The first through fifth grades meet on Wednesday nights as a group and hear a message from the Children’s Pastor. They then play games for 15 or 20 minutes before breaking out into small groups of about 5 or 6 kids. We discuss the message, ask/answer questions, and usually do some sort of project.

The year started a little tough for me, getting to know all the kids by name and figuring out the best way to take a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds and interact with them in a small group setting. But once I gained some confidence, I really looked forward to spending time with them.

One of my favorite weeks the kids in my group were asked this question: “If you could ask Jesus one question, what would it be?”

Here are their answers:

Are all my friends Christians?
How did you die on the cross, like, what day?
How old are you?
What should I see in the world?
How did you make miracles?
(and my personal favorite) Why do you love bad people?

Aren’t those great? I loved that week because it gave me such an insight into their thoughts and I was surprised that the questions they asked didn’t revolve around themselves like I thought they might. But they really desired to know about Him and that, my friends, is so awesome!!!

And here’s another group of awesome kids:

The 3 year old Kids Choir. How sweet are they? I wish you could hear them singing. I have SO enjoyed helping to teach them this year too. Notice I said “help”. Because no parent would want their child to learn singing from someone who can’t carry a tune in a bucket. However, I am spectacular at taking attendance, sending postcards, giving hugs, and passing out cookies. I sure will miss their cute faces this summer!

I’m waiting for a load to get done in the dryer so I thought I’d post of picture of what I saw this morning in yesterday’s coffee cup. Isn’t it just the cutest little french vanilla heart you’ve ever seen???

What? You’re hung up on the fact that I had DAY OLD coffee on my nightstand? I know. Gross, right? I find mugs all over the place. At least this one didn’t have any gnats floating in it.

Just that cute little heart saying “good morning, Love…it’s going to be a great day.”

Well, maybe it didn’t say that exactly, but that’s how I took it.

I remember at one point watching AI last season and thinking instead of Idol, it should be Idle. I mean, there is literally nothing else that wastes my time as much as sitting in front of the television. I looked up the definition of “Idle” before writing this and it says “of no real worth, importance or significance”.

Yep, that pretty much sums up watching the ole boob tube.

Granted, sometimes it’s nice to sit and veg out in front of the TV. But my problem with American Idol is that it sucked up too much time, even if I recorded it and could watch it commercial free. I mean, it starts out 2 nights a week for an hour, then 2 nights a week for 2 hours, then 1 night a week for 2 hours, and by then they are really grasping trying to make the show long enough. And what’s even more aggravating, is that so much of the show is repetitive. Which seems to be the case on a lot of reality type shows.

So I decided to just skip it all together this year. And actually I haven’t missed it until my Facebook friends kept commenting about “Pants on ‘da Ground”. Thank goodness for Youtube!

I forgot how much Simon makes me laugh before seeing that, but I don’t know…Simon without Paula? Eh. Not missing much. Listening to the two of them bicker was half the reason I ever watched it in the first place!

Schmap is an online map where you can go and find out about places you might want to visit in cities across the world. There are pictures and reviews for over 200 destinations. It’s pretty cool. Mine can be found here.

My name may not be in lights. But now it’s in print! :)

To recap yesterday, it began a little earlier than normal. We have trash pick up on Monday and I swear we must be the first stop because the truck comes so stinkin’ early! I took the trash can down Sunday afternoon, but not the recycle bin. So off I went, in robe and jammies, at 7 am.

After that I laid back down until I heard the laundry piles calling my name. I had about an hour to get the clothes started, wash the dishes (by hand…long story), and send the kids upstairs for their morning chores. Then it was time for school.

Somewhere between 9 and 10:00 this pink school box comes out and the next few hours are dictated by my lesson plan. Today was a fun school day because making the Good Samaritan boxes was part of the agenda.

We put all the toys from a years’ worth of “happy meals” and “value packs” into the boxes and realized I totally forgot to get other misc items like pencils, stickers, toothbrushes, and candies. The shoeboxes are due to be turned in tomorrow so now I need to make an unplanned trip to Wally World. But first, some lunch and reading. Oh and don’t forget Monday’s Memory Review.

The kids love to review because they get an M&M for each question they answer correctly. At this point school was over for the day and I needed to get out of my pajama’s before heading out the door. (Is it just me or does anyone else have the feeling they forgot to change clothes before leaving the house and have to actually look down while driving to make sure???)

Walmart didn’t have the craft items I needed for an upcoming project we are doing with another homeschool family so I ran into Michael’s real quick too. Then it was time to head home. We all grabbed the empty trash containers and mail from the bottom of the driveway, added the additional items to the shoeboxes before loading them in the car, and then sat down to dinner.

I realize that oatmeal and apples isn’t the most nutritious meal in the world. Especially taking into consideration that we had ravioli from a can at lunchtime. But in my defense, I had a wonderful meal planned that included fish and veggies, but Jeremy was running later than expected and I decided to save the nice meal for tonight instead.

After KP duty I sent the youngsters upstairs for baths and/or showers. I don’t really care as long as they come out clean. It was then, FINALLY, that I had a chance for some quiet time. I read my Daily Bible then headed upstairs for the nightly ritual of reading a smorgasboard of books.

I mean could you really refuse that face in those footie pj’s? After Emery was Savannah. And after Savannah, Jeremy came home. And not long after that, Mommy fell exhausted into bed.

The End

I hate when that happens.

Remember banana clips? The only hair accessory that could be used to tame the over-permed manes of the 80’s?

My idea.

Oh yes it was! Who knew what a hit they would become? Kinda like the lady who created Jibbitz. Do you know her story? If not, read it here. I love that story!!!

Okay, so on to my latest million dollar idea, which I’m only printing here so that when someone else DOES invent it, you’ll know I thought of it first and maybe I’ll have some kind of loyalty rights or something.

Lately we’ve been doing a lot of traveling. Most of it pertaining to Jeremy’s new job. (More of that when the time is right, until then trust me…lot’s of traveling!) And we can always count on our trusty GPS girl to get us to where we’re going.

You know the chick I’m talking about. Her calm, monotone voice comes over the speakers, telling you exactly how many miles until your next turn.

I heard Anita Renfroe do a comedy bit about her GPS, saying she wished hers had a man’s voice, and after properly executing a right turn, he might pay her a compliment. In a deep voice, “Turn right at the next intersection. Have you lost weight?”

But I say we take it one step further. How cool would it be if the GPS girl changed dialects as we drove across the country? You know, like when going from Georgia to Illinois, she would start out saying “Y’all need ta driiive fiftane miles, than exit fi-ty sev’n north”, and by the time you arrive at your destination she’d say, “You’s guys made it!”

Or what if you miss your turn? We laugh at our GPS girl as she flatly repeats the phrase, “please proceed to the highlighted route”. B-O-R-I-N-G!

Our localist GPS would be so much more fun!!! Imagine being in southern Texas as you mistakenly drive past your exit. You’d hear “Awwww…bless yer heart, Darlin’. It’ll be awright. Jest git to the next Waffle House and turn yerself ’round.” But beware if you screw up around New York somewhere. Your GPS will cuss you out and make you feel like dirt!

When I explained my idea to Jeremy he thought I was crazy. Delirious from too many hours sitting in the truck. But I know I can count on my blogging buddies. You’d buy it, right???

My training started out well, then pooped out. Each time I’d get on the treadmill, Savannah excitedly asked to try it too. At one point, she was on it more frequently than I was!

She started begging me to let her run too. And as September 19th got closer, it was obvious that I wasn’t going to be ready to run 3.2 miles, but she and I could run the 1 mile Fun Run together.

She had some hesitation leading up to race day, but by the time 7 a.m. rolled around this morning, she was up and dressed in no time. We headed to the church wondering what the weather was going to do, since it’s been raining here for 3 straight days!

In case you can’t tell from the picture, that’s NOT sweat! It started raining just as the runner’s took their mark and settled into a steady down pour for the entire 15 minutes and 14 seconds that we ran.

Savannah didn’t hide her feelings about how much she hated that rain, but she never gave up. We’d run together at times, holding hands, and then she’d see a friend of hers and dart on ahead of me.

And isn’t that just like a daughter? Needing her mom’s support one minute and taking off independently the next? Only to come back around to the one who will always be there for her?

My prayer is that she knows life is no different than this race was today. I will always, ALWAYS be there for her. Encouarging her, supporting her efforts, and gently pushing her when she’s ready to give up. She set today’s pace and all I did was guide. I wonder if I did that more in motherhood, if I’d enjoy it as much as I did running with her?

You know, stop trying to control everything and lead the way. Just be her guide to life.

Usually Wednesday night is for church. The kids have choir followed by Bible Buddies or Mission Friends, which ever it is this year. (Nice that I can’t remember, huh?)

But this is Spring Break for our county, so no church activities this week. Jeremy was working tonight so we had a “whatever,whenever” dinner night with Aladin on the big screen. I plopped down with my laptop and googled away.

Around 7:30 the kiddos wanted a few more minutes to play outside, so I granted them another 30 before baths and bed.

Not quite ready to give up the laptop, but knowing I needed to get them bathed, I opted to fill my jacuzzi tub and let them play together a while longer. Yep, I was buying time. And sometimes that comes with a hefty pricetag.

Just about the time I was ordering The 30 Day Shred DVD from Amazon (I got motivated by the 30 day challenge at Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. Go check it out, Girl! I’m in.)…. I heard my son yell, “CANON BALLLLLLLLLLL!” ***SPLASH***

Well, that got me off the couch for sure! I turned the corner of my bathroom to find water everywhere. Savannah had already gotten out, wrapped a towel around herself, and was laughing at the antics of her little brother who was floating face down in my bathtub, wearing swimming trunks.

When he finally came up for air he got a lecture of sorts and sent off to bed without ice cream. I, on the other hand, can’t wait to finish typing this because I did not do a canon ball in my bathtub and I will be indulging in a BIG bowl of Breyers cookies and cream as soon as I hit “publish”. (I only have 4 more days before The Shredding begins, so I don’t want to hear anything about my indulgences until after April 6th, m’kay?)

Then I thought about my family and friends who might still peek in on me, hoping for a cute anecdote about the children. Let me assure you, this is not one. But it may give you some insight into what I am becoming. My good friends already know this about me, but to the others, all I can say is “I’m sorry”.

The story begins with me working like a mad woman to have the entire house clean all at once. Not an easy task given the size of my house and 2 young children who leave toys in their path along the same fashion as rabbits leave their tiny round droppings.

Why? You may ask. Why would you torture yourself with a task so similar to shoveling snow in the midst of a snowstorm?

The answer is simple. Our new real estate agent was coming out this morning to take all kinds of snazzy photos in hopes of selling our house. I was determined to do all I could to make it appealing to anyone searching online for a great deal.

I have to say the day went fairly smooth. I left my arch enemy, the hardwood floors, for last. I had made a deal with Jeremy that I would take care of everything else and when it came time for them, he needed to exit the premises with children in tow.

He headed over to his dad’s place with them around 5:30.

I don’t know what it is about house cleaning that erases my memory to eat. But as they were leaving, all I could think about was finishing everything up and then diving into some leftover spaghetti. I was starving!!!

As I got out my mop, the phone rang. It was a guy who came by the house earlier to check out some office supplies I have for sale. He had his wife with him and they wanted to drop back in. Being the salesperson that I am (stop laughing Jessica), I agreed.

An hour later…YES, an HOUR later, they left. You’d think my stomach growling the entire time they meandered through my goods would have sped up the process a bit. But no.

So, finally I was able to get to the business of mopping. But I was sooooo hungry! I knew if I ate first I’d never go back and mop. I got the spaghetti out of the fridge and began heating it in the microwave. While it was warming, I began the task at hand.

My thought was to have the meal ready by the time I was done with the floors. I certainly didn’t want to wait another 10 minutes AFTER mopping to sit down and eat. I may have perished!

Somehow I finished the floors in record time. That could be the reason they are somewhat sticky today. Who knows? But at any rate, I was finished and the smells of basil and oregano were calling my name.

Now you have to know how my kitchen is set up. I purposefully started working from the living room, making my way into the kitchen last. The goal was to finish up next to the laundry room, which is only 2 steps from my microwave. Since the rest of the floor was wet, I planned to back into the laundry room, then take 2 little steps to get to the microwave, grab my dinner, and take 2 little steps back into the laundry room to eat.

Can you believe I put this much thought into it? But wait, I haven’t told you the pathetic, roll-your-eyes, take me off your Facebook page part yet.

About midway through scarfing down my first plate of noodle and marinara goodness, I realized I was incredibly thirsty. Really, really thirsty!!! And I’m telling you there is only one drink that I like to partake in when eating spaghetti. I don’t know why and I don’t know when it started. But nothing else appeals to me. It has to be red wine.

The good news is that there is only thing standing between my laundry room and the microwave, besides the door to the garage. The refrigerator! And there on the first shelf, behind a gallon of milk and 2 quarts of lemonade, was a bottle of Merlot.

I took the one step to open the door and one step back to the laundry room. The glasses were too far so I hopped up on the counter top, propped my legs on the dryer to balance the plate, pulled the cork and took a drink.

It wasn’t until I lifted the bottle a second time that I thought about what a sight I must be. It made me laugh out loud. Is this where closet drinkers get their start?

Technically, I wasn’t in a closet. And considering I’m telling on myself on the world wide web, I doubt I’m in need of AA. This sort of blows the whole “anonymous” part right out of the water anyways. But I’ve had a few friends tell me they’ve missed my blog (y’all are so sweet!), so I posted this just for you guys. Aren’t you sorry you asked???

The problem with acrylic nails though, is that every 2 weeks I had to get a fill in. This wasn’t a big deal when I was working. I would go during my lunch hour. But once the children came into the picture and I quit working outside the home, it became much more difficult to find an hour every other week to keep my pretty nails well maintained.

I am afraid that is what’s happening with my blog! What started during a time when the kids both took afternoon naps and continued through a year and a half of preschool, is now falling by the wayside. It would be one thing to admit I just didn’t have time to write. But in all honesty, I don’t even THINK about my blog everyday anymore.

Gone are the days of jotting down witty comments to later be recorded on the pages of this journal. I used to keep a running list of things to write about next to the good ole laptop. I have no idea where that list is now. I try to catch up on reading other blogs on nights when Jeremy’s working, but there are so many, I rarely get into the comments and fun of it all.

So that being said, I’m going to try to get my creative juices flowing again. I’d much rather spend my shower time thinking of a good blog story than wracking my brain to figure out how to get our payroll taxes paid for last quarter. Maybe if I stop focusing all my energy on the negativity that encompasses my day, I could actually find some humor in my life again.