10 New Year's Resolutions I can keep

Every year I make resolutions that I never keep.  I get depressed about it and my new year starts off knowing I'm setting myself up for failure.  This year, I'm going to keep 'em.  I will.

No, really.

I can sooo keep these.

Sarah's 2011 Resolutions:

1.  to gain a minimum of 5 lbs.

2.  procrastinate a little more

3.  not cook dinner at least twice a week.

4.  be impatient with my husband

5.  raise my voice at my children

6.  wear a sweatshirt and ponytail 6 days of the week

7.  drink too much coffee

8.  eat more chocolate

9.  go to bed too late

10.  mop once every Blue Moon

oooh, Blue Moon.  maybe I need 11 resolutions.

11.  drink one Blue Moon per...per mood swing.

Yep, that covers 'em.  And I'm sure on December 31, 2011 I will be able to cross them all off my list.

And we all know how much I love to make out lists and check off the items!

What are your resolutions for 2011?

where does the time go

She was 11 months old when I met her.  I was 16. 

With a smile on her sweet face, she reached her chubby little arms up to me, asking me to hold her.  I was terrified.  She was the first baby I'd ever been around.

I didn't know if it was okay to pick her up.

So I patted her head.

Her uncle became my boyfriend.

And then she became my niece.  But before that, this girl, she had my heart.

I've never been able to get enough of her.  She's always been someone you want to be around. 

She's beautiful on the outside and even more on the inside.  I love this girl's heart.

She is funny and smart.  She's goofy.  And a thinker.  I love her laugh and the way she blushes.  I love that she lets me play with her hair and I adore that she plays with her little cousins.  Having her here for a week this summer was a highlight in my year.  If only I'd been as wise as she when I was a teenager. 

She's an artist through and through and I can't wait for the day she's famous and I can tell people I changed her diaper.

I love you, sweet niece of mine.  More than words on any blog post can say.

Happy 15th Birthday!

Simple Joys

I have stuff I'd like to write about.  I have a post in draft titled, "Christmas Confession."

I'm sure it'll stay in draft.  Sometimes I don't wanna share the ugly.

Instead, I'll provide 10 simple joys in my life.  I {heart} simple.  Sometimes we just need simplicity in our lives to make us happy.

Here are 10 simple joys in my life.

1.  Freshly bathed children

2.  A husband wearing cologne

3.  Amber..always Amber.

4.  Laughing til it absolutely hurts

5.  A freshly groomed Golden Retriever

6.  A purring kitty

7.  Starbucks gift card

8.  My library card

9.  My nieces.  All of them.  They bring me much JOY.

10.  Slippers

What are some of your simple joys?

the scripture and snapshot without um, the snapshot

I have a decent camera. 

I don't know how to use it but I have one.

I don't have any of the photo editing fancy shmancy software.  Honestly, I'm lucky if my computer turns on each morning.

And when it does turn on the only things I know how to do are FB, Twitter, Gmail, and blog.  I wouldn't know how to use fancy shmancy photo editing software if I had it.

I never really cared much about that until a few days ago.

I'm sure many of you have seen this:




floating around on blogs.  I love looking at the scriptures that folks choose for their photos.  I love the fonts they choose.  The colors.  The stories they're telling with picture only.

Since I'm not a photographer I haven't ever had the urge to participate in Scripture & a Snapshot until a few days ago.

I have no snapshot but here's what I can tell you my photo would have been of:

An alarm clock reading 3 a.m. on a snowy work day.  A man pulling the warm covers off his still tired body.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping the sleep from his eyes.  Pulling on longjohns, jeans, jacket and boots.  Quietly of course, as to not wake the rest of the house.  A man heading out in the snow to the home of his parents to plow their driveway.

Because, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you."  Exodus 20:12

I love that my husband honors his parents.  I love that he's willing to give up sleep and the comfort of his bed in the wee hours to plow their driveway for them.

There's no picture of that moment to hold in my hand.  But I'm holding it safely in my heart.

What Pandas Eat

This morning I was opening up a box of cereal for Spice.

photo courtesy of amazon

As I'm opening up the box of cereal Sugar pipes up. 

"Hey, those are Pandas!  Did you know that Pandas eat boob?"

"Whaaa?!"  I was completely astonished, had no clue where that came from.

But Josh says, "You mean Pandas eat bamboo."

"Oh, yeah, bamboo."

My Turn

You email.

You comment.

You call.

Or text.

You let me know you're praying for me.

You bless me so.

I'd like to return the favor.

I'd love to pray for you.

You can leave your prayer request in the comments section or you can email me at truckfamily@gmail.com if it's more personal than you care to share on the blog.

I'm so thankful for each and every one of ya.

{getting over me}

The hardest person I deal with on a daily basis is...

me.

Hands down.

I'm a hot-tempered, loving, roller coaster basket case.

In a 5'2" frame.

Why I'm choosing to share about my morning, I don't know.  Maybe just a public apology to my children.  So they know I'm sorry for who I was this morning and for who I am on many mornings.

**

Today started off so great.  Spice slept all night.  That's right, all night.  I had six straight hours of sleep and felt great.  I got out of bed at 6, had my coffee, FB'd, emailed, played three games of CandyLand with Sugar (all of which I won) and then Spice woke up around 8.

The morning was relaxing.  We had a Christmas party planned with other moms and kiddos that started at 10:30 and we just went about our morning leisurely.  I realized time was getting away from us so I started getting myself and the girls ready.  Everything was fine.

Until I had to find something to wear.

All of my clothes are clean but I have nothing to wear.

I look frumpy and gross in everything I try on.  And that girdle I bought a few weeks back, yeah, she's a lil too snug now and I think I need another girdle just to stuff in what the first girdle can't hold in.

I throw on some jeans and a t-shirt that I'm positive I wore to our last get together with these moms and kids.

After throwing jeans and shirts and girdles all over my house I realize the girls' hair is a mess, I have no make up on and I forgot to put the de-frizz in my hair.

So, I'm a frumpy, frizzy mama.

Spice never complains about having her hair done.  But today she screamed. 

I was now running late and I was frustrated.

The other moms with the other kids have cute hair-styled, perfectly dressed children.

I don't have that.

But on days when we're getting together, I try to pull us together.

I shoved Spice off my lap.  Like really shoved.  Sugar came in to get her hair done and Sugar always fusses about having her hair done.  Always.  Today was no exception.  I kicked her out of the bathroom, slammed the door and called my husband.

"Talk me down from this ledge."  I tell him. 

He can't.

He can do a lot of things for me but at this moment, in my mind-set, he cannot talk me off this ledge of madness I'm feeling.

I send a text to Candee telling her my kids are sick and I won't be coming.  The couple coughs this morning probably don't count as being really sick.

Who lies to their best friends?

Apparently me.

I sit down.

Sugar comes up to me and tells me she's ready to go.  I tell her we aren't going.  Her eyes well with tears and she bolts from the house. 

In the amount of time it takes her to circle the house I utter a prayer I don't even remember.  I just know I asked for help.

She comes in.  Eyes red.  Tears fresh on her face.

"We're going." I tell her.

We're going even though my hair is wet and frizzy and I have no make-up on.  We're going even though the kids aren't in their cutest clothes and their hair is matted to their heads.  We're going even though I'm wearing the same thing I wore a few weeks ago when we got together.

And so we went.  And everyone looked great and then there was us.

But we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and we did crafts and listened to a story.

And I chose to forget about the fact that I was wearing gold toe socks or that Sugar's socks were bright red and didn't match her clothing in the slightest.

Why did we go?

Because today wasn't about me. It wasn't about what my girls were wearing or how cute their hair looked.

It was about celebrating Jesus' birthday with other mamas and kiddos. It was about fellowship.

It wasn't easy getting out the door and putting aside my feelings but I'm glad we did.

No Towel, Need Sleepy

(Tommy Boy reference)

I've just decided that I'll never get a full night of sleep again until I'm dead.

Dead, I say.

The night my mom took Spice I had visions of sugar plums dancing in my head that I would actually sleep without the little rugrat here.

My neighbor, on the other hand, well he had a different idea.

They have five vehicles.  Two adults live there but they own five vehicles.  (who am I to talk, we have five vehicles, too.)

Ouch.  (truck and car for sale!)

Anyway.

At 3:30 in the A! M! the neighbor decides to start his loudest truck.  The truck that doesn't run very well unless your foot is on the throttle.  And so he has his foot on the throttle, revving it up.  For approximately 15 minutes.

At 3:30 in the A! M!

I couldn't fall back to sleep until nearly 6.  Because once I've been woken up my mind starts racing.  Everything I need to get done the next day.  Everything I didn't do the day before.  I remember conversations I had that I wish I hadn't or remember conversations I didn't have that I wished I did.  I remember that I didn't clean the jelly up off the counter or rinse the toothpaste out of the sink.

And I remember I didn't kill that one spider because, well he won't hurt anyone way up there (and because Josh couldn't come home to kill it for me.)

But that probably means the spider is now lowering his nasty little self down from the ceiling and into my hair.

You see.  I think about important stuff at 3:30.  When the sun is still asleep and so are the neighbor's roosters.

At least for another 30 minutes because I guess 4 is when they think the sun has come up even though it really hasn't.

When my mom came to get Spice the other day she informed me that I looked tired. 

Or sick.

Well, surprise, freaking surprise since I am sick and tired of being tired.

I want to stay in a hotel room where there aren't any children allowed on the floor I'm staying in.  I don't want anyone to come fluff my pillow or offer to clean my room.  I just want sleep.

But if that's too much to ask for I'll take an IV filled with Starbucks, please.

Tuesdays blab

I now have two children under my roof.

All is right in my world.

While it was nice to be able to get a lot of work done last night with Spice at my mom's, I'm just not a complete mama without her here.  My mother said she slept all night for her.

Because she slept with my mom.

I think that's all the kid wants.  To sleep with us.  Guess there won't be anymore babies.

I'm taking a break from mud and taping.  Can you believe at this very moment I'd rather be doing dishes?  That's how tired and frustrated I am with this room I'm working on.  So tired.  So frustrated.  And my boogers are full of drywall dust.  It's fabulous.

You're welcome.

Carpet was to be installed Friday but seein's how I suck at moving quickly in the ways of the drywall, I called and asked if the installation could instead, be on Monday or Tuesday.  So, it will be Tuesday and now I can get a little rest time.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

I have a crying two year old in my lap.  Dishes to do.  A dog with breath that smells worse than the town I live in.

And a contentedness about me.

Happy Tuesday!

thoughts on a monday night

i'm hungry.

thankful my husband is on his way home with take out.

i haven't had a full night of sleep in several days.  i'm not sure what her deal is but spice, well spice has decided to wake up several times a night lately.

friday night i was up with her six times.  saturday night josh said he'd be on spice duty.  he got up with her three times then was asleep like the dead the other two times she got up.  i woke with her three times last night.

my mom, bless her heart, came to pick up spice an hour ago.  she's keeping her for the night so we can at least get one full night of sleep.

that one full night of sleep will be enough to have me considering babies again.

remind me the next time i start baby making talk about what this last weekend was like.

thank you.

friendships.

can i just say the ones that you have to work at the most are the most worth it?  yes, there are easy friendships for sure but the ones i have to fight for i've found are the ones that i feel i couldn't live without.

love.my.friends.

christmas cards have been filling up my mailbox.  i love this time of year.  i have my Christmas cards sitting on the bar, addressed and everything.  i just haven't put stamps on them.  i'm lazy like that. 

on friday i'm paying off our van.  fingers crossed.  pretty stoked about it.  how i'd love to take the money and go on a vacation but that day will come as soon as we're debt free and save for it.

i'm nearly done with my Christmas shopping.  thought i was all done then remembered a wee little niece i still need to buy for.  i think i'll just wrap up Spice and give 'er to my sweet niece.

took some time off from the home schoolin' deal for a bit.  gained some perspective.  then my heart swelled up last night when Sugar says to me at bedtime, "Mama, can we do school tomorrow?"  she woke up later than normal this morning but as soon as her breakfast was finished she grabbed her math book and was ready to go.  if only all home school days were like today.

my mom and i emailed back and forth today.  if i could post it, i would.  i can't.  but let me tell you the tears were rolling and i thought i was gonna die from laughing so hard.  the word areola was mentioned a time or 12.  and that's all i'm gonna say about that.

pretty sure i hear the '85 suburban pulling up the driveway.  or maybe it's that i smell my food.  either way, it's time to end this nonsense post.

happy monday, sweet friends.

Let me get right on that

My fortune cookie from last weekend.

We got a good laugh.

I Wogged

I got on the treadmill tonight for the first time in what feels like 500 years.  I didn't run or walk.  I wogged.  More than a walk, not quite a jog.

I hit one of the pre-set dealies and it ran it's course while I huffed and puffed and considered blowing the house down.

I got up to a whoppin' 3.5 mph and thought I was going to keel over and die.

Josh rooted for me almost the entire time.  You know, when he wasn't bathing the girls and cleaning up the paper plates I served his fabulous dinner on.  I think I should buy him some pom poms and a short skirt.

Okay, maybe just the pom-poms.

Yes, I finished out the 30 minutes but it wasn't easy.  I have this spot in my lower back on the right side that was going nuts.

I'm not happy with how I've just let myself get all flabby and outta shape.  I used to run.  A lot.  Yeah, that was like 15 years ago but still.  I used to do it. 

I'm wanting to pick up a package of Oreos and have myself a bit of a pity party.

But then that 30 minutes would be wasted and we wouldn't want that.  I'm going to stick with it.  I really am.

No, really.  I am.

to have another babe or not to have another babe...that is the question.

My husband ran into a friend of ours the other day.  His children were in our wedding as the flower girl and ring bearer.

Now the flower girl is 16.

And the ring bearer is in college.

It's official:  I'm old.
The end.

Kidding.

Kelly (our friend) told Josh that we need to have more kids.  That they're sad they only had two children.

Three weeks ago our pastor said as much.  He said his only regret about their kids was that they didn't (or couldn't) have more.

We hear it often from a whole lotta folks.  "We wish we'd had more."

For several months now I've felt content with our two girls.  After I had Spice I ran into a lady at Safeway that I know pretty well.  It was the first time she'd seen our new baby and she says to me, "too bad Josh couldn't have gotten a little boy this time around."

So I asked Josh if he was bummed that he didn't have a son.

"Nope."

And if we had another baby it's not that we'd be doing so to try to "get" a boy.  We'd be having another baby so we could add craziness to this household.  Boy or girl.

But the thought of adding more craziness to my already crazy, well, it makes me want to have my counselor on speed dial and possibly the psych ward too.

I love my kids, I do.  I love the thought of having oodles (did I say oodles?) more.  Yet it terrifies.

Kids aren't easy.  Parenting is toooouuugh.  And I'm not of the notion that it gets easier as they get older.  It just gets different.  I'm certain the only difference (okay maybe not the only) in having a teenager and a toddler is that the teenager can make his/her own food and most likely doesn't wear a diaper.  I think there will still be nights where you're up in the middle of the night, whether because you're praying they get home safely or because they just want to chat in the middle of the night. 

Thinking about homeschooling three kids seems daunting but there are families that homeschool five kids or uh, 19.  I should be able to handle three, right?

We just don't know.  We go back and forth about having more kids.  We want to.  We're freaked about it.  I mean, after all, we do have Spice.  And she's like 7 kids in one.  So basically we have eight kids.  It just looks like we have two.

And do I really want to change diapers for another 500 years?  Can the next one come out potty-trained?  And can he/she sleep through the night from day one?  I mean, I have a 2.5 year old who still wakes up sometimes three times a night.

Maybe that's why I can't make a decision.  I'm still sleep deprived.

the day school was closed for snow day!

Pole was made of wood, thankfully!

If anyone in this house is going to have something bad happen, it's going to be Spice.  She finds trouble wherever she goes and whether she's looking for it or not.  Had this been a metal pole I'm sure her little tongue would have been stuck to it.

My girls love the snow and even though I don't, I decided I should take them to the park to play for awhile.  We called it a 'Snow Day' and decided not have school that day.  It was a treat for all of us, even if I did have to endure the snow.

Swings and snow.  Really?

  

Hey girls, do you think you can learn to keep your tongues in your mouth?  Just a thought.

 

Spice always has me wondering what's goin' on inside her little head.

No trip up the driveway is complete without running into a llama.

I hate dishes more than I hate snow.  We went to the park with high hopes that when we returned these dishes would be done.  Unfortunately I think they multiplied while we were gone.

(no clue what's up with the wonky text and picture placement but whatev.)

I am Thankful for Online Driver's License Renewal

I'm sure the statistics for people enjoying having their picture taken for their driver's license is about -0.07%.  It's just not fun.

Sure, the first one you're kinda jazzed because, heck, you passed!  But you might be worried the nervousness you felt during the driving portion of the test is going to show through your purple shirt and into your first, very own, brand spankin' new driver's license.

You might also not be thrilled with your then boyfriend making faces at you while you're trying to get your picture taken.

Then, you get married, gain 25 lbs, chop off your hair to accentuate your chubby face and have your driver's license picture taken again.

You let your hair grow out a little, lose a coupla pounds and happen to "lose" your driver's license.  You put on as much white eye liner as possible and head in for yet another picture.

You've gained another ten pounds and of course that means it's time for driver's license renewal, in fact while you're mowing lawn #358 on a scorching hot June day you remember your license is actually past due.  You take your grass clipping filled, ponytail'd hair down to the Dept. of Licensing, put on the cheesiest of cheesy grins and *snap* you have a god-awful license for the next five years.

After years of being pulled over and having to show the god-awful picture, you've lost 30 lbs, it's time to renew and when you go in to have your picture taken the employee does a double take of his screen from your previous picture to the you standing before him.  He then turns the screen so you can see your fattie self from a few years before on the big screen.  You really were larger than life.  You enjoy asking the guy to change the weight on your driver's license, smile pretty for the picture, leave the building...

and proceed to gain back that 30 lbs instantly.

You've had a baby or two and it's time to renew the dreaded license.  The thought of going into town to renew seems too much.  You look in the mirror.  Your hair is haphazard, as are your clothes (where's that bra, again!?) you no longer wear white eye liner or any other make up to speak of.  Your clothes have spit up on them and you get outta breath trying to tie your shoes.

Then, you see the magic words on the renewal notice:  "Renew Online." 

So for another few years you can pretend you look 24, have one chin, wear make up and sport a cute hairstyle.