Minivan Moments

So, in order to be relatively certain I would have a day of rest on my Mother's Day, I put my children to work all week. We scrubbed bathrooms, we laundered clothes, we swept and mopped, we did dishes, we organized, we threw stuff away (without looking at some of it, which just works better!), we tidied, and we laundered some more. Finally, tonight, as I look around, I can honestly say that I have done all I can do to make my Mother's Day as restful as possible... well, you know I have three children, so how restful can it be??? With the housework aside, Mother's Day will be a day to just be Mommy. Not maid. Not cook. Not laundress. Just Mommy . Ever since I can remember, I had one major dream in life: to be a wife and mother. It seems in today's society, those roles don't always hold the esteem they should. Being a wife is the closest thing to being a saint that I have ever heard of (joking... sort of), and being a mother gives me a front-row seat in heaven...

You all should really support Vanderbilt Children's Hospital... we do. We support their pediatric endocrinology department, and their pediatric gastroenterology department, and now their pediatric neurology and sleep study department. Yes, we took Dania for her neurology appointment today. It was at 8:30 a.m. - which meant, with traffic, we had to leave at 7:15. So, of course, Dania decided not to wake up at 6 a.m. today. No, today, she slept until I woke her - at 7:10! How is that fair!?!? Well, it may not be fair, but it sure never fails! Anyway, we saw the pediatric neurology medical student, then the neurologist and the medical student, then they rounded up the sleep study doctor, and we saw him and the medical student, then all three of the doctors saw us before they sent in a nurse with our paperwork. Whew! Almost 2 hours and 3 doctors later, we left with 2 more appointments: one for a sleep study on the 19th, and one for a follow-up to discuss the results of the slee...

I have recently discovered that though we yearn for sunny weather as winter draws to a close, we also need foul weather to balance out our lives. As a full-time mother, my children and I spend most of our time in our house - well, until the weather is nice, at which point, we spend most of our time outside of our house. Which is all good. Really. Not a problem. Well, it isn't a problem until the inside of the house has been so uninhabited as to be neglected. So, today, we welcomed the rain. Well, okay, I welcomed the rain. The kids just had to deal with a day indoors. I shoveled off the master bath vanity, scrubbed the dickens out of that room in general, washed linens (remember, there is always laundry to do), emptied the top of the refrigerator, reorganized the stuff that lives on the kitchen counters (hello, file 13!), made homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce for dinner, emptied and ran the dishwasher, and generally tidied up. I tidied so much that my inattentive hu...

So, it seems like every time my son goes to preschool these days, there is yet another notice asking for something - money, usually. Yesterday, I brought in what I thought was my final $5... I mean, come on, people, we have less than 2 weeks of school left! Oh, right, sure, like that was gonna happen. I get to the door to see, not one, but TWO more things I have to bring: one more notice asking for money, and one more sign-up sheet asking me to bring something for a party! AAAKK! I do not mind that we parents help out with all this stuff so much, but to have so much of it concentrated in the last two weeks is a bit ridiculous! Really, can't someone put up a list of every thing we will need to do at the beginning of the month or something?? The way we are being asked for one thing at a time may seem kinder to some, but to me, the Perpetual Forgetful Mother, I can't get caught up!! Just when I think I have everything paid in full, there is another note on the door!! Have ...

Have you ever given much thought to what you would leave behind if you died today? I am thinking about that as I spend my day sorting through another person's belongings: what to keep for her children, what to keep for a family member, what can I use, what can be sold, what is trash? It is amazing the things people value above others, and we all value slightly different things. And the things you leave behind tell a story to those sorting through it all. A carefully wrapped vase indicates a sentiment for the item or the occasion that brought it into possession. A carelessly discarded book cries out its insignificance. The painstakingly wrapped and packed box of framed photographs tells of a love for the lives they captured. A sink full of dirty dishes speaks of someone who values things outside of a clean kitchen. And a child's faded bicycle tells of a toy that was either well-used or ill-tended. What would your story be? Mine would shout from the moment you enter: Warni...

Did anyone watch the weather for Middle Tennessee today? No? Well, let me tell you about our field trip to the zoo! We arrived to discover that almost every other school group of pre-kindergarten through second grade children decided to go to the zoo today! Our first view of the zoo was of the PACKED parking lot, to the side of which we saw two things: more than a dozen big, yellow school buses; and so many groups of children gathering before the entrance that the entryway was concealed from view! After delving into the fray, we parked our minivan and headed up to find our group. (Let me interject here that my children and I had created matching shirts to help us stay together and identify each other should we become lost. This was more wise than even we knew when we decided to make them! Luckily, no other school group had quite our shade of sunshine yellow, so we were good to go!!) Okay, into the zoo we go! The kids are excited! The animals are awesome! And, the rain is begin...

I have finally succumbed to the kids' desire to play with sand! I have married my knowledge of sandbox disease, my dislike of the gritty stuff personally, and my children's longing for sand to play with and have come up with a workable solution: a plastic under-bed box with a lid. Seems simple, doesn't it? Well, it is, and it works! So, we introduced the sand "box" last weekend, and we store it in the garage all covered up. We only play with it outside, with bare feet or Crocs on, and we wash off before or as soon as we come in. The good news is that the kids now think I am the best Mom ever. The great news is that for the 20 minutes we play in sand, Dania stays by the box and doesn't dart into the street!! It is the most relaxing 20 minutes outside of naptime! So, folks, it's a hit! Sand in a box with a lid under strict regulations is quite fun for all. See? You can be an anal, obsessive Mommy and still let your kids have fun! (And I even let th...