On any given weekday. . .

Our schedule as of late has been insane. We've chosen to expose our kids to various activities, all of which build confidence, help skills to develop, and assist in raising well-rounded, socially adept kids.

But lately, the pace of life is beginning to catch up with me.

Individually, none of the kids are over-scheduled.

Olivia has weekly piano lessons, once-weekly church youth group, is on the school track team (which lasts all of 6 weeks), and the summer swim team.

Jack has weekly piano lessons, weekly cub scouts, and is on the swim team.

Grant is on the swim team.

But add all those things together, plus the end of school year things like talent show rehearsals, staff appreciation week, the school book fair, etc., and suddenly, life is spiraling completely out of control.

Here is what our day looked like today:

8:00-2:00 - Work in school library

2:00 - All three kids had a dentist appointment (I love that all three can get their teeth cleaned at once!)

3:00 - Drive from dentist to track meet to watch and cheer for Olivia.

5:30 - Leave track and drive to swim practice.

6:00-8:00 - Swim practice. The boys practice 6-6:30, Olivia from 7-7:45.

8:15 - home finally after 12+ hours, Olivia started her homework, I put the boys to bed, then started a load of laundry because everyone is out of clothes!

Our refrigerator is almost empty, with the exception of a few wilted and stinky vegetables. We've been living on fast food and take out. Tonight, my dinner consisted of a Starbucks Frappucino, a handful of red licorice, and a chocolate chip cookie. The dinner of champions! (My kids ate Subway sandwiches . . . don't ask me why I didn't get one too.)

I know this frantic schedule is short-lived. Track is over after today. And in 3 weeks, school is out for the summer, as is scouts and mutual (church youth group), and we'll just have swim. Afternoons will be spent lounging at home, taking it easy, and eating meals as a family at home again.

I just ended my 2-year stint as PTA President, and to the amazement of many, did not take another position on the board. I'm realizing that even I have limits as to what I can do, and those limits have been pushed to the max!

It is a constant challenge for me to find a good balance between leading a well-rounded life, and being a crazy woman who is too stressed and busy to enjoy the daily moments of life. A scripture comes to mind, reminding us not to "run faster than we have strength". I need to pay attention to that one, I think.

I am not writing this post to get advice or suggestions on what I should or shouldn't do (keep those comments to yourself!). Rather, I am writing it for myself, so that 20 years from now, when my kids are complaining about how "exhausting parenthood is, and they don't remember being this busy when they were kids", I can look back and shake my head and laugh . . . and remind them that they are where they are because of all the experiences they had. And to tell them to slow down a little, and take the time to smell the roses!

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day weekend started out with a school fundraiser — Vegas style!

Steve and I got a picture with Elvis.

We played Blackjack and Roulette with fake money chips.

This picture makes it look like I'm really partying it up. I promise, that red cup has nothing in it but plastic chips.

Saturday night, I played in my second official tennis match. My friend Christy and I were paired up. We lost. Actually, we got creamed. The score was 6:2, 6:0. It was pathetic. My confidence was shattered a little . . . and I came to the realization that I won't be asked to play in the US Open anytime soon. But we had fun.

Aren't we cute in our black & white team outfits?

When Steve asked what I wanted to do on Mother's Day, I told him I wasn't picky. My only requests were things I didn't want to do—no cooking, no dishes or cleaning, and no laundry. Other than that, I didn't care!

Sunday morning, Steve woke up early, quietly got dressed, and snuck out of the bedroom leaving me to sleep. When I came downstairs, this was waiting for me.

Breakfast was delicious, and I didn't have to do the dishes afterward! Steve and the kids gave me some colorful new tennis outfits, as well as a sign for my office, which I love. This motto is one I try to live by each and every day!

We took a walk after breakfast, then I told Grant that for Mother's Day, I wanted him to learn to ride his bike. He obliged, though somewhat hesitantly. After about 5 minutes of Steve running behind him, he was riding on his own!

Olivia and I went to see one of her best friends in a local play while the boys went to the park.

We went to our family favorite—California Pizza Kitchen—for dinner. Steve kept his word, I didn't have to cook or clean up all day long!

Being a mom is way harder than I ever imagined. Most days, I crawl into bed at day's end absolutely exhausted. And then, I wake up and do it all over again. And again. And again. But in spite of the challenges, in spite of the tests of patience, the crumbs on the floor, the incessant piles of dirty laundry, and the nonstop chauffeuring, cooking, dishes, and helping with homework, I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing right now. I know in a few years, the kids will be grown, the house will be clean and quiet, and I'll miss the noise and laundry, so I'm trying to cherish it while I can. Being a mom gives my life purpose. Seeing my kids grow into capable, kind, thoughtful, and caring people is the best reward I could ever ask for!

Getting away

The kids were on spring break this past week. It's been cold and rainy. Awesome weather for being cooped up in the house...

Thankfully, we had planned a mini vacation to San Diego! The kids were so excited and had been looking forward to our trip for weeks.

Early in the week, Steve told the kids a big surprise was coming on Friday, and would arrive before we got to the airport. Guesses started flying...Olivia guessed a laptop (as if 3 computers and an ipad in the house weren't enough!). They all three guessed a dog (because getting a dog right as we are leaving town makes perfect sense...). Olivia then guessed "swimming with dolphins" (she obviously wasn't paying attention to the time frame of the arrival of the surprise, unless she was anticipating swimming with dolphins in our pool...brrr!).

The "surprise" arrived just before noon...and when the kids looked out the window and saw a stretch limo waiting to take us to the airport, they completely freaked out!



We toasted the start of our vacation with sparkling cider in the limo...and Steve and I came to the realization that after this, the kids will never want to ride a plain old airport shuttle again!



We arrived in San Diego, picked up our rental car, and got checked into our hotel right on the San Diego Harbor. The kids went swimming, then we headed out for dinner at The Fish House. Little did we know that everyone else had the same idea for dinner, and it was a Friday night...it took an hour and a half to get a table. We wandered around along the waterfront at sunset.

There was a huge Naval airship carrier permanently docked at the harbor. (One night of American Idol auditions were held on this ship!)

Ever the romantic, I loved the larger than life monument to sailors.

By the time we got to our table, it was after 8, and after a few bites of bread, Grant passed out on Steve's lap. He slept all the way through dinner (we boxed up his cheese pizza and took it with us). We had walked to the restaurant, about 1/2 mile from our hotel. There was no way Grant could walk back, and he's way too heavy to carry. So Steve did the noble thing and summoned a bike taxi to take us back to our hotel. With three tired kids, it was the best $40 bucks we spent on the trip!

We woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Sea World for the day. Neither Steve or I had been there since we were kids, so it was fun for all of us.

We watched the dolphin show.

We saw some cool animal exhibits.

We saw Shamu!

We got to pet dolphins up close.

We rode some rides.

We went on a river rapid ride that literally soaked us head to toe. It took hours to dry off.

We did a lot of walking! Within five minutes of getting in the car, Grant was passed out.

Saturday night, we headed up to Orange County to spend Easter with Steve's family.

(A funny side story . . . Grant protested wearing this shirt. He pulled it out of his suitcase and said "I don't want to wear this, it's an African shirt. The Easter Bunny comes on Easter, it's not the AFRICAN BUNNY!" I nearly died laughing!) 

 Early Monday morning, we loaded back in our rental minivan and headed south to LegoLand. The boys were in heaven!

Who knew you could build so many things out of Legos?

Entire cities were made out of Legos. Impressive!

Nearly every ride or attraction ended up in a gift shop. 

There was no escaping without some Lego loot.

Olivia was a trooper. It wasn't her idea of paradise, but she kept a smile on her face and had fun watching her brothers. She's the greatest!

The rides were all pretty much perfect for the boys. Slow and steady, no darkness or loud noises.

We stayed in the Carlsbad Homewood Suites Monday night. Best hotel deal ever. They had a Manager's Reception that evening with a full (FREE!) dinner buffet. We loaded up our plates and brought them back to our room to watch a movie on HBO. The kids thought it was da bomb. A full breakfast was included the next morning, so we ended up with two free meals AND a one bedroom suite for under $200!

 We spent Tuesday back at LegoLand, touring the SeaLife Aquarium and hitting the Lego-themed water park.

Steve and I kicked back on lounge chairs and occasionally got up to check on the kids. Having all three kids be completely water safe and self-sufficient was amazing!

 We loaded back on the plane Tuesday evening, trading the warm San Diego sun for rain and wind back home. The limo ride home was too short and quickly the realization that the vacation was indeed over sank in. It was good while it lasted!

Searching for a muse . . .

I feel like I've had a months-long case of writer's block. I have great aspirations of penning the next great American Novel, have lists of ideas (both on paper and in my head), and even titles for the books picked out. But when I sit down to actually put my thoughts in writing, nothing comes out. It's like I draw a giant blank, and all that comes to mind are thoughts of what I should make for dinner, or that I need to start the laundry, or the permission slip I forgot to sign for one of the kids. Not very productive "writing" time, to say the least!

My mom is coming to town tomorrow for two weeks of intense writing on the book project we started last year. Stay tuned on that one. While this project isn't necessarily destined for Oprah's Book Club, I have great hopes that through this process, I will be able to unleash the more creative side of my brain for the other projects that creep into my unconscious, begging to be set free.

Until that time comes, maybe I should look for a pair of shoes . . .

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

Kindergarten has been an interesting experience this time around . . . Grant is so different from Jack and Olivia that it's like going through it for the first time all over again!

I think we take for granted many of the basics on which so much of our life relies. English is not an easy language to learn. There are so many exceptions to the rules of the language–and there's no rhyme or reason to most of it!

Grant is nearing the end of his kindergarten year, and is finally catching on to the language. I went through a few months of extreme concern, worried that he wasn't going to meet the kindergarten standards. But almost overnight, he's realized that letter sounds come together to make words.

We've got a long way to go before he's reading classic literature, but it is thrilling to see the words of Dr. Seuss take shape in his little mind. I'll take it!

Cooking 101: Read the instructions . . . aka "The time I screwed up and embarrassed my daughter"

I take great pride in my cooking skills, as well as my presentation of said cooked foods. My internal wiring prevents me from sending something off to a party (or even our own dinner table) looking anything less than its very best. If I bring muffins, they're in a nice basket with a cloth napkin. Cookies? Arranged neatly on a platter. Buy something pre-made from the store? No way.

Over the weekend, Olivia attended a Valentine's party, thrown by a friend from church. She was asked to bring Jello Jigglers, cut into the shape of a heart. Sounds simple, right? That's what I thought too, though truth be told, I've never in my life made Jigglers. But how hard could it be?

Early Saturday morning, I grabbed the box of Jello from the pantry, quickly glanced over the instructions, and threw it together before heading out the door to Jack's basketball game. Hours later, the Jello seemed to have set up, and it was time to cut out the hearts and head to the party.

I dipped the pan in the hot water for the designated 10-15 seconds, then proceeded to press the little heart cutter into the smooth red surface. Nothing seemed to be happening. I cut a whole row, then tried to lift them out of the pan using a spatula. Each one turned to a squishy, red blob. When I saw that the plan wasn't working, I started just trying to lift them out in squares . . . Forget the heart-shape! That wasn't working either. Blob after blob melded together on the platter, until nearly half the pan was destroyed.

In the meantime, Olivia started getting more and more distraught—after all, her reputation as "the girl with the mom who can do anything and make awesome treats" was at stake. And then, I got the giggles. I still had no idea what I'd done wrong, or why when I thought I'd followed the directions to a tee, things had gone so drastically awry. But I couldn't stop laughing!

So, we did the only thing we could do at that point. I scooped all the blobs back into the pan, and did my best to smooth them out. If you've ever worked with jello, you know it doesn't "smooth" too well.

Then, thinking quickly on my feet, I pulled a can of whipping cream out of the fridge and proceeded to draw two huge hearts, accented with a couple big dots of cream.

We covered it in foil, and headed out the door. I laughed the whole way to the party, while Olivia yelled at me to stop "It's NOT FUNNY!!!"

I promised her that if the girls were really her friends, they wouldn't care what the jello looked like, they'd just be glad she was there. But deep down, I felt her shame . . . it feels good to have someone "ooh" and "aah" over what you bring to a party, and there would be no "oohing" over this one.

Sure enough, the girls all gobbled up the jello almost immediately, and told Olivia how yummy it was. They didn't care that it wasn't cut into cute little heart shapes.

When I got home, I pulled the box out of the trash and re-read the instructions, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. And then I saw it.

I was to have mixed FOUR boxes of jello into the 2 1/2 cups of boiling water. When I read it that morning, I skipped right over that part, and just saw the (4-serving size) and assumed that meant a single box. Had I thought more about it, I would have realized that basic jello calls for only 2 cups of water, and by adding 2 1/2 cups, I was certainly not going to get Jello that would allow for cutting into shapes. Honestly, this made me laugh even more!

Lesson #1 learned from this experience: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! It really does help.

Lesson #2: Whipped cream can cover up almost any mistake!

Lesson #3: True friends don't care as much about appearances as we think they do.

And that is perhaps the most important lesson of all.