What We Are Up To

I think this says it all....

What Was I Thinking??

This might have to become a regular posting. Brittany Spears is becoming my mascot - "Oops, I did it again...." To be fair to myself, this "oops" may not be my fault entirely. There are a few others who assist with the diaper duty on a regular or fill-in basis but I am the primary diaper-changer of the home.

Imagine my surprise to find this item in my washing machine - after a cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse and third cold rinse. Congratulations are in order for my remarkable discrimination skills which keenly recognized that indeed, this was not a cloth diaper nor a diaper cover. This essential skill prevented me from tossing this light, airy, paper into my dryer and starting a nice little fire. There isn't any absorbent material left in the diaper, though I also found two thin strips of Styrofoam in my washer.

Weekly Recap

Just wanted to comment on two previous posts -

I think that my last post was a spewing of emotion. After I wrote, I felt much better and had a clearer view of everything. I know other people's decisions are not my responsibility, but when several people all say, "I wish...." about a situation, I just wonder about the cumulative effects of the "I wishes...."

The author of "A Little Bit Crazy" (see link on right) has a posting on a green living blog - follow her link to check it out. She lists a bunch of ideas that we do at our house as well but she sparked another idea - while the toddlers are napping, I work to do as much housework as I can get done. Typically, I turn the thermostat down 2-4 degrees for that 2 hours of "naptime". The kids are warm either under the blankets or from doing bed gymnastics and since I'm working, I'm not bothered by the cooler temperature.

Moving on...... Our family is up to something this week and next week, but hopefully not much longer than that. Any guesses? I'll post a photo later this weekend.

And, has anyone seen a paper copy of our household budget sitting around? Again, I keep doing these silly things (stress induced?) and the latest glitch is not being able to find a previous copy of our budget. So far I have mortgage & taxes, church tithe, groceries, gas, electric, water, trash, clothing, doctor visit, babysitters, phone, insurance (multiple), personal cash, car maintenance, shoes for Todd, haircuts/other personal items, Compassion donation, savings, and date night but I think I'm missing something semi-important. What else did I miss? Need to find those papers tomorrow during nap time. Fuel for cars. It's too cold for the kids to be in the wagon.

Regrets

Twice this week, I have found myself in a relationship did not work the way it was supposed to. In college, my roommate and I had a disagreement which strained our friendship. That relationship never recovered. I think of that experience often from a learning perspective but I still wish I had handled it differently at the time thus preserving the friendship.

Case Study #1: the experience involving a friend was easy to learn from. I actually know what I did wrong, have ideas about how to go forward and a specific "what not to do" for the future. Case Study #2 is an on-going family deal and I am at a complete loss. I'm just not sure how to go forward without carrying guilt. I'm not sure I did the right thing, but I may have. I know there were things God wanted me to do or not to do and I can think of at least two that I ignored. This situation will have long-term effects, as did the issue with my roommate.

As it's past my bedtime, I will save the rest of my jumbled thoughts to ponder over coffee. Plus I have "potty teaching" to plan.

Greenish

The weatherman is predicting another "arctic blast". I am looking forward to Groundhog Day. At least then we can start the countdown to temperatures above freezing. According to Channel 13 WZZM, we have had 1% of our weather above 32 degrees since December 30th. No wonder our heating bill was so high! All of this winter weather makes me wonder about the hype surrounding global warming and some of the environmental issues that are so prevalent in media today. My dad commented tongue-in-cheek that wants "Al Gore to come over and shovel the global warming off the driveway."

I don't really have an official "position" on this issue but am probably less environmentally minded than a lot of people. I do have a few thoughts I want to put out there for discussion or reflection and to get them off my chest. Sometimes I think we are being awfully presumptuous when we are humans take credit for changes in climate. I acknowledge the presence of evil in the world as cause for why bad things happen and maybe it is our fault if there truly is a problem with our environment but do we really think that God doesn't have his hand in all things? God asks these questions of Job (chapter 38):

Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness
Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm...
Does the rain have a father?
From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heaven...
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
Can you bring fort the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?

Reading these questions is very humbling to me. How arrogant and untrusting we are, to think that God does not have his hand on his very own creation and especially us, whom he loves.

With that said, we do not have free license to do whatever we please. I think we are called to live as stewards and care for what is God's. I take a very practical approach to this issue: For me to choose something "green" it has to make practical and/or economic sense as well. I about blew a gasket when the Home section of the Saturday paper had a feature article on recycling wrapping paper. My family has been doing this since before I was born! We also save, wash and reuse tin foil, plastic storage bags, and plastic containers. My friends and I share, borrow and pass down kids and maternity clothes. We drive a diesel car (50 mpg), keep our thermostat as low, as use cloth diapers, breastfeed the babies, shovel snow, mulch grass clippings, keep the grass long, use central air only when it's above 85 degrees and on and on.

Green is not a word I'd use to describe myself. Once I started thinking about "going green", I realized I didn't really have to. I think I'll just continue to live practically. Makes sense to me....

Prioritizing

NOTE: While I believe in celebrating Christmas right up through Epiphany (Jan. 6), please do not attribute my Christmas background to negligence, laziness or lack of effort. The site I use has been doing a major overhaul and has been 'unavailable' each time I've attempted an update. ~mgmt.

REAL POST:
About a year ago I attended a women's group gathering taught by a wife of "noble character" and of vast experience. She has been married three times (her first two husbands passed away at early ages). She states that each husband she's had is incredibly different, which has given me great pause and also confirmed my suspicion that there is not "one and only one" true love for each of us. Robin told us that she had been most unhappy in her marriage (I can't recall which one...) and decided to play things radically different. She started pretending to take an interest in her husband's interests. For her, this meant pulling out a lawn chair and reading in the garage while her husband tinkered. She was able to share common time and common space with him (I think this equals 'bonding' for a man). Though this was just one of the ideas she tried, this process of giving up her selfish desires and opening up to his interests, she transformed herself and her husband.

As the kids get a little older (i.e. not infants) I am realizing how important it is to share special moments with them and together with our family. More important is the time I spend with my husband - talking, sharing a meal or watching football (Go Steelers!). Here's a few of the things we do together: shovel snow, watch football, discuss his work, eat popcorn, play fantasy sports, clean up the kitchen, go to church. Everything is free (even the popcorn!). Many of the things are just part of life that we chose to share with each other. Our friends Missy and Chris seem to be really good at this. They go on dates without their kids. When we go camping, they sneak off for a walk with the other couples' permission. We had a play date and lunch at their house this week and Chris came home unexpectedly. They took several moments after lunch, in sight but away from kids to talk and reconnect.

Robin reminded us to love our husbands for who they are, to be their champion and their support, and to take our marriage vows seriously, however that looks for each of us. The mire of cleaning toilets, laundry, teaching toddlers, my part-time j-o-b, chasing toddlers, cooking etc. pulls at me and I feel like I have to be really good at all those other things. Not the kids, not the house, no the workout, no the job... the husband.

What Was I Thinking?!?

Happy New Year and Blessed Epiphany to you! My computer has been acting up and piling that on top of Christmas travel & general business means I've not been writing much. When I started this blog I thought it would be more of a chore, but I rather enjoy it!

Since my last "real" post we've traveled 800 miles, opened gifts 5 times, started another round of antibiotics, finished epistle of St. John and moved on to Numbers, re-financed the house, experienced the fun of a Wii, and put up a "big big boy bed". No wonder I'm tired. Maybe it's the fatigue or old age, but I've done some goofy stuff lately.

Let's start with today. I washed used baby wipes with the cloth diapers. Except we don't use re-usable wipes. And unfortunately, that wipe had been used on a "dirty" diaper. Then, in a rush to get to story time on time (we already had missed play time with friends) I grabbed the four library books from their place, threw the into my bag and ran out the door. Once at the library, I shoved them into the return box and we hurried down to the children's area. After we got home, I was walking through the living room and noticed a library book open on the floor. Little Miss (below) is really into reading the past couple weeks. Apparently she had been reading a library book today. Except I know I returned four books to the library. And so I must have "returned" one of our books. Now I had to figure out which book we returned. Or... I could just call the library. Surely they'd notice a book that wasn't theirs. Well, apparently I'm not the only dingy mother who "returns" non-library books so I had to come up with a title. After much pain and steam from thinking so hard, I came up with the book. Except I didn't know the title. But at least I was able to identify the book and our helpful library will hold it for me until I can return.
The other big "what did I do..." has to do with a certain little boy's Christmas present. You have to admit, this thing is awesome! I got a great deal at a garage sale. Once I got it home (not an easy task in a Jetta), I had to figure out where to hide it. For 5 months. A few close calls, but it was never discovered. It was a hit Christmas morning, and continues to be played with daily. But now my issues is, "where are we going to keep this thing?" It currently resides in our living room where we spend most of our time. But seriously, what was I thinking? It's huge! I'm pretty sure I was only thinking about how much my son would love this ramp. And he does. He is currently in the middle of a top story/roof construction project with an excavator. This is good. Downsizing. I'm hoping once the Christmas Tree is down, I'll feel less crowded.

Now, to the Christmas Tree!