First, let me tell you what I DON'T mean by that statement. I'm not training the kids to go outside to go potty. We also do not have crates to lock the children up in when company comes over.

Raising kids is sort of like training dogs because you have to repeatedly show them the way over and over and over again. It feels like they'll never "get it" while you're "training" them, but then one day it'll just click! As with dogs, consistency is key. You need to always show them the same expectations or you'll confuse them.

Lately I've been trying very hard to enforce my "crying is not allowed in the kitchen/living/diningroom" rule. I remind said crying child that they're more than welcome to cry -- in their room. If they want to cry or pitch a fit, they are supposed to take themselves to their room to do it.

As you can guess, I'm having to remind the children often that they're not allowed to cry downstairs. I'm also having to physically walk the children upstairs to their room. The whole way, I try not to show any emotions. I simply talk to them, remind them that they can cry as much as they want in their own room, and that as soon as they are done crying they're more than welcome to come back downstairs and join the rest of the family.

It's still a work in progress. Sometimes I'm repeatedly walking said child upstairs within a short timeframe. I have faith that one day real soon they'll just "get it". One day, after being consistent in this "training", I'll look up to see one of my children running upstairs to cry before the outburst escapes.

Time for an Update

So, I figure it's time for a good update from the Crazy House. Y'all are probably wondering what we've been up to, how we've been, etc. Am I right?

The thing is, nothing extraordinary is sticking out in my brain that I feel MUST be shared with all of you. We've been rolling along in a rather mundane fashion. Let's see if I can come up with a tidbit or two....

Spring is here!

Grace played her final indoor soccer game yesterday evening. They lost. Actually, they lost every game they played this season. I DID see a major improvement in their play from the first game to the last. The first game they played, the girls were SLAUGHTERED. They'd never played indoors before. Indoor soccer is a completely different beast compared to regular soccer.

Dianna will be playing in her very first recital this coming May. I'm very proud of her talent with the piano. She really has a natural ability.

Ummm.....I finished the diningroom. But you already knew that.

I guess that's all I've got for now. On the one hand, it's rather nice to have only the 'usual' mundane happenings to report. On the other, it's rather frustrating that I don't have exciting news to share!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tell me, do you do anything special to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Do you eat corned beef? Do you bait traps with Lucky Charms cereal to try to catch a sneaky Leprechaun? Does your milk or eggs turn green? Do you drink green beer? Do you dye the toilet water green?

Share your stories with me!

Still Down, No Longer Out

Another Sickie Update:

We're a week and a half in...

I'm recovering well. I sound horrible, like there's a huge bullfrog stuck in my throat. I'm hopeful that I'll be back to full health in just a few more days.

Gordon's luck didn't hold out. He ended up coming home from work early on Monday. He was experiencing the body aches and fevers. He was well enough to return to work today.

The kids all have coughs of varying degrees, but Will's breathing is absolutely normal (no more croup!). Nora had a bit of a fever yesterday morning, but appears to be fever free again.

Down and Out

Sickie update:

Dianna seems to be much better. She still has a lingering cough, but is otherwise her normal, healthy self.

Grace is over the stomach bug, but is now coming down with the cold/flu symptoms that Dianna had.

Will is still dealing with croup, though he's well on the way to full health. Last night I checked in on him multiple times. I was almost giddy that I needed to touch his chest each time, to be sure he was breathing -- he wasn't laboring to breathe!!

Nora has a little cough, but is still otherwise healthy.

MOMMY is sick. By Friday night, I felt like death warmed over. I was achy all over, experiencing chills, and getting a yucky cough myself. I ended up dozing off and on, trying to help Gordon with the kids when I could, and taking a couple of HOT showers to help ease the aches.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Gordon continues to remain germ free. He has been surrounded by all the sickies all this time and has yet to show any symptoms. Knock on wood.

The Finished Diningroom!

I finished painting the diningroom yesterday. I couldn't wait to get it completed. I LOVE how awesome it looks! Gordon helped me hang a lot of the pictures I've had stored since we tore the wall down in the front hall. I'm such a happier person when everything is in its place.

Standing in the front hall, looking at the left wall

Again, standing in the front hall....looking straight ahead this time
Standing by the piano, in the corner

In case you couldn't tell, the front hall is one of our next projects to finish off!

So Much for a Sickie-Free Winter

Just last week I was thinking about how healthy the kidlets, Gordon, and I have been this winter. We've really had little to no illnesses all winter long. I was hopeful that the trend would continue through the end of winter.

No such luck.

Dianna started with a fever on Sunday. Within 24hrs, she had developed a really nasty cough and a few other cold symptoms. Nothing horribly debilitating, but bad enough as it is.

Tuesday it was Grace's turn to take ill. As much as she tried to blame getting sick on Di, Grace's symptoms are completely different than her sister's. Grace has been experiencing mild to pretty bad stomach cramps all week long. No other symptoms, just a stomach ache.

Last night Will suddenly developed croup symptoms. Being that he's had croup a few times in the last two years, Gordon and I are well versed in how to handle it. Still, it's hard to see my little man struggling to breathe. It's especially difficult to see how scared he gets when his breathing becomes very labored -- which only makes it harder for him to breathe well!

So far, Nora remains the healthiest of the bunch. I wouldn't issue her a complete bill of health though. She has started with a yucky cough just this morning. Nothing extreme or anything that happens often, but yucky when it does happen nonetheless.

All this just goes to show that one should NEVER consider themself lucky for not getting sick. You'll just jinx yourself. The next thing you'll know, you'll find your entire family is down and out with one germ or another.

Mommy Ran Away

It's barely 7:30am and I'm sucking down my coffee like it's a lifeline. Yep. It's been one of THOSE mornings. One of those mornings where poor Gordon was having to drag my butt out of bed. Multiple attempts to roust me ensued. I wanted to punch him in the face.

I resisted punching him. Partly because I didn't have the energy. Mostly I resisted because I love him very much and he was truly only doing what I'd asked of him. The poor guy. He can't win for trying sometimes.

So now I've been up for a little more than an hour. I'm still very tired. I'd LOVE to get to crawl back into bed to snooze longer, but that'd be an exercise in futility. I have two Little People and one Big Girl still at home who would make it their mission to bug the snot out of me no matter what.

Guess who will be snuggling with a certain 2.5yo girl this afternoon? Hopefully we'll BOTH get some sleep! I'll be turning the ringer off on the bedside phone just to be safe.

Survival Guide to Living in My Crazy Life, pt. 1

Remember how I posted "How Do You Do It?" last week? I promised I'd try to compile a survival guide of sorts. I didn't forget! I simply haven't had a moment to brainstorm. I don't want you to be left hanging, in case you're in dire need of a survival guide like this, so I'm going to just dig in and post. Be prepared -- this is bound to be rather random!

How to Do What I Do -- A Survival Guide to Living the Crazy Life Without Truly Going Crazy!

1. Have a good support system -- AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO LEAN ON IT! I realize you can't change how your significant other is and does things. I'm truly blessed to have such a helpful, willing, loving partner in Gordon. Without him I couldn't be the me that I am. I'm also blessed to have a great network of friends and family. I don't lean on them as much as I could or should. As a matter of fact, I have only recently started to allow myself to lean on friends like I do. It can make you feel rather vulnerable to need to ask a friend to watch your kids so you can go to an appointment. The thing is, if that friend was a true good friend, they'd be MORE THAN HAPPY to help you out. All it takes is for you to ask.

2. Learn to fly by the seat of your pants. I struggle with this on a daily basis. By nature, I prefer for my days to have a routine. I thrive best when I know what to expect. Using my Google Calendar, I don't have to worry about forgetting an appointment or event. Still, there are times when something unexpected comes up and I have to shift gears and veer off course without skipping a beat. I don't love it, but I've learned to deal with it. I'd like to say that I've gotten pretty good at dropping whatever and running out the house for a last minute something or other that I've just been made aware of.

3. Your house doesn't have to be PERFECT. Again, I still struggle with this too. It's the trend towards OCD that I inherited from my mom. With four kidlets, one hubby, nine fish, one dog, and one cat to share living space with, I'm way outnumbered! We've assigned chores and make it known that the children are all expected to be responsible for their own personal possessions. You'd think that the house would always be tidy. Not so. Gordon is often reminding me that our house isn't messy -- "it's LIVED IN!!" Sometimes I say it aloud to myself when Gordon isn't here, just to get it to sink in. I suggest you make it your mantra too. Though I'd love to have a perfectly neat, clean house all the time, I'm learning to embrace the little messes because they remind me that I'm not here all by myself.

4. Plan menus. Long ago, I got sick and tired of hearing the age-old question, "what's for dinner?" All too often (if it was Gordon doing the asking), I'd look up and respond with, "I dunno.....what're you cooking??"
My days were often so busy that I never had a moment to stop and plan what to make for dinner. By the time it was time to get cooking, I was so worn out from chasing little ones around that I couldn't even begin to try to plan something, let alone actually cook it! I started planning out our dinner menus by the week. I instantly fell in love with not having to worry about dinner anymore! Someone would ask what was for dinner and I had an answer without having to think about it.
I suggest you find what works for you, but I have found that using a printed calendar is perfect for us. At the end of the month, I'll go into our Microsoft Works Calendar app and print a calendar for the following month. After planning our dinner menus for a couple of years now, I've found myself following a bit of a predictable trend. It makes it easier to plan dinners. Every Friday night is Pizza Night. Wednesday is a spaghetti/pasta/italian themed meal. Thursdays are usually a quick throw-together meal or leftovers because Grace and I have Scouts on Thursday nights. Sundays I try to plan a big hearty meal that would take a long time to prepare, like a roast chicken or pork tenderloin or something like that.

5. Know when to fold them -- or -- know when and HOW to say no. I don't mean telling your toddler not to touch something. I don't mean telling your 10yo that she's not allowed to play a video game until after her room is cleaned. I mean that you need to recognize when an activity is too time consuming for you. If you're getting stressed out every single time you think about heading to that volunteer job, then it's not something you should be doing. Don't feel like you should have to reschedule your dentist appointment so that you can help someone else out. If you're too busy/broke/burnt out to pitch in when someone makes a request of you, politely tell them, "no."
Noone will hate you. I promise. They may be jealous of your ability to say no, but they won't hate you for it.

________________________________________________


That's all for now. Life changing, no? I'll be thinking of more to add in the future. In the meantime, please feel free to comment if you have an idea to add.

Project 363

Tuesday, March 1 -- playdoh fun!

Wednesday, March 2 -- my morning pick-me-up
Thursday, March 3 -- Nora has recently discovered the yummy goodness known as Hot Chocolate
Friday, March 4 -- overnight with the Girl Scouts!

Saturday, March 5 -- the troop unloads their cookies for sorting

Sunday, March 6 -- Grace's cookie orders are all ready for delivery

Monday, March 7 -- one week later and you can barely see Nora's boo boo!

Tuesday, March 8 -- working on home improvements little by little

Quick Peek at the PB Walls

The diningroom isn't done yet -- still only two walls have been completed. I hope to get the other two walls painted tomorrow evening. Today wasn't a total loss, however! First, I finally finished scrubbing the kitchen cabinets and replacing the cabinet knobs. Then, I rehung the curtains in the diningroom and emptied out all of the china and crystal from the hutch. Gordon helped me relocate the hutch after he returned home from work. I then replaced all of the china and crystal.

Below you'll see a couple of pictures that show the progress of the diningroom thus far.

Gordon snapped this shot right after I'd started painting yesterday. Please excuse the 'painter's attire' I've got going on....I didn't want to mess up any of my jeans!

The exterior wall, all painted and gussied up with curtains and valances.

The wall/doorway that leads to the front hall. You can see most of the hutch. The wall only extends a little bit to the left, just beyond the hutch.

** As always, please excuse the 'construction/renovation' messes. I don't know if I can truly call it that, since we seem to tackle our projects at a strange pace. Either way, I'm going to call it that.

Peanut Butter Walls

I've been wanting to paint the diningroom walls for months now. The color has been picked out. The walls had started to be prepped. All of the spackling/sanding/painting paraphenalia found a new home in a corner of the diningroom.

And then, as is typical for household projects at the Crazy House, Life got in the way. Soccer games, piano lessons, and Girl Scout meetings took over. The painting project got put on the back burner, waiting for when 'some other time' came along to be finished.

Last week I decided I was sick of seeing the pile of STUFF in the corner of my diningroom. Enough was enough. It was time to cross another project off the mile long project to-do list.

The very next day I received a postcard from Sherwin Williams announcing a 30% discount on all paint and painting supplies. It was Providence! Even the Powers That Be were saying that it's time to finish off this project!

I finally had a chance to run to the paint store on Sunday. I was anxious to start painting right away, but ended not getting to it until yesterday evening. The kids were all super excited to see the transformation in progress.

Each child declared they love the new color. Will's reaction was the best. He said that it looks like the color of peanut butter. He then went on to say that peanut butter is his favorite. (For those curious, the color is called Mannered Gold)

I have two walls painted now. I will be removing the china from the hutch today. This evening I hope to have Gordon help me move the hutch to its new home -- alongside one of the walls I painted yesterday. Afterwards, I will be able to paint the other two walls and complete this project.

I'm excited to get to see the finished project!

Overnight with the Scouts

It's Friday! Thank goodness for glorious Friday! Normally, Fridays make me feel like I'm taking a big deep breath and exhaling all of the stresses of the week. Fridays mark the start of the weekend. Fridays are when I find myself decompressing and taking it easy.

Not this Friday, however. This Friday I have a mile-long list of things to do. Tonight Grace and I will be joining up with the rest of our Girl Scout troop over at the local GS Camp for an overnight. (NO, we're NOT sleeping in tents!) The troop is very excited, and I'm truly looking forward to the event. But the list of things to do and get ready for tonight seems almost crazy!

We'll be back tomorrow, bringing home all of the cookies Grace has sold this year. Those local friends and family who gave Grace an order can expect a call from her real soon -- I want to get those cookies delivered and out of my house sooner than not!

"How do you do it?"

I get asked that question from time to time. Sometimes it comes out more like, "I don't know how you do it!"

To be perfectly honest, I don't know how I do it either. I CAN tell you that having Gordon as my biggest supporter, head cheerleader, and personal assistant makes all that I do possible. If it weren't for him being at my side and cheering me as I go, I wouldn't be where I am today.

I wish I had a list of thoughts/ideas/tricks that I use to help me get through the days and weeks. I don't have any such list. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to getting stuff done.

I want to create a list. A survival guide, if you will. I want to share with you what works for me. My hope is that someone will stumble upon this survival guide and will feel like changing their lives for the better by trying even one of my ideas. (** For the record, most of what works for me are NOT my own personal ideas....I've picked up tidbits here, there, and everywhere, through the years. I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to take credit for any of these ideas -- I'm simply sharing what works for me!)

Please be sure to check back soon to see my first official Survival Guide to Mommyhood post!