Minivan Moments

What do you get when you take a houseful of early risers, stir in a cranky, teething toddler, add a touch of printer screwup, pour on a "honey, I forgot to take the garbage to the curb," whip up a banana bread, dab on scrubbing the stains out of cream-colored grout, mix in a "Toddler's Nap on the Go," throw in some homeschooling, errands, a creative project, push-up ice cream pops in the car... followed by car seat dismantling and scrubbing (like I needed more laundry), playing outside with the sand box, which leads to supervising three children washing sand off, cooking up a homemade meatloaf (which was YUM! by the way!), packing hubby up for a wedding weekend away, running and emptying the dishwasher TWICE, dodging refinancing offers from the mortgage company and cable "bundle" packages from the internet company, and planning for a field trip with the preschool? Umm, well, you get a pretty worn-out Family Manager. And then I found out my Farmer's...

I am so excited because our Farmer's Markets open on Thursday!  Last autumn, as many of you probably know, I read a wonderfully eye-opening book about the food we eat.  And while I hesitate to agree with them 100% on the humans-aren't-carnivores issue, I am in FULL agreement with them on the health of the foods we put into our bodies. I cannot wait to get locally-grown produce and family-farmed meats and dairy and eggs!! YAY!   Now, many of you will roll your eyes at this post, especially those of you who knew the horrors of the animal-to-food cycle already – and if you did, SHAME ON YOU!!   I, however, was completely naive to the goings on in the factory farms. Oh, was I in for a very rude awakening! If you still do not know of what I speak, I highly recommend you get a copy of the book I read, The Skinny Bitch (thanks Corey and Mom for the book!). It will tell you all you need to know. It will also advise veganism, but I leave that to your own discretion. I am pe...

We have had a relaxing weekend, but we have stayed pretty busy... of course, we have 3 children under the age of 10 in this house, so how could we not stay busy?? Today, we got quite a bit of off-and-on drizzle, so we spent a good deal of time indoors. So, I decided to tackle The Dining Room Table That Was ! Our dining room table got covered with stuff for two reasons: Dania could not reach up here so stuff we didn't want her to touch went upon it; and some stuff doesn't have an immediate "home" when it comes in the door, so it gets parked on the table. Because of this, my husband commented last week, "What dining room table?? We don't have a dining room table, we have a craft table!" And he was right. Well, today, I unearthed it! I can see the beautiful wood, and I can almost claim it to be cleaned off! Certainly by the end of Tuesday, we will have our Dining Room Table back.... At least temporarily. Once I get The Dining Room Table cleared of al...

Are you a gambler? Do you enjoy playing the odds? Is gambling legal where you live? Anyone can gamble in Alaska. With his life. Have you seen the many shows on The Discovery Channel about Alaska?? I think this was Alaska Week or something, but I am still amazed at the things people do for "fun"... or whatever you'd call it. Not being a gambler at all myself, the idea of putting my life in the ante is a tad radical. Somehow, various people find value in discovering if they can survive in the Alaskan wilderness - whether their danger comes from a "mock" accident or a hypothetical scenario. Avid explorers drop into near-freezing water to see how their bodies react to the cold (umm, the body gets really cold, really fast), fling themselves down snowy hills from the back of snowmobiles to determine how to find shelter in the dark, dark, dark Alaskan night (by building an igloo - okay, that was cool info), and cause an avalanche to bury one of their team - on pu...

Yup. The name pretty much says it all. My day started with my eight- and five-year-olds deciding to experiment with the art supplies. My son put his finger in the hole-puncher and my daughter punched a hole in it. Commence wailing, bleeding, and panicking. "Quin got cut" was the first explanation. Then, "Calysta used the hole-punch on my finger" and "He told me to do it" and "No, I didn't!" Sob, sob, sob, bleed, bleed, bleed. Yeah, well, 12 minutes later, the bleeding isn't slowing with the crying, so the our Pediatrician's office advises us to take a trip the to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Emergency Room. Really?!?! Jack that panicking up a few notches, folks, and off we go! About 3 1/2 hours later, we are on our way home with a $75 bandage. Mmm-hmmm. An ER trip that results in the doctor washing the cut out with WATER and putting a gauze BANDAGE on my not-so-smart son's finger. The good news is that there was no...

Okay, today I decided to clean out the minivan. Yeah, I know, I was feeling energetic. So, we had too many toys, too many books, too much trash, too many empty water bottles, too many half-eaten bags of snack, and too many CD cases. Why is my old wallet still in the car... empty? Why do my children think the floor is the trash? Why does my toddler have 3 socks under her seat... and none of them made a single pair! There were crushed Goldfish, stale graham crackers, smooshed Junior Mints, and Jeepers! people, did you know that french fries do not mold? We haven't eaten at McDonald's in almost a month, and that french fry still looked exactly the same!! What are they made out of??? Glad we gave those up, I can tell you that! Well, we finally got it cleaned out, vacuumed and put back together. 412 trips into the house with miscellaneous stuff, 208 jaunts to the garbage can with often unidentifiable ick, 39 trips around the van with the vacuum cleaner cord, and 583 halts to...

The early bird may get the worm, but he can have it if he just lets me sleep! Another restless night and early morning toddler alarm started the day for me today. Dania was in full-cute form, though, and was impossible to ignore! As we tickled and snuggled our way to complete wakefulness, the sun (and older children) arose to greet us. So, naturally, I flung food into hungry mouths at the speed of light, tackled mountains of laundry, conquered the retail Superdome, shoveled some lunch, convinced the toddler to take a siesta, educated the second-grader, restocked hubby's favorite restaurant salsa, and narrowly escaped sunburn at the homeschool park day. All before dinner. Now, the little ones are nestled all snug in their beds, and I am fading fast. Sunshine, fresh air, early start, busy day.... sure makes a sleepy mommy. My least favorite thing about bedtime? Once I fall asleep, my next conscious thought will be that it is time to do it all again. See you tomorrow, Angie

I have spent the past few days with a renewed spirit for love and peace in my home. God has been showing me some areas that I need to work on, and I have asked Him for His help. He is so faithful! I have had a marvelous few days! God advises us in the Bible to "consider it all joy," and oftentimes I fail to appreciate all I have with my attitude and actions. For the past 5 days, I have been slower to anger, quicker to smile, more likely to stop what I am doing to have a snuggle or a conversation with one of my children, and overall putting forth more effort in enjoying my life. To some of you, that may seem sad: that I have to put forth effort to enjoy my life. However, with three children, the house, the laundry, the errands, the homeschooling, the preschool run, the cooking, the illnesses, and the lack of sleep, it had caught up to me. I had found myself struggling through each day rather than rejoicing in it. Well, no more! Tonight, I am using my blog to Praise my L...

When I moved to northern Florida as a young adult, I remember people saying, "If you don't like the weather, stick around: it'll change." Since living in Tennessee, I have found the same conditions. We moved here from Orlando to be near family and to enjoy a change of seasons, and Middle Tennessee sure delivers the changes. We just didn't know the changes were so frequent and dramatic! Last year, we had an unusually late freeze that killed a bunch of our poor plants. Then we had or Spring rains and tornado scares. That was followed up by a very dry and hot summer that killed almost all of our grass and much of our other plants. Then we actually had precipitation during the winter that brought snow for the kiddos to enjoy! Last month, I pulled out everyone's summer clothes and began to wash them because the weather turned warm. The next day (with the summer clothes still in the process of being laundered - have I mentioned that laundry never ends???), it...

When my first child was born, I was stupid enough to believe that a Bachelor's Degree in Child Psychology and Development plus 6 years of nanny experience had prepared me for anything motherhood could throw at me. Oh, the ways God has rearranged my thinking! Little did I know that my jaunt through parenting would include a trip to the pediatrician that would end with my toddler stumping the pediatrician. That's right, the last time we visited our family pediatrician and inquired about a particular concern, he actually said, "Hmm… well, that is a new one. Let me know if that proves to be true and we'll figure out how to treat her." Right. Just my luck. I have brought one of my many issues to the doctor, only to have him scratch his head in confusion! What is the issue, you wonder? Pinworms. Yep. Nasty things that school-aged kids get all the time, but one-year-olds? Apparently not so common. And the real kicker? She isn't old enough for the medicat...

Yeah, you already know what this entry is about! We went to Chuck E Cheese's today for a friend's birthday. It was fantastic! The kids had a mahhhvelous time - and so did the adults! The place was practically empty, which made following The Disappearing Toddler much nicer since we left The Puppy Leash in the van (come on, people, it is Chuck E Cheese's! she's practically safe here!). Calysta's favorite part was making little plastic cards with her photo on them - they resemble club membership cards. She made a cool dozen, easy. Quin's favorite part was... umm, well, Chuck E Cheese's. He just really gets a kick out of the freedom to roam and play and play and roam. He literally bounces around, looking intense rather than joyous. It is odd, but it is Quin's way. Dania's favorite part was putting the tokens in the slot! Mommy was so proud the first time she did it: excellent fine motor skills, you know. Finally, after the third or fourth ti...

Today was just a regular day here at our house. The girls and I took Quin to preschool this morning, then went to run some errands. We had a little time after our errands and before Quin's preschool let out, so we took a jaunt over to the local park. We hadn't been there before, but we like it better than our park in our town. We ran into a friend and met a new one at the park, and we wandered all over the many different play areas. The best part of the park was when Calysta said that she wished Quin was with us. :-) They sure love each other. Well, after we picked Quin up, we headed home, with a trip to the library drop-box on the way. Dania took a nap, the big kids played outside, and I got to read the last 2 chapters of a book I had been reading for a week. After Dania's nap, we had a snack and played some more, followed by more time outside. And Quin is getting GREAT at riding his bicycle without the training wheels! He just takes off and does such a great job!...

Okay, so a great majority of U.S. citizens are frantically filing their IRS forms to pay their taxes. I am frantically separating whites and colors. In our house, the laundry is like Uncle Sam; it is always there, and there is no ignoring it. The laundry multiplies exponentially when it goes into the various hampers in my home, so I always have laundry to do. Sort of like your taxes. No matter how many taxes you pay, there are always more taxes waiting for you. You cannot escape taxes, much like I cannot escape laundry. We full-time moms lament frequently about the woes of clothes. I tell my family regularly that if they would all just walk around naked, I could catch up on the piles of dirty clothes in this house. Sadly, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, they have yet to try it. Therefore, I shall stay mired in the depths of laundry for eternity… or at least until my children are old enough to do their own. And so, before I turn in for the night, I must first tr...

For the first two weeks of my youngest daughter's life, sleep was not an issue. We thought we had struck the jackpot. Around the 2-week-old mark, though, everything changed. Colic in the evenings (thank you, God, that it wasn't all day) and reflux issues reared their ugly heads in our newest angel. At this point, I made the executive decision to sleep with baby propped upon my chest while I lay propped on pillows on our couch in the living room. Dania and I slept this way for a couple of months while the doctors tried to regulate her reflux with medications. Eventually, her body fixed itself, and we were back to bed, but the damage was done. The child wanted to sleep touching her mother. Now, if you know anything about my parenting of the first two children, you will know that sleeping with Mommy was not much of a problem for me… I desired it. However, wanting to co-sleep and creating a Mommy-sweater were two different issues! Anyway, I endeavored to "wear the bab...

How many times a month do you visit a large chain department/drug store such as Target? Well, here in Spring Hill, Tennessee, we have moved up in the world: we now have a Super Target! I know, my sister Corey is bugging her eyes out now because when she came to stay with us back in 2002, we had to (this killed the city girl) "go into town" when we needed stuff not found at our spiffy new Kroger grocery store. Now, though, we have a Publix, CVS, Walgreen's, Tractor Supply, Dippin' Dots, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Dominoes, Wendy's, McDonald's, Taco Bell… well, you get the idea. We have arrived, as it were. Okay, so today I needed a couple of odd things that were not all grocery items (sorry, Publix), so our family took a trek over to the Super Target (and we went while everyone else was in church, being the heathens that we are). We strolled through just about every aisle in the place, primarily because hubby apparently doesn't get out much. We slobb...

Okay, I have finally done it. I have succumbed to the insanity of trying to keep track of The Disappearing Toddler in public places, and I have purchased The Toddler Leash. Yes, I, who used to judge parents whose children were restrained by such archaic methods, have attached said yoke to my wandering offspring. The good news is that 'they' now make them look less "harness-like" and more "backpack-like." So, yesterday, I strapped The Puppy Backpack onto The Disappearing Toddler and set out on foot in… the mall (gasp!). I am pleased to report that it went very well. She loved having The Puppy Backpack on and walked quite confidently beside me for at least 15 minutes. Her confidence grew with each step she took, and that, of course, meant the "wandering offspring" instinct had engaged. As she crawled between racks in the department store, meowing, I valiantly attempted to convince her that the mall was NOT the place to be a kitty, gently tuggi...

Well, today's "thought" has been revolving around parenting, the most important job anyone could ever have. (If you question the importance of parenting, think back to the last time you saw or met a person, whether child or adult, who really irritated you with his/her ridiculous behavior or bad attitude.) Okay, so now that we are on the same page, let me say that you are never prepared to parent your children. While some people have tons of experience with children before becoming parents, still others have never interacted with children prior to the birth of their first child. And yet, no one is ever really fully prepared for the full-time, hair-raising, no-sleeping, spewing, diapering, teething, weaning, biting, screeching, temper-tantrum-throwing, potty-training, runny-nose-wiping, back-talking, I'm-not-eating-that-and-you-can't-make-me-nutrition-coaching, sibling-mediating, money-draining, mess-making life that is a parent's every waking (and often slee...

Okay, so here begins a new day... I am going to post a blog. (Shelly, this was all your idea, so if it stinks, let me know, and I will go outside and bury myself in that weed garden.) Today, we are going to the dentist, and I am thinking (as I fill out the paperwork they were nice enough to mail to me in advance of our first apoointment) about insurance. These days, people feel scared if they do not have insurance. And there are so many kinds of insurance to have!! There is insurance for automobiles, uninsured drivers (yes, you have insurance that covers you if someone who DOESN'T have insurance hits your car - but, isn't auto insurance mandated by our state... do NOT get me started!)... umm, okay, where was I? Oh, there is also insurance for rental property or homeowners (but if you live in a flood plane, you need additional insurance for floods), boat owners, and business owners have all sorts of insurances. THEN, we have health insurance... just in case something big an...