Yesterday I did NOTHING.

Day 27

Yesterday I did NOTHING.  Well, maybe not NOTHING, I did go to the bathroom, brush my hair, feed children, wash some dishes, eat, change diapers, visited with my mother, jumped on the trampoline, pushed the kids on the swings, played a VERY long game of Parcheesi....  What is wrong with me?  I did a TON of stuff yesterday!

Being what my husband and I like to call a "Do-er" I have a really bad habit of defining myself by what I do. On many occasions, when Josh comes home and asks how my day went I will respond with, "I didn't DO anything today.  I was a bum."  To which he usually says, "Well, our children look clothed and feed, so you must have done SOMEthing."  What a great man!   God knows I need to hear that on a regular basis.

So, I guess what I mean to say is I didn't do anything too exciting yesterday.  Definitely nothing blog worthy, unless you consider me watching the movie The Devil Wears Prada blog worthy (such a good movie).  But, I promised I would write something every day for 30 days, so there you have it.  I had a nice relaxing day yesterday.  *phew*

Rocks and Sand

Day 26

Time.  No one has enough time.  Never!  It is in constant demand.  I am no different.  And despite my many attempts to manage my time wisely, I don't have the secret to successful time management.  I don't think ANY woman with 3 kids and an infant does.  Of course I have my moments, or even days of successful time management, but they are usually so exhausting that for the next three days I am completely useless.  As I was driving the three hour drive I had today, bemoaning my lack of time, and inability to ever catch up on anything, or get ahead on anything an experiment I had seen in college came to mind.

Here's the experiment:
There is a glass jar, several large rocks, lots of little rocks, and a bunch of sand, all in their own respective piles.  First you put all the sand in the jar, then the little rocks, and then you try to cram as many of the big rocks in as you can.  You can never get them all.  So, then you dump it all out, and you put the big rocks in first, then the little rocks and then the sand, and it ALL fits.

The rocks are supposed to represent the big events in life, or the important things in life, and the little rocks the not AS important things, and the sand the unimportant things in life.

Sometimes I feel like I am in quick sand.  The unimportant things in life seem to surround me, and pull me down.  In the grand scheme of life, washing dishes really isn't that important,  However, there is no way I would be able to survive if I never washed the dishes.  So I wash them, and I tell myself as soon as I have all the dishes clean, and all the laundry folded, and all the meals prepared I will play with my kids.  Yet, it is never ending.  It keeps coming and coming and coming.

Back to my epiphany as I was driving.  The cool and fun things I want to do with my kids are important.  Instead of waiting around until all the dishes are done I need to just plan them in, and fit washing dishes around THEM.  DUH!  I mean seriously, what was I thinking?  It's just like reading my Bible.  If I want to read it, and it is important, I should put it in the jar first, otherwise it is never going to fit in.

I am excited to get home and plan some fun outings and home school field trips with my kids.  My eldest A is almost half way grown!  That means I have already had him for half of the time I will have him in my home.  *Jaw dropping to floor*  It's just crazy how fast time is flying.  And if I wait till I don't have an infant in the house any more, I could miss out on many great experiences with my son.  So, to my stack of endless dishes, YOU MUST WAIT!  To my OVER organized camper, I will leave you be!  And finally, to my computer, see ya later!

The Journey

Day 25

Today I drove 7 hours through endless forests, passed rivers and lakes.  It's a blessing and a curse to live in the middle of no where.  It's beautiful, but it takes forever to get back into civilization.

Lately I have been struggling with temptation.  There is so many things that I can spend my time on.  I love to watch movies and TV series on Netflix.  I can be obsessed with computer games.  I love math and logic puzzles and then there is ALWAYS Facebook.  I could spend hours on Facebook.  It's so tempting, when things get overwhelming, to just check out, and spend hours entertaining myself, vegging out, and tuning out.

So what does that have to do with driving 7 hours?  Well, during this long drive, it occurred to me that we are all on a journey.  Eventually, at the end of our lives, we will come to the end of the road.  And while the destination is important, how we get there is just as important.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

How easy it is to get distracted from our true purpose in life.  I think our culture of entertainment is the most distracting and hindering.  And when I find myself taking my eyes off of Jesus, and putting them on myself, and my need to be entertained, it's like stopping along to side of the road.  Every time I stopped to let the kids go potty, or to get some coffee I postponed my arrival by 15 or 20 minutes.  The trip should take six and a half hours, but since we stopped 3 times, it ended up taking me seven and a half hours.

My life is a journey.  I am heading somewhere.  I can't get distracted from that.  I need to lay aside the things that weigh me down and sin that entangles me, and keeps me from my destination.  I need to keep my eyes on Jesus, the one who makes this journey even possible.  His sacrifice has brought me to this journey, and it will continue to lead me home.

My New Neighbor

Day 24

So.....I have this neighbor.  She is AWESOME....but very different from anyone I have ever met.  I love her to pieces already, but I got to thinking about it tonight, and I realized that God gave me the perfect neighbor, for me.  I know a lot of you may be surprised by this, but I am SHY, at first.  Really.  I have self esteem issues (what woman doesn't) and it is very hard for me to make the first move in friendships.  And then there is the whole social protocol, which I am always wondering if I failing miserably.  With neighbors the anxiety I feel increases two fold.  Do I make the first move, or do they?  Do I cross the imaginary boundary line between our properties, or do they?  And then there's the generational gap, and the four very energetic children who will talk anybodies ear off, if I let them.  And then there is the giant Elephant in the backyard- I am living in a camper, cooking, cleaning and showering outside in my back yard.

Of course, God knows all of this.  He knows my weaknesses, and my insecurities.  He could have given me a neighbor who was my age, and looked like she had her life all together (which is how I imagine all woman my age).  He could have given me an elderly woman with a sour expression, and condemning eyes.  But no.  My merciful and all knowing God gave me Ms. P!  The kids lover her, and I love her.  She has brought me fresh bread from the oven, freshly picked raspberries, thimble berry jam, and lots of good advice.  She laughs at everything, and finds my kids quite amusing.  Tonight Abby had her arms around her neck, and was whispering something about how much she liked her.  She always encourages the kids to help their "mama".  She comes on over anytime she seems me in the backyard, and we chat.  She is a wonderful blessing!  I have never met anyone like her.  She is definitely a Yooper (accent and all), and I can't wait to get to know her even more!

With all that I have going on, and how weird my life seems right now, it is so comforting to know that I don't have a neighbor who is sitting on the other side of the "boundary line" judging me, or thinking I am weird.  HA!

A Day In the Life of Little Dude

Day 23

Hi!  My mom calls me little dude because I am so cute.  I know I am cute, and I use this to my advantage.  I also like to make friends with random people I see in restaurants and stores.  I can say lots of big words, but for some reason I can't blow air out of my nose.

Today was like any other day.  I woke up, dug through my duffel bag for some clothes, then slid down out of the bed.  My toes can't touch the edge of the couch yet, but I point them really hard, and keep inching my way down, trusting they will hit the edge.

My mom asks me to help her a lot.  I am a big boy, you know.  I got to put my little sisters hat on her head.  It didn't quite work right.  I kept getting it in her eyes.  My little sister was on my mom's back, in the backpack carrier, and my mom couldn't reach her to put her hat on, so I did it.

While I was helping mom make breakfast I made a really funny joke.  Well, at least I thought it was hilarious.  I asked mom if I could crack eggs.  She said not until I was a little older.  So I asked her if I could crack eggs when I was five.  She said probably.  Then I asked her if I could crack eggs when I was a grown up.  She laughed at me and said of course.  I ran off to tell my big brother and sister my clever joke.  They ran from me, and ignored me.  They do this a lot.  I am not sure why.  My mom thinks it is because I talk all the time.

I got to stir the scrambled eggs while they were cooking.  I like to pretend I am a cook in a restaurant when I get to do this.  I also like to tell stories.  I make up all kinds of things.  My mom says I have the craziest imagination.  Today I told her about a dream I had about Batman and me.  In my dream Batman gave me all of his cool stuff, and I got to fight the bad guys.

My big brother was trying to scary me again.  He told me about a monster.  But I said, "Monsters don't exist, remember?"

My mom found another piece of junk in the backyard.  She always finds things.  I don't know why she calls them junk though.  I think they are awesome.  This time she found a wrestling dude!  I call him Popeye the Sailor Man.

I got a Captain America mask for my birthday from my Auntie and Uncle!  I love it.  I put it on today and showed my little sister.  I told my mom that I thought she was saying (in a high pitched voice), "Ooooooo!  Captain America!"

We have a wood deck with a ramp.  It is kind of old, and my mom says it needs to be painted or stained or something.  I like to slide down the ramp.  My mom hates it when I do it.  She says I will get splinters in my stomach, or my legs.

My big brother and sister are awesome.  They play the coolest games, and I try to play too.  Sometimes they are so nice, and let me.  Other times they tell me I am being too silly.  We also like to dance and wrestle.  Sometimes we start off dancing and end up wrestling, with me on the ground.

Our new house is so cool.  I keep asking if I can walk through it and look at everything.  It is a mess right now.  I am also a bit of a clutz, and I keep tripping on the step into the house.  I also can't reach the door knob to the house, so when I have to go potty, and the door is closed I start crying and screaming for help.  My big brother or sister usually come and save the day.  I love them.

I get to help wash dishes too!  My mom fills three square tub bucket things with water, and she puts bleach in the last one.  Then she washes them, and my brother and sister and I get to rinse and then sanitize them, and then stack them in the dish drainer.  We don't do this every day though, like we probably should.  My mom hates doing, so she usually puts it off as long as possible.  Then we have a huge pile of dishes to do.  My dad felt bad for my mom, so he bought her some more paper plates.  She hates using paper plates and bowls and stuff.  I think it is because they blow away in the wind, but daddy thinks it is because she doesn't like to waste stuff.

Tonight my big brother and sister and I tried to sleep like lions in our bed up top.  We piled on top of each other, and shut the curtain.  Mom caught us, though.  She made us sleep in our spots.  Mommy knows best, I guess.

Kitchen

Day 22

Imagine living in a house that had a kitchen that was 40 feet long and 20 feed wide.  Sounds good, right?  Well, maybe a bit big.  But anyway...now imagine that in this kitchen the cabinets are on the west wall, the table is on the north wall, next to the stove, the trash can is in the south east corner, and the refrigerator is on the south wall.  Now take away the walls, and you got my "kitchen" set up mapped out perfectly!  HA!  Oh, except the water....it depends on what I need the water for.  I have three sources.  The first source is the hose (which floats around the "kitchen").  We don't drink this water though because it tastes like rubber.  Very nasty.  We even tried using a super duper RV filter thingy that attaches to hoses, still disgusting!  The hose is used for filling up the buckets to wash dishes, cold showers, watering the garden and filling the kiddy pool.  On occasion it is also used for rinsing veggies or random things that fall on the ground and get dirty.  I also have a sink, which, going with the "map" theme here would be halfway between the "refrigerator" and the "stove" (aka- coolers and grill).  The faucet is very low though, and it's hard to fill things with it.  Usually we have to fill a bottle, and then use that bottle to fill other things.  We can rinse veggies in the sink, most times, but there is no real counter.  The kids usually rinse the veggies, one at a time, and bring it to me.  It keeps them busy anyway.  The 3rd water source comes from the sink, but we store it in bottles in the camper.  This is AJ's job.  I use the sinks to rinse veggies or my hands, but I have to pour the water from the bottle because when we hooked up the hose to the camper we got serious leakage under the camper.  It was dripping everywhere.  It was very hard to see where it was coming from too, so we gave up, figuring it was better for Josh to spend his time fixing the house, rather than the camper.

And there you have it.  :)  I get my exercise for sure!

Flies & More Flies

Day 21

I can not even begin to imagine what it would have been like in Egypt during the plague of flies, but I can believe that it was complete torment.  We have successfully managed to keep the mosquitoes and biting flies at bay.  There are a few random bites, but nothing like when we first moved out here.  The one thing we have NOT conquered is the fly!  The common ole' house fly!

We have been tempted to buy one of those screened in pop up gazebo type things.  They just love to be around us when we are eating, which I would take as a compliment to my cooking if I didn't see them swarm around fecal matter and other such things!

They quite frequently find their way into the camper as well.  The door system to get into the camper is not the best.  And with that and the 4 children I have under the age of 8, you can see why.  These flies are persistent little buggers!  Bugs are gross.  Yeah, we all know that, but it is convenient that most bugs stay out of eye sight.  But these flies seem to find enjoyment in tormenting the human race, or at least my FACE!

A few days ago, I piled the left over food from our breakfast meal onto a plate, and I set it aside to go inside to look for something to put it in.  At home I did this often, with no problem.  Well, when you cook and eat in the great out doors, this is NOT a good idea.  I repeat, NOT a good idea.  I came back to the plate not even 5 minutes later to see it COVERED with flies.  I mean COVERED!  Ugh!  I can tell you with conviction that it hasn't happened again, and it WON'T happen again.  *shudder*

Well, this morning guess what I awoke to!  A fly!  That's right.  A nasty little fly decided to perch it's nasty little body on MY head, over, and over, and over, and over!  NOT COOL!  Of course, I wasn't fully conscience at first.  It didn't take long.  Soon I had littlest A's head and mine under the blanket.  I think this is the worst way to wake up.  There might be one way that is worse.  Maybe Eldest A throwing up on my head, as he is falling out of his bed, and landing on me and the pile of throw up.  Yeah, that is the ONLY thing that would be worse.  ;)

Top 10 Reasons Why Living In A Camper Isn't That Bad

Day 20

10- The passenger seat doubles as a nice cushiony office chair.

9- You learn to condense your junk.

8- It only takes a few steps to get from one "room" to another.

7- As a kid didn't you dream of camping all summer?

6- There's a 20X10 foot section of the lawn that doesn't need to be mowed.

5- It takes 10 minutes to clean.

4- The back bumper doubles as a make believe Garbage Truck.

3- Sleeping on the couch doesn't mean your in the dog house. 

2- AIR CONDITIONING!

1- It increases your thankfulness to a great benevolent God and gracious good friends.

by Josh and Katie

The Day In Pictures

Day 19

Spoiled by the hubby, once again.

Beans cooking in the crock pot.

Coffee brewing in the coffee pot, just for my hubby!

Litte A on the bike, with an umbrella I rigged to keep her protected from the sun.

Isn't she the cutest!

Little A and Mama.

I love her.

Are you done taking pictures AJ?

Seriously, what are you doing AJ?

Eldest A and Little Dude.

LOVE

Riding bikes in front of house.

"Mom, take a picture of our parade."

Love those lips!

CUTENESS!

"Here are some flowers mom."

"Cheese."

HOT SHOWER

Day 18

Today I had a HOT shower!  It was like a whole bottle of 5 Hour Energy! It was reviving!  I would have spent a whole hour in there, if I could have, but I was at someone else's house, and I couldn't bring myself  to indulge for that long.

It's so funny how the little comforts in  life can really make a difference.

Romance and Clothes Lines

Day 17

Put clothes on the clothes line to dry has always been a romantic idea in my mind.  It wasn't until I moved North that I even realized it was a feasible thing I could do.  When we went house hunting, a place for a clothes line was top on the list of MUST HAVES.  One of the first things Josh did for me when we moved here is set up my clothes line.  It was a very exciting thing.  My dream of free and efficient clothes drying was coming true!  The sweet smelling warm breeze blow through my hair as I hung clothes on the line.  Perfectly clean and bright clothing flapping in the wind.  Children laughing in the distance, with the sun glistening in the sky.  *deep sigh of satisfaction*

Unfortunately this little honeymoon the clothes line and I were on is very much over.  Some where between the cloudy, rainy days and dirty hand prints on the clothes I realized this wasn't as whimsical and romantic as it thought it would be.

First of all, it is a pain in the butt to put underwear and socks on the clothes line.  I think that if nothing else I might just throw those things in the dryer.  That would be SO much easier, and I would be hanging everything else, so it would save me some money.  Next...BUGS.  Yes, bugs.  I found a spider in Little Princess' underwear when I was taking it down off the line, and folding.  Eeeeewwww!  Then I found two flies doing their nasty thing on one of my socks.  EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!  NOT RIGHT!  Next is the dropping factor.  I am clumsily.  It's a true fact.  I continually drop clothes on the dirty ground.  I admit, I do shake them off and put them back on the line, but that's not the point.  It's annoying.  Next is the weather factor.  I only planned to do laundry today because I checked the weather and it was going to be a nice day.  After putting everything on the line, it starts to drizzle a bit.  If my clothes had been dryer, I might have taken them all off, but I just couldn't bring myself to take it all down.  Even if it had down poured and the clothes were wetter than when I started, I still might have left them up there....maybe.  Thankfully it was just a bit of drizzle, and then it was gone.  And lastly we have the dirty kid factor.  SOME HOW, someONE had dirty on their hands, or hat or something, and walked under a towel hanging kind of low, and just caked it with dirt.  It was ridiculous.

Anyway, I keep telling myself I am saving so much money, and building muscles and teaching the kids lots of good lessons.  But I am not sure how long that will keep me putting clothes on the line to dry, instead of in my dryer that is so conveniently located by my washing machine.  I think I know why lots of moms out there don't wait to do their laundry all on one day!  Sheesh!  My plan is to have a laundry basket for darks and a laundry basket for lights, and when they get filled, wash them.  But my only reservation to that is the kids would wear the same 3 of 4 outfits over and over.  That could be a good thing....

*Drum Roll*

Day 16

I am totally geeking out about a recent purchase.  I just had to share.  It is SO cool!

So, you fill the top with water, and it fills the bottles.  It won't over flow the bottles because it has a special spout that stops when the bottle is full.  There is even an over flow spout, which I use to fill cups and stuff.  It also has a filter replacement counter.  It will tell me when it has filtered the amount of water it needs to.  I use to count each pitcher full of water I filtered.  I calculated how many times I had to fill my old pitcher up before it was no longer working, and then I would keep a record of how many times I had filled it.  (I know, I am a freak, I told you!)  Now I just fill it up.  And then I can pull the bottles out and put them in the fridge, or put the whole thing in the fridge, once I get a regular size fridge.  It also has extra bottles!

So basically this is one of the coolest things ever, in the world of water.  The only thing that could make this better is if they had different colored bottles.  SERIOUSLY!  If I had me some PINK bottles I would be living the dream.  HA!

Bath Time

Day 15

Finally, littlest A got a real bath today.  I had been wiping her down with baby wipes every night.  But, this morning we stuck a Rubbermaid tub in the sun and filled it with water.  By the afternoon it was  warm not cold any more.  So, I took a few pitchers full, filled the sink in the camper, and got down to business.  My eldest took this photos!  I am so glad to have another photographer in the family!

Let's do this thing.

I'm going to be cleeeeeaaaannnnnn!!!!!!

Those darn neck rolls!

This is kind of fun.

WHOA!  Did you see where she just put that rag?

Mom, my neck is clean already.

I just farted.

I must be cute if you keep taking all these pictures.

Do I remind you of anyone?

Whoops!  Mom, I slipped!

There you are mom.

My mom is the coolest.

I  mean, look at her.  She obviously adores me.

And what's not to adore?

A Blah Day

Day 14

This morning I woke up with a jolt, and realized I had nothing in a near proximity to eat for breakfast.  Nothing.  So, off we went to the store and farmers market.  I picked up some bananas at the store, and the kids had bananas for breakfast.  I was planning on making eggs when we got home, but it was 10:30 when we got home; time to start thinking about lunch. 

I then began the painstaking task of cleaning, peeling, chopping and slicing beets for lunch.  This, my friends, is a labor of love, plan and simple.  I hate beets.  Josh hates beets.  The only ones who like beets are the kids.  And since they are so good for them, I cook them.  The bright pink lips (not to mention pee) are just bonuses! 

In the middle of all the beet prep, my wonderful neighbor came over with a loaf of fresh, hot bread.  She had given us some thimble berry jam a few days before that, so I pulled that out, and we had bread and jam with our fried beet leaves (which I do like), and I saved the actual beets for dinner.  Phew.

By this time I am so hot and sweaty that I can barely stand it.  I try to avoid hanging out in the camper, as a general rule.  But today, I caved.  I loaded the kids in, and we watched movies with the AC blowing on us. 

And then the day was pretty much shot after that.  I blame the 14 nights of hardly any sleep.  I just had no motivation to do anything.  I did manage to get a chicken in the crock pot, and then we had beets and zucchini and yellow squash for dinner (not mixed together though).

And then came the inevitable male/female mix up.  It was one of those times where I REALLY wish I had just kept my mouth shut.  I don't know about you, but am constantly wondering what Josh is thinking about.  In fact, as an example, right before bed Josh was outside washing dishes, kind of staring off into space a bit. My first thought was, "What is he thinking about?"  And then I almost heard his voice in my head say, "Washing dishes."  It is so crazy to me to think that guys can just think about one thing at a time.  I am constantly thinking about ten different things.  So, he said something, and I assumed he meant it this way, when he didn't.  And then instead of dropping it, like a should have, I got all worked up, and then I kept trying to figure out what I was so upset about.  (I am pretty sure he was too.)  Finally I let it go, and then I wanted to just hit my head against the wall.  I told Josh that I was sure it was do to the lack of sleep and the constant stress and pressure.  Apparently he felt bad for me, because he stopped whatever he was working on in the house, and washed dishes (by far THE WORST part about living in a camper with out plumbing) and he helped bathe the children, and cleaned up and put things away outside.  *huge sigh of relief*  But then I started to feel guilty.  *exasperated sigh*

I think today was one of the hardest days, believe it or not.  The newness has worn off.  Maybe even a bit of the adventure too.  It was just an average day, and I was just tired, and worn out.  I don’t think it would have come at such a surprise if I had expected it.  But now thinking back, I am wondering, what did I think would happen?  Did I really think I was super woman and could just keep going with out sleep or a break.  Sheesh!

So this is me cutting myself some slack.  It’s hard work.  

Rain Showers With a Chance of Fun

Day 13

Today I realized that my kids have never played in the rain.  Well, at least not under my watch.  (I am remembering a picture of my oldest playing in the rain at Yaya’s house, when he was little dude’s age.)    That all changed today.  It’s funny how important things seem sometimes.  And it’s interesting how easy things can be, even when you are sure they will be difficult. 

It all started when the clouds started to roll in around 4:30 this afternoon.  It had been so hot all day, that we were so happy to have clouds!  The kids were already in their swim suits, swimming in the kiddy pool off and on all afternoon.  In the beginning I was a stickler about taking off their swim suits when they were done, cleaning them up, and putting their clothes back on.  But it has been so hot, yet they still get chilly in the pool after awhile that I just got sick of putting on and off their clothes.  So, if they put on their suits, they are in them till the end of the day when I can pry the littlest A off me, and clean them up (in a tub of cold water, to boot).

Down came the rain around six o’clock.  Little Princess turned to me and said a bit shyly, “Can we play in the rain?”  For a moment the old Katie wanted to respond with a, “No, let’s not get dirty and wet before dinner.”  But as I looked at my daughter, in her dirty swim suit, and a look of utter joy, wonderment and excitement, the new Katie took over.  “SURE!”  So, for an hour and a half my three older kids ran around in the yard in the rain. 

Some of you may be appalled at this.  How can I have an 8 year old who I have never let play in the rain?  You might be even more shocked to learn that none of them own rain jackets or mud boots.  (In my defense, I was considering buying them for them this year on their birthdays, and then forgot.)  What I am learning, the hard way, is that Motherhood is a journey.  I started to think back to things that I have done that I might not be super proud of, like the time I gave my 2 year old (my first born) a cold shower because he wouldn’t stop pooping his pants, and then every time after that, for months he would say, “Please, not a cold shower?” every time he got into the bath after that.  And I started to feel guilty.  And then, I remembered, the blessed peace I have in Christ.  To be able to walk forward, casting off all the mistakes of the past, and embrace hope, truth and love, is an amazing thing. 

Sure, this is the first time that my kids have played in the rain….but it won’t be their last.

5he Katie to the rescue

Day 12

I usually post at night, but I couldn’t wait.  Last night was another horrible night and Josh and I both woke up and had to practically hold our eye lids up so we could see, we were so tired.  So, I broke into my stash of 5he, (aka: 5 hour energy).  It took about 5 minutes to start to work, and here is the affect it had:

 Josh

(He drank a WHOLE bottle.)

 

  Me

(I drank half of a bottle.)

So, bring on the day!  It's a busy one, and I am ready for it!  (If I could just get off of Facebook and email.  5he gives me tons of energy, but it also makes me supper lovey dovey, and I want to email all my friends, and comment up and down facebook!)

Seeking

Day 11

Right before I went to bed last night a very large wasp appeared out of no where, in the camper.  My biggest fear was not killing it on the first try, and it stinging all the kids in their sleep.  It landed on the window shade, and I inched closer and closer until I was right on top of it with a booklet.  Then I pressed with all my might and heard the crunching, and still was not satisfied.  I pressed down some more.  I finally brought the booklet down from the window, and there was the wasp, more than an inch long.  He didn’t look very squished.  If I would have been in a house, with a working bathroom, I would have flushed him, just to make sure.  Instead, I dumped him in the trash, and tied up the trash bag (even though I had just taken the trash out, and it was pretty much empty), and took a deep breath and tried to convince myself that he was dead, and would  not be tearing open the bag to sting me in my sleep.  After I was done convincing myself of that, I tried to convince myself that he had gotten in through the door 4 hours earlier, and just now appeared, instead of climbing in through some hole in the camper, and bringing a bunch of friends with him, who were planning their attack at that very moment.  I am happy to say there were no more sightings!

Tonight I played hide and seek with the kids.  I thought you would be interested in how my kids play hide and seek, because it cracks me up!  First of all, only my eldest seems to have the patience to hide in this game.  Little princess and little dude have developed their own little sing song code to help people find them.  (Like we need help, ha!)  I was the first to count, and only seconds after saying, “Ready or not, here I come,” little dude alerts me to his ware bouts by fake whistling (I think).  I wish I could accurately describe the sound!  It’s like “you who” but not.  And it sounds like they are trying to make whistling sounds with words.  It’s the best I can do, sorry.

After finding him, he leads me to his sister, and then she leads me to her big brother, who is mad that he has been ousted.  So we try again.  This time little dude counts, and it goes something like this: “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ready or not here I come.”  Except try reading it as fast as you can, slurring the words together.  Despite the quick count, everyone manages to hide.  He finds Abby, who is adamant that he cheated, because she wasn’t ready.  She then shows him where I am, and then we hunt around for Aaron together.

Next is the eldest.  He too counts as fast as he can, making it to thirty then screaming at the top of his lungs, “READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!”  Now, he has played this game with his little sister a few times to know that she always hides in his last hiding spot!  LOL (FOR REAL)!!!  And then of course she tells him where little dude is, and then they come hunting for me.  Abby comes around the corner of the camper and I whisper, “Oh no you don’t!” and grab her and put my hand over her mouth.  She is giggling.  I try to out smart the eldest by sneaking around to the front of the camper while he goes around to the back and it back fires.  He finds me.

And now it is little princess’ turn.  The baby wakes up at this point, so I go into the camper to get her, and she finds me when I come out. 

Then I take another turn.  I count to thirty, yell, “Ready or not here I come,” and then I hear Abby’s sing song whistle of "you who," and head towards the sound of her voice.  I can’t find her though.  So then, I decide to yell, “Marco.”  To which Aaron responds with, “Pollo!”  And I find him!  HAHAHA!  He looks confused, and then I tell him that’s a different game.  Kudos to mom!  Andrew is hooting for me, so we find him, and then all search for Abby.  I can’t find her, anywhere, even though she did her little hooting thing.  Then out she pops from the bathroom, very pleased with herself, and her ability to trick us.  She had been in the thick trees on the side of the house, and when I went past her, she snuck out because she had to go potty. 

We play another round, so everyone gets another turn.  It goes about the same.  It was quite enjoyable, I must say.  My kids are ridiculously cute!  And to think if I would have been in a house, instead of a camper, I might have missed the chance to play it all together.  Living in the camper has forced me to be outside with the kids more.  Normally I love the outdoors, but with a new baby and bugs, I don’t go out much.  But I can lay the baby in the camper, turn on the baby monitor, and be good to go.  I am very thankful!

Sheesh!

Day 10

Today I packed everything I needed for the day into a laundry basket, and headed outside.  Yesterday I did not do this, and ended up coming in and out of the camper all day.  The door to the camper is so loud, and Josh was trying to sleep.  I felt so bad.  So, today, I tried to get it all at once, and get out, so Josh could get some sleep.  It took me an hour!  Sheesh!

I spent some time reading my Bible for the first time since we moved here.  I couldn’t figure out where I put it for a few days.  It’s one of those times where you stick something some where so you won’t forget where you put it, and then you forget where you put it.  Another SHEESH!

A big chunk of my morning was spent washing lettuce.  Does anybody else find this task a bit over whelming?  I am trying to figure out the best way to go about this, and I am not having much luck.  Although I have learned what NOT to do, and that is good.  I think the first few times I harvested lettuce; I just stuck all the lettuce plants, roots (and dirt) and all in the sink, and then tried to wash it.  A big no, no!

I have a hard time enjoying lettuce from my own garden.  I have found things in my salads that would make even a person with a strong stomach want to vomit.  I have found parts of caterpillars, whole spiders-big and small, and any time something crunches I am just sure I am eating sand.  Ugh!  So, even when I do a good job of getting it clean, and have no weird crunches or other things, I still can’t enjoy it like I would if I bought lettuce from the store.  Sheesh.

I played soccer with the kids this afternoon.  I think this was the first time little dude has ever had a crack at kicking a soccer ball.  It was so cute to see him running around trying to kick the ball.  Eldest A has gotten really good at kicking the ball where he wants it to go.  Little Princess, on the other hand, a bit of a whiner when things don’t go her away, and that goes for any sport.  We played catch after we were done with soccer, and she got “hit” with the ball, and could hardly handle it.  Is she my daughter?  Sheesh.

We ate our first organic watermelon today.  I was totally UNDER whelmed.  It was tasteless.  But the kids didn’t know any better, they gobbled it all up.  It was cold, and a bit refreshing, but so is water.  Sheesh.

On a super positive note, I LOVE BRAWTWURSTS!!!!!!!!!!  SERIOUSLY!  Nothing tastes as good as pig flesh in a animal stomach casing!  No siree!  MMMMM!  And when you grill them they are even better!  It like multiplies the flavor, and it is just bursting from the casing!  My mouth is watering this very minute.  I am pretty sure that more than half of my birthdays celebrate since I have been married have included bratwursts.  And this is a gooooooooooooooood thing!  Up here they have a company that makes brawts and bologna and other pork products called Vollwerth’s.  They make a bratwurst that is basically natural seasonings and pig.  It is so good!

I think the coolest thing about this move has been our NEED to buy brawts!  SERIOUSLY!

Worth The Time

Day 9

Today I was pleasantly reminded of how fun it can be to just hang out with my kids.  When my first born turned 4, I started reminding myself how important it was/is to spend time with my kids, doing things they enjoy.  I knew then, as I know now, that if I want my kids to want to spend time with me when they become young men and ladies (aka- teenagers) then I am going to have to spend time with them now.  I can’t ignore them, or put them off because what they are doing is not the funniest thing on the planet, if I want them to enjoy being with me and spending time with me when they are older.

This is easier said than done, for me, though.  I am a do-er.  I want to be doing practical and “important” things all the time.  I can hardly watch a movie let alone play GI Joes or Barbies.  And with my kids, at least, it is never enough.  I could spend all day on the floor playing batman and robin, and then get up to make dinner, and they would beg me not to go, like I never play with them.  I try to find a balance.  Lately, with the move and all, I have been way off balance, sending them off to entertain themselves, while I try to get life back in order. 

So today was a laid back day of fun.  I just hung out with my kids, something I have not been able to do in weeks!  It was still difficult for me, especially as we approached the end of the day, when my brain automatically starts to replay the day in my mind, analyzing the heck out of it to see if I am a worthless human being, or a valuable member of society.  This is also about the time that littlest A starts to fuss and refuse to be put down for any length of time.  *Deep Heavy Sigh*   Tomorrow is a new day, full of more adventures.  I only pray that God would help me to not sweat the small stuff, and to know how to engage these amazing little people He has put in my life in such away as to point them to the ONE person that matters at all in this world.  I guess I can start by reminding myself of that every thing. 

It Just Got Worse

Day 8

Well, it’s not like life is hard enough as it is.  A bug had to go and bite me IN MY BELLY BUTTON!  I mean seriously.  I have never had a bug bite in my belly button before.  I am racking my brain this morning, trying to figure out how a bug even got close enough to my belly button to bite me when Josh reminds me of my new out door shower.  Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Little stinker.  Of course, it took me a whole 24 hours to even realize I had a bug bite.  I was seriously wondering if I was pregnant or something, because I kept wanting to scratch my belly.  It was ridiculous.  Finally I have the sense enough to look, and sure enough there is a big ole’ bite in there.  Stinkin’ bug!  Bring on the distractions!  Thankfully today, there were plenty.

Littlest A had her first swim today!  The river water was not cold!  I was so surprised!  You notice I said, “not cold” instead of warm.  I still wouldn’t call it warm, but I was able to walk into it, and not shriek.

My husband bought me a bug zapper racket type thing.

Josh is the Little Gadget King, I tell you.  I know most of you ladies out there will call me nuts, but my husband has a do not buy list for me.  I made it for him.  He is a gift giver, and as such, likes to lavish gifts on me.  I am too practical for most of the gifts he wants to buy me.  On this list are the following: jewelry, chocolates, appliances.  Yup, appliances.  Apparently I need to change that from appliances to gadgets!  This bug zapper is not quite an appliance, but it should have been on the do not buy list!   The only positive thing I have to say about it is it’s PINK!  In order to prove to my husband that I am right, and it was a waste of money I have been trying to use it for the last two days.  I have killed ONE bug.  That’s it.  And I am almost sure the bug was stuck on something, and couldn’t have gotten away anyway.  Eldest A keeps telling me I am just too slow, and I should give it to him to try.  Yeah right, like I am going to give my 8 year old something that can ZAP things!!!  I can just see it now, “Mom!!!  Big brother told me to put my finger in the bug zapper!”  Or even worse, “Mom!!!!  Big brother hit me in the head with the bug zapper, and now my hair is on fire!”  I DON’T think so dude!

I think I might give Josh the zapper and ask him how many bugs he can zap.  That might help my cause.  But, then again, it might back fire.  He could kill tons of bugs, and then I will look incompetent. 

The one really cool thing I noticed today is the lack of mosquito bites my kids have been getting.  We used an all natural “fogger” from OFF! brand and it seemed to work really well.  I “fogged” about three days ago, and it has rained twice, and still no mosquitoes.  It was $6 at Wal-Mart, and if it keeps them away for a week or more, it will be worth it.  It has lemon grass oil.  I am wondering if I could just plant lemon grass in my yard and it have the same affect, which could be awesome! 

Well, my belly button is itching, and it is getting late, so I can’t think of an end to this blog post.  Hopefully I am tired enough to fall asleep, and not be kept awake by my inconvenient bug bite.  Stinkin’ bug!

Tears

Day 7

Today I feel like ranting.  I apologize in advance to any of you who have front loader washing machines and love them.  To each their own.  But me?  I HATE them, with gusto!  I have never had a good experience with them.  Today I hung all my clothes on the line to dry.  Yesterday I went to the new and fancy Laundromat to wash all the clothes at once.  They had really big machines that did 4 loads in one.  It cost me five dollars to do one of the huge machines, and $2.75 for each of the two regular size front loaders, which is supposed to hold two loads worth.  I had a lot of laundry to do!  I even made sure to leave the 4 or 5 inches from the top that they suggest.  When all was said and done my clothes were anything but clean!  I was terribly disappointed!  I spent $10.50, and I can’t say that a single item was cleaner than what a normal old school washing machine does.  Pathetic.  I am so irritated at those stupid machines. 

I have had previous experiences with front loaders.  I borrowed my uncle’s really nice front loader washing machine, with matching dryer.  I could wash three times the amount of clothes at once, which was great, but if I did not get to the washer the minute it was done, and I am not exaggerating, the clothes got stinky.  They had that smell that your towels can get when you leave them in the washer over night, or for more than 12 hours; not mildewy, but close.  More of a musty smell, really.  It drove me crazy.

My mother’s front loader would also do the same thing, but not as bad.  I could get to it with in an hour or so and the clothes would be fine.  My sister has had problems with her front loader, but she might say it was that brand of washer she had.  I have gone to the Laundromat before and had similar problems.  I just HATE them.

There really is nothing more annoying than spending time, energy and money on something, just to have to do it over again.  NO! THANK! YOU!  I didn’t wash them again.  But I really wanted to.

Well, now that I am done ranting about that, let me move on to the hilarious part of the day.  I mean laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes, part of the day!  Here is the shower Josh rigged me!

Isn’t he awesome?!?!?!  I am so happy to have this!  I got my first real (if you can call this a real) shower in a week.  Of course it was freezing cold, but I didn’t mind!  It was worth it.  And actually it wasn’t cold at all at first.  We have a spray nozzle on the hose for the garden, and it works really well as a shower.  The coolest thing about the hose is, after a few hours in the sun the water is really hot, at first.  So, I tried to use it sparingly, but by the end of the shower it was freezing!

So, that’s not the hilarious part.  Over the course of the week I have used the hose to clean up several times.  Each time Josh just shakes his head at me.  Josh, on the other hand has been using baby wipes.  Not a big deal when he just cleans up for bed, and then goes back to working on the house.  But, he had to go to work tonight.

Every so often, during the last week, I would offer to help him “shower” with the hose, and each time he looked at me like I was crazy.  Today I told him he was going to have to use the new shower he jimmy-rigged.  He gave me a look that said he knew I was right, but he wished I wasn’t.  I told him that the water would be nice and hot from sitting in the hose all afternoon.  This seemed to give him some encouragement, but not much.  Well, about 20 minutes before Josh is going to get cleaned up for work, I come out of the camper and see Abby watering her “garden”.  I suck air, and then get her to stop.  She feels horrible, and now I get to tell Josh that his hot water is all gone.  Then comes shower time.  I just have to say that I have NEVER laughed at my husband as much as I did today, EVER!  It was the funniest thing I have EVER seen!  I so wish I had recorded it!  Seriously!  The look on his face as he got in that cold water, and sounds he made as he tried to wash up quick and get out just brought tears to my eyes.  I can’t even describe to you.  But, he did sound a lot like a little girl!  I am laughing even now, writing about it.  I will never forget it!  It was awesome.  Of course he hated it, and since I was in charge of holding the nozzle, and at times I couldn’t even hold it still because I was laughing so hard, I don’t think he was very happy with me.  But, after all was said and done, he was clean, and he eventually got warm.  So it was a success in my book!

Oh, and here is a picture of our camper.  :)

Adventures In Sleeping

Day 6

So, the day was uneventful, but the night more than made up for it, and not in a good way.

The camper has a big bed above the driver and passenger seats of the camper.  It’s quite handy.  It even has curtains that you can close.  So, we stick the kids up there, and close the curtains at bed time, and Josh and I hang out for an hour, and then go to bed.  The table and couch turn into beds, and are located behind the driver and passenger seats of the camper, making them below, but not under the kids’ bed.

Some time in the wee hours of the night someone- and we literally do not know who, leaned over the side of the bed and threw up.  The most disturbing thing about this was nobody woke up!  I am not quite sure what dragged me from sleep, but I found myself coming to and standing by my bed, wondering why I smelled throw up.  I have tried and tried and tried to figure out what woke me, and I can’t think of anything.  So, I have concluded that it must have been the smell, for everyone else was sound asleep.  I woke Josh up with my shuffling around.  Then I turned on the light (remember, the camper is PITCH BLACK at night) and saw the fullness of the situation.  I am so amazed that I did not have it on my head.  It was a MIRICALE!  Josh escaped with nothing on him, as well.  We went back and forth over which one of the kids it could have been.  Eldest A is known for his weak stomach, but he has never done it quietly and on his own, it is always preceded by moaning and calling for mommy.  Eldest girl A is known for doing weird stuff in her sleep, obviously, so it could have been her, but she never throws up.  For all we know it was the little dude.  But, we will never know because none of the kids remember a thing about it.

After having Josh check my hair (I was sure I had it on me, and just didn’t realize it), gathered up all the bedding and clothes that got splattered, and wiped up everything else with almost a whole package of baby wipes, I crawled back into bed.  Sometime later, I am not sure how long, eldest A came tumbling out of bed.  Josh says he woke up to him panting or breathing heavy or weirdly, and then saw him almost leap out of bed.  He did not hit head first, but kind of bounced off of one bed onto another, finally coming to rest on the floor.  After much screaming, calming and soothing, he went back to bed.  Some time later Josh got hit in the head with an Insect Field Guide, which the eldest girl A some how kicked of the bed in her sleep.

What a night!  When I finally pulled myself out of bed in the morning, Josh was sleeping with his head on the other end of his bed.  Why didn’t we think of this before?  I actually did, but the camper is parked at a slight incline, which isn’t really too noticeable until you sleep with your head pointing away from the driver’s seat.  I slept like that one night, and I literally felt like I was sleeping upside down.  Very strange.  That was also the night I dreamed the little dude fell out of bed, and I had to catch him and woke up holding the baby by one of her legs! 

Sleeping, turns out to be its own adventure around here!  

Happy Birthday Dude!

Day 5

The big day!  Littlest boy A’s birthday.  And what you are all wondering is HOW DID I MAKE A CAKE!  Right?!?!?!  No, I did not buy something from a bakery…although, now that I think about it, that would have been so much easier.  Oh well.  So, back to the question of how I made the cake, well, let’s start with what kind of cake the little dude picked out.  I decided to let them pick out their own cakes, since I wasn’t going to be able to sculpt a master piece of a cake for them this year.  They seemed fine with the arrangement, PRAISE THE LORD!  So, the little dude picked out *drum roll* a brownie mix, with sprinkles…oh boy.  So I decided to use the crock pot.  I was a little leery of the whole thing, and with out the internet as my guide, I wasn’t so sure it was going to work.  I started it at two o’clock, but it wasn’t done when it was time to leave for his birthday festivities of bowling and dinner out.  So I had to turn it off, and hope it would kind of finish cooking on its own.  Josh saved the day by saying he loved raw brownie batter.  What a man.  By the time I got back the brownie was mostly done on the outside and just a little mushy on the inside.  Josh said, “Oh good, that’s my piece!” 

 Then came for the part where we get it OUT of the crock pot.  That was a bit of a challenge.  The part that was fully cooked ended up plopping out just fine, but the little mushy inside stuck to the pot.  So, we scrapped that off, and kind of pieced it back together, and then I spread some frosting on it- he picked out frosting to go with it, WITH sprinkles.  Sheesh.  How much sugar can we get there.  So, biggest girl A begged me to help with the sprinkles….this is the end product!

I still have sprinkles all over the camper kitchen counter.  *sigh*  Well, it least it made it more memeroable!

Expectations

Day 4

THE FOURTH OF JULY!  My all time favorite holiday, hands down.  I love the family togetherness, the food, the sun, the fire works, the warmth and outdoors!  I have had my disappointments in previous years though. 

There was the year it rained, and the year after that when it rained again!  One year we had a picnic on our nasty pink carpet (we had just moved into a fixer upper house then too), with bologna salad, Doritos and diet pop.  Another year we spent it driving home from Kansas (in my husbands defense, we did celebrate it the day before).  So, I’ve had my fair share of disappointing Fourth of Julys (I looked that up, that is the proper plural form of July, you learn something new every day).  And the one thing in common is expectations. 

Expectations can be there and you don’t even realize it.  I have, mostly out of spite, turned my back on the Fourth of July and crossed my arms and given a big “humph” and declared that I would never “expect” anything from the day again.  That never works.  This year, I just was too tired to have expectations.  Or maybe I just truly expected to have a rotten day?  I really don’t know.  But, I do know that the day was fantastic. 

After a long talk on the phone with my dear mother, and much thought, I have come to the conclusion that my attitude (due in part from being able to blog about my situation in a humorous light) about life has taken an unexpected turn, for the better.  I thank God for this change.  With out it, I am sure I would be huddled in a corner some where, crying my eyes out, asking God what in the world He is doing, and what in the world does He want me to do.

So back to the Fourth, a very fun day, even if it did not have as much family, food, sun or outdoors as I would have normally liked.  For lunch we had thick peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!  I tell you, what is more American than that?!?!?  (When I asked Josh this same question, he did not even hesitate for a moment to say, “Hamburgers.”  *shaking head*) The kids played in the little kiddy pool for 3 hours straight.  It was glorious.  While they were so happy and entertained, with out ME, and Anna was taking the longest nap she has taken in days, Josh and I were doing my favorite thing- ORGANIZING!  He had finished mowing the lawn that morning, and that brought a sense of peace and organization all its own.  I am not quite sure why.  I won’t bore you (seriously, I started to type out all the things I organized before I realized most of you could care less) with all the details, but it was glorious.  And it made life just a bit easier.  Thank you, Lord.  We also purchased a grill, and a rotisserie thing-a-ma-bobby.  We cooked up a whole chicken, and let me tell you, it was worth every penny!  Seriously.  Of course, Realist Josh, when asked what could have been better, with out hesitating said, “Steaks.”  *shaking head again*

The evening came upon us quickly, as we literally saw a front move in, and big storm clouds swoop down.  It was, in a word, beautiful.  We kicked butts into gear and got everything put away, and everyone into the camper before the storm hit.  It was only six o’clock, so we got out the card games and put in A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (we have the dramatized version, on CD, in a word, AWESOME).  It is by far my favorite one of the series.  My littlest boy almost made it through the whole book (more than 3 hours), but headed to bed by saying, “I have to get to sleep; I have a big day tomorrow.”  (It’s his birthday today.) 

All in all it was a great day.  And I am thankful for all the days that have brought me to this point.  This journey I am on is an amazing one- even if sometimes I have to hold on to the rails, squeeze my eyes shut and say, “Help me God,” over and over.