Right now...

Ryan was sick today so he stayed home from school. I worked from home most of the day. Grace went to school. Nathan played with his fire trucks, watched the Wiggles (his latest obsession), and asked me a trillion questions. All of my answers were quickly followed by another question..."why?"

Grace got home from school, picked up her Ipod and went outside to play with Ali and to ride her electric scooter. She came in later to gather some blankets, which she laid in the back of Mike's pick-up (You know...the one from last year that we have not yet gotten rid of. Yes...I am trying really hard to fit the part of hoosier/red neck girl. I have the broken down truck in the driveway. Now all I need is to have bare feet, a baby on my hip and a beer in my hand and it will be official!) Anyway, I called Grace in to do her homework, helped her with it, and scraped together some food..."dinner" in the loosest sense of the word!

Ryan's fever went down thanks to Target's generic brand of Motrin so he felt good enough to organize some of his Pokemon cards. He brought them to me and announced that he was going to sell them on Ebay for $400. Grace came in and got some candy. Nathan got into the closet and found an umbrella which I promptly took away from him because he has broken every one we've had. Then he found this green, frog raincoat. I can hear the sound of the plastic as he puts in on, takes it off, puts it on again upside down, takes it off, puts it on, and comes to me to ask me to "snap it up".

Ryan just came out of his room dressed in nice black pants, black leather dress shoes, a light blue oxford and a tie! He said he was going on a pretend date. He walked back in the room and sprayed a little Axe. Then he sauntered into the kitchen, leaned against the wall, put one foot up on the wall behind him and gave me a look like he was modeling for GQ. Ugh...I hate that he is growing up so fast. I only have about 8 more years left before he leaves home for college!

Where's Grace? Let me check...okay...she's running up the street with her helmet on with a walkie-talking in her hand while her friend, Ali, rides her motor scooter down the street. Why do I always see someone else on Grace's motor scooter? She is just so sweet...always sharing. But I fear she also gets taken advantage of.

Oh...here comes Nathan with his frog raincoat..."This isn't working, mommy!" Nevermind...he just walked in to ask Ryan if he wanted to wear his "froggie jacket". Ryan is now playing the Wii and for some reason is telling Nathan not to be "weird". And Nathan is calling him "Dorothy the Dinosaur". I still hear that plastic...uh oh...Nathan is now really frustrated. He can't zip up his raincoat. Let me help him....Okay...I did it. He was so pleased. I told him to go look in the mirror. He smiled, pointed his fingers, leaned back, lifted one leg and said, "To the big red car!", which he says about 15 times a day. Anyone who knows the Wiggles will know that phrase. Then he went to look in the mirror.

Here comes Grace. She wants to know if she can go down the street. She pleaded, "Anila really super, super wants me. She's a really nice friend from school. Can I go play down the street? It's just right down there, past the stop sign." Okay...just for a few minutes. Ryan's moved on to Wii tennis. Nathan is watching him. Oh no...I hear arguing. I think Ali just threatened to go home because Grace was playing with someone else and then Grace said, "Okay I won't play with them!" See what I mean? I will take care of this..."Grace, it's time to come in." Nathan just said "poop". Now Ryan and Nathan are talking about "toots" and "farts" Well, that's where "right now" ends...I need to move into "later".

:-)

Yesterday, Ryan brought me a baseball and a pen and asked for my autograph. He said, "Your autograph should be worth a million dollars because you are the best mom in the world!" And I will cherish all of these moments because when he is a teenager, I am fairly certain he won't feel the same!

It seems every time we turn around there is some house repair, car expense, or some bill that arrives that we weren't expecting. Just when we feel we are getting ahead then BAM! Something happens.

And then there are the ordinary expenses of holidays, birthdays, Boy scouts, gymnastics, baseball, violin lessons, and the change of seasons requiring new clothing purchases.

What about those little inconveniences in life like spilled milk, crumbled up Cheese-its on the carpet, dog hair, Nathan throwing up in my lap right before Ryan pitches for the first time, permanent marker on clothes, fingernail polish on the couch, discovering gum in the washer after it was left in a pocket or the ants that made their way into the house and into the dog's dish.

Some might complain that their child climbs into their bed night after night no matter how many times you put them back in their own bed or the radio is too loud or the bikes and helmets and bases and balls are strewn all over the yard.

Some say things like, "Why does this always happen to us?" or "We will never get ahead in life!" These are the people who choose to look at life through that glass-half-empty lens and who refuse to see life on the other end of the spectrum. How unhappy and hopeless life must feel.

I admit I have my moments where the stress gets to be a little too much and I might have a fleeting thought of "I wish my life was different". But it doesn't take long for me to realize that if I didn't have a car repair that means I don't have a car. And if I didn't have to pay for things like lessons, sports, clothes...that would mean my children wouldn't have these experiences. How sad I would be if there was never spilled milk or throw up or gum or messes of any kind...that would mean I don't have children. Someday, my house will be quiet. I will not have a child climbing into my bed. No one will have the radio up too loud. Bikes, baseball and bases will be a thing of the past. And I will miss them!


"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It is the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir

Obviously, Ryan is playing baseball again this year. He is in the third grade so this is the first year of "kid pitch". These pictures are a little out of order. I still cannot figure out how to post the pictures where I want them! Anyway, prior to his game, he wanted me to take some "action shots" of him in the front yard. The first picture is actually at the game...his first time on the mound! He pitched a no-hitter in the three innings he was allowed to pitch.

These pictures are of Grace and a few of her friends. Grace has the most fun having pictures taken of her making a silly face or doing something off the wall If I was her age, I would definitely want to hang out with her!

When I was putting Grace to bed the other night, I took the book she was holding and started to put it away. She said, "Mom, you know I like to snuggle up with a book!" I didn't realize she took this saying so literally. :)

My children have chores but since Nathan is so young, his aren't well defined. This day he was "helping" me fold laundry. He was so proud...he found a hat!