Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of my mommy readers!

I just love Mother's Day, although it's often difficult to strike a perfect balance between pampering time for me as a mommy, and spending time with my own mom to make the day special for her. That balance was achieved today - church with my family, lunch and a much-anticipated movie with my mom, and dinner with my in-laws. The only person I missed seeing today was my stepmom (who was working) so we'll have to do a special Mother's Day something-or-other later on.

I am so grateful for the women in my life - a mother that has always been fun and encouraging and loves me no matter what, a mother-in-law who is pretty sure I can do no wrong, and a stepmother who accepted that role more graciously than anyone I've ever known (and who I'm lucky to call my friend.)

I'm grateful for the women in my church that I saw this morning, that love on me and my children and teach and encourage me along the way. They inspire me in so many different ways.

But my Mother's Day didn't really happen all in one day. It started on Friday night, with a mother/daughter dinner and dance for our Girl Scout troop. It was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up - and dancing! There are so many more moves in our troop than I would have expected! None from me, of course - I was unfortunately born without a sense of rhythm. But I was quite impressed by some of the dancing that I saw that night - from the moms and the girls too. (I was also quite envious of their energy levels. Those girls were unstoppable.)

As the girls and I drove home from the dance, I couldn't help reflecting on how blessed I've been by the moms in our Girl Scout troop. I'll admit it - I don't make mom friends easily. Or non-mom-friends, for that matter. I'm naturally quiet around people that I don't know well, and so set in our current routine that I rarely encounter people that I don't know well anyway. I'm kind of a hermit - I like to be at home with my girls, doing school and just being together. Sometimes I have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the house to go out and do something fun already. I don't like talking on the phone, which means that I'm not always great at keeping in touch. And the more overwhelmed I feel by various life demands, the worse of a friend I tend to be.

And yet, here is a group of 26 moms - 26! - that I have come to treasure. A few of them were friends before the troop was ever formed. A few more were old friends from school that I rarely saw before Girl Scouts. But the majority of them...well, we only share the common denominator of a daughter that's interested in Girl Scouts. That doesn't sound like much of a foundation for a friendship, but it's proven enough. I see the very best of motherhood in every one of these women - devotion, loyalty, kindness, patience, wisdom, humor, and love. And they spread it around the troop, heaping it not only on the girls, but on each other. I have witnessed so many acts of kindness between the mothers in our troop, and I have no doubt that if any one of them was in need of anything...the other moms would be right there to pitch in.

I just love them for all of the above.

These are only a few of our beautiful troop moms, but you are ALL special to me. Thank you for all that you are and all that you do. Happy Mother's Day...Alicia, Amy, Angel, Angie, Becca, Beverly, Chandres, Ethel (okay, Kristie), Eve, Jane, Jill, Kristen, Lisa, Markeyta, Melinda, Nikke, Nydia, Paige, Robin, Sandy, Shannon, Shemeka, Sherika, Susan, Theresa and Traci!

30 Days of Gratitude 2011: Day Nineteen

Rachael became a Girl Scout in kindergarten. We found a Daisy troop and she loved it (especially since one of her friends was already in the troop.) She was such a doll in her little blue tunic, and was so excited about the things she was learning and doing - and the things we learned that she'd be able to do in the future.


After two years of Daisies, though, I was tired of driving to the other side of the county for troop meetings. Why was there no troop closer to home? Why hadn't someone started one?

So of course, I decided that I was the person for the job. I was quickly paired up with another local lady who had daughters in Scouts and was interested in starting a troop, so we started making plans. We saw eye to eye on nearly everything troop-related, and couldn't wait to get started.


Then she decided, very close to time for us to begin, that she had too much on her plate already. Homeschooling her kids, a baby on the way. Her commitment to Scouts would have to wait.


I understood, but I was so upset. She was going to be the perfect co-leader for me! No one else would be as good a match. How was I going to start a troop now?! I assumed I'd just have to do it all myself.

Then I got a phone call...there was another lady nearby that was also interested in leading a troop. Would I be interested in having her as my co-leader? Well, no. I wouldn't. Because I was still pouting over the loss of my former co-leader-to-be. But I said that I'd meet her and talk with her anyway. But if she wanted in, she was gonna do things my way, goshdarnit.


Yes, a bit of disappointment really created a bad attitude in me. Things were going wrong before they had even gotten started, and I was already wondering what on earth I'd signed up for.


Then I met her...and if the last person would have been the perfect co-leader for me, then Traci was SUPER MEGA PERFECT. Not only did we agree on absolutely every single aspect of how a troop should be run, what it should do, etc...but she even shared my somewhat warped sense of humor. They say that God never closes a door without opening a window, and I'm still thanking Him for this particular window! I can't imagine my life now without her as my friend, and I might not have met her if not for Girl Scouts.


So we started our troop in September 2010 with a handful of girls - and then watched, astonished, as more and more and more girls came our way. We decided that we'd only take 15 girls...then it was 20... Pretty soon, we were texting each other quite often to say, "there's just ONE MORE GIRL, and that's IT!" We both knew it was a lie - you can't have "just one more." If there was a girl that needed a troop, chances were excellent that we could squeeze her in.


That first year was certainly a learning experience. We did a few things the hard way, made a few mistakes, smiled and faked it quite often. The girls didn't seem to notice, which was a good thing. I quizzed Rachael after every meeting - did you have fun? what was the best part? what didn't you like? She was a great little adviser and cheerleader. And we were blessed with a fantastic group of moms that were helpful and supportive of our efforts as the troop grew and grew.


Now we're into our second year, and we have 29 girls in our troop. There is, of course, room for just ONE more!


We've had to make some adjustments as to how the meetings are run, now that there are so many girls. We've added a third co-leader, who also could not be more perfect for the "job." Chaos is usually kept to a minimum, and I'm pretty sure the girls are having fun. We've been to the pumpkin patch and in the Christmas parade already this year, we're planning a spring dance, and we'll be traveling to Washington, D.C., next summer to celebrate the 100th "birthday" of Girl Scouts. That is, of course, assuming that we survive another cookie season.


Helping to lead a troop isn't always a walk in the park...there's paperwork like you would not believe, hoops to jump through, meetings to plan, money to raise, accounts to balance, and far too many people to coordinate without lots and lots of planning ahead. 


But I love it. The girls are fantastic, and so much fun to be around. I am so grateful for the time I get to spend with them. I'm grateful for their moms - several of whom were friends before they ever joined our troop, and even more that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to know (or know as well) if not for the troop. I'm grateful for the other Girl Scouts I've met because of our troop, and for being part of a world-wide sisterhood of Scouts.


And I can't wait to see what's coming next.

I'm dreaming of a...

...pink CamelBak. You know, the backpack that holds a water reservoir and has a long straw sticking out the back so you can drink while you're wearing it? Yeah, that.

This actually isn't a great picture since it looks like it has a water stain on the front, but you get the general idea.

I spent the majority of my evening working on a parent handbook for my Girl Scout troop. I've been working on it on and off for a while, but with the parent meeting coming up in just three days, I thought it might be time to finish it up.

Near the end, I was typing up details of next summer's trip to Washington, D.C., but there was a figure I'd forgotten...so I headed off to the event's Facebook page instead, where I saw other troop leaders talking about how wonderful CamelBaks are for D.C. sightseeing. Easily diverted, I headed to the CamelBak website next.

That's where I found this sweet pink backpack - appropriately named "the Scout" - and available for both women and children. Isn't that cool? Too bad they're $49 each, or Rachael and I might both have one come next summer. Of course, there would be other opportunities to use it as well... I'll just be here twisting my own arm if you need me. ;)

(Happy Pink Saturday to my PS visitors!!)

* * * * *

And now, for the Saturday 9...

1) Have you ever been on the wrong side of the law?

Well, I have had a couple of speeding tickets. And deserved a couple more.

2) What was the last thing you described as either "surprisingly good" or "surprisingly bad?"
I don't know that I actually said it, but I was really surprised lately when, having heard about it over and over and over, I finally picked up a copy of The Hunger Games and devoured it like a starving wolverine. It's definitely my usual "type" of book, but I absolutely could not put it down. I immediately bought the two sequels (Catching Fire and Mockingjay) on my Kindle and read them in nothing flat as well.

3) When was the last time you unintentionally surprised someone else?

About an hour ago. I made some sort of noise that startled Gene as I was coming downstairs...I think he was half asleep anyway.

4) When was the last time you deliberately surprised someone else?

Yesterday - I sent a new Scentsy bar to my mom via Gene, in the middle of a work day. I'm sure she didn't see that one coming.

5) What was the last really funny movie you watched?

The Help. Not all of it was funny, of course, but parts of it were hilarious.

6) What is something that you've never done that you secretly are dying to do?

Zip line. I would love to try it!

7) What do you hope is different in your life by August 2012?

Several things...among them, I'm hoping that maybe I'll acquire some patience by then.

8) Who is the last person you greeted at your door?

Gene, I suppose. Although it's usually the children and the dog that get to him first.

9) If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose? 

No question, ancient Rome!

This and That *cough cough*

So, I whined through my last post about how miserable I felt. All in all, I felt like poo for almost exactly a month, before my mom turned me on to the miracle drug that is Walmart's knockoff of Benadryl. Anything else, she said, was just like candy to her and her allergies. So I tried it (actually, I had my most wonderfulest friend pick it up for me, since she was at Walmart anyway) and lo and behold, I started feeling human again.

That lasted for about...a week. It was a wonderful week.

But apparently, all it took was one stinking day spend outside - after a good, hard rain the night before, no less! - for me to start feeling miserable again. Stupid nature.

I shall be avoiding the outdoors as much as possible for a while, I suppose. Meanwhile, my dea

r sweet mother gave me an extra box of drugs for Mother's Day - guess she knew I'd be needing them soon.

* * * * *

During the week that I felt human, I felt bad for another reason.

Penelope Lane was born on May 1 - her mom, my friend Samantha, had been hoping she

would be a May baby, and Penelope complied by just a little over an hour. Penelope suffered from congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), which basically means a hole in her diaphragm that had allowed some of her lower interal organs to shift upward into her chest cavity. They knew that she would need to be transported almost immediately to a hospital with a NICU, would

likely need oxygen (since her lungs probably wouldn't have had space to fully form), etc. But they didn't know exactly what to expect.

She did great at birth - even cried some before they whisked her away. Pretty quickly, though, she was put on ECMO, a heart/lung bypass machine. A week and a half and plenty of scary moments later, she underwent surgery to have her organs put back in place and repair the hole in her diaphragm. That was a terrifying day for ME - I can't begin to imagine what her parents and family went through. But she did well with the surgery and continues to improve, although a lengthy NICU stay is likely.

All this is to say that Penelope has been constantly on my mind for the past two weeks.

Two friends and I went to visit and attempt to distract Sam one evening, and we were allowed to go into the NICU and see Penelope in person...she is so gorgeous, even more so than in her pictures. And it's heartbreaking to see such a tiny, precious baby under sedation, attached to so many tubes and machines. It was harder to think about the risks of the surgery, and her road to recovery. But most of all, my heart just aches for her mother. Her dad and other family too, of course, but being a mom...I hurt for other moms. I know she just wants to hold her baby, to have assurance that everything will be okay in the end, to take her home and have as normal

a life as you can have with a newborn. I remember how scary the first few days were after Rachael was born - and everything was fine. How much worse it must be when everything is not fine, and there's nothing you can do to fix it.

Well, not "nothing", exactly. She can pray, and I'm thankful that she knows and trusts God and can depend on Him to get her little family through this. I'm thankful for the many people that are praying for Penelope - even people that don't know them, like my Facebook friends and church family. Sam has commented that she's felt peace from the prayers she knows are being said, that she believed in the power of prayer to help Penelope through her surgery. So I'm praying, always praying. Every time I think of them, which is many times a day. And if you hadn't heard about Penelope yet, I'm asking you to pray for her too.

* * * * *

Feeling good, distracted, or otherwise, it's been a busy few weeks. Rachael and I have been working hard to finish up her schoolwork for the year, although we'll still be doing some here and there through the summer. We'll be focusing on health and science this summer, since we haven't spent as much time on them as I'd like during the regular school year. For now, though, she's finished her 2nd grade math book, and requested a change in curriculum for next year. We'll wrap up the 3rd grade language arts book tomorrow, and there's enough left in her 4th grade spelling book that we'll carry it over to the next school year. She never ceases to amaze me with how quickly she learns! It's time to start planning my curriculum for next fall, and I'm having her help me, to some extent. As I mentioned, she's decided that Math U See is not for

her, and that's fine. Meanwhile, she adores our current history curriculum (Story of the World), which I had thought of changing - but she wants to stick with is, so I'll give it another year.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the flexibility of homeschooling?

What I do not enjoy are mean comments about it, especially from people who have never "been there."

Just this weekend, we were in the van on the way to a Girl Scout day camp. There were six little girls in the back, and I heard one of them asking Rachael questions about what she has to do in school. "It must be so cool to be able to do your school work in bed!", she said. (Rachael agreed, but told her that most of the time, she sits at the kitchen table.) "And you can do your work while you watch TV!" came next. (NEVER, Rachael told her.)

Then another little girl chimed in, obviously unhappy that homeschooling was being made to sound like a good thing. "But you don't have any friends," she told Rachael.

I had to laugh at first - since, again, Rachael was in the van with five girls that she considers her friends, and three of these are pretty much "Scouts only friends," rarely seen outside of Girl Scout activities. My child doesn't meet a stranger - she has friends.

She was quick to defend herself. "I have lots of friends," she said. "I meet friends everywhere I go."

"Yeah," the little girl argued, "but you don't have LOTS of friends like I do."

Now I'll admit, this is where steam started coming out of my ears. This little girl was just being mean. It's hard to hear criticism from anyone, but to be singled out as different and odd and even unliked by your friend...that hurts.

Rachael never wavered in her position that she enjoys being homeschooled, though, even after she was told next that, "I wouldn't want to be homeschooled."

That's fine and good - homeschooling isn't for everyone. Not for every child and certainly not for every parent. But I had to wonder - did this child come up with the notion that Rachael doesn't have friends on her own? Or did she hear homeschooling being criticized elsewhere?

I stewed about this for a good hour...but Rachael, always quick to forgive, let it roll off her back. The girls got along fine for the rest of the day. I asked her about it later, once we were home, and Rachael happily informed me that "she just doesn't know what she's talking about!" Now to let it roll off of mine.

There are many, many reasons while we homeschool. Unfortunately, the more time that I spend around other little girls (as much as I love them, because they ARE all sweet girls for the most part), they are one more reason. The mannerisms and attitudes I keep seeing from young elementary girls very strongly resemble the attitudes I remember possessing and noticing in my friends when we were in middle school. It's hard to believe that things have changed so much in twenty years...but I'm positive that we were not like that in elementary school.

Everyone knows the homeschooler stereotype - they're different, they're weird and awkward and shy and socially inept. And already, I can see a difference between Rachael and many of her peers. However, I like the difference. Rachael has never, and I mean NEVER, said anything to another person just to hurt their feelings. It would break her heart. That's mostly due to her nature, I know, and not because she's homeschooled or because of anything else I've done. But I have to wonder, if she was exposed to it constantly, if it was made to look "okay", would that change her? Wouldn't the peer pressure, the temptation to act like her friends, eventually be too much? I'd like to think not. But I'm not willing to find out.

I love that Rachael LOVES to read...she doesn't just tolerate it, like a lot of kids do. They HAVE to read this book, they HAVE to read so many books this year, they were supposed to read that book but didn't, etc. Rachael devours books like candy. Again, not necessarily a characteristic of being homeschooled - I love reading despite my public school upbringing. But most of my friends did not. I'm so sad that I know so many people who never, ever pick up a book. Magazines and email are about all that they can tolerate. That's not good enough for my children. They need to crave the ability to read before they have phonics shoved down their throats. They need to be read to until they can't listen any more. They need to see Mommy with her nose in a book. They don't need to have it pushed upon them until they resent "having" to learn.

Ah, I'm rambling now. But my point is this: homeschooling is not a bad thing. Public schooling is not necessarily a bad thing. (It's certainly a better thing in some areas, and even in some schools, than in others.) But any education beats no education.

I won't be teaching my children to point and laugh at public schooled kids, saying "haha! I'm finished with school in mid-May and you have another month to go!" I won't teach them that public school is bad, that those children are different or dumb or weird. I doubt they'd come up with the notion on their own, and I'd certainly correct it if it were to arise.

How about having the common courtesy to extend the same respect to my homeschooled children?

* * * * *

The last thing that's kept me busy for the past...nine months...is Girl Scouts. This past weekend was a crazy one, too - a sleepover on Friday night followed by a day camp on Saturday. We had fifteen girls (sixteen on Saturday) and three moms sleeping over, five at camp. It was CHAOS, but in a good way. :) Just the juggling of pickup, transporting, stuff sorting, cake-baking, hot dog eating, edible campfire making, pajama getting on, whine stopping, journal writing, sleeping bag placement crisis averting, girl vs. dog reconciling, movie starting, shushing, shooshing, threatening, and ultimately, being crawled on while trying to sleep...it made for a hectic Friday evening!

We were out of bed/couch/floor at 5:30 on Saturday morning, getting dressed and packing up and making pancakes, eating, brushing teeth, brushing hair (times fifteen!), loading cars, packing coolers - and the girls were such troopers! There was no whining about getting up or being rushed - one or two that didn't want pancakes was the worst that we experienced all morning.

Day camp was not as much fun as the sleepover. The camp organizer was bossier and more abrasive than our girls are used to, and several pegged her right away as "mean." But they toured the Philpott Lake visitor center, built birdhouses, helped make and serve lunch (hot dogs, chips and fruit salad), then learned some interesting outdoor cooking techniques (pizza cooked in an old popcorn tin, anyone?) We were all ready to pack up and head home by the time 4:00 rolled around - damp, muddy, and tired. All six girls in my van passed out almost immediately once we hit the road.

I hope they had a good time. I think they did, for the most part - I'm sure they did on Friday night, at least. This particular day camp is probably not one that we'll do again. We have one more activity to go - a service project at the local SPCA - and then our end-of-year awards ceremony to conclude the year. I have to admit, I'm a little relieved that the end is in site. We have a great troop - 18 girls now, whereas we weren't sure we'd find five to start the troop back in September, and we have four more lined up to join us this fall. We'll have a full group for sure, with four different levels - Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Ambassadors. I'm already excited about our plans for next year.

But for now, I'm just tired. I'm ready for a few months with no meetings to plan, no trips to take, and no worrying about whether we have enough seats in our vehicles for ALL OF THESE GIRLS! It's a great "problem" to have, and I feel blessed to be trusted with these girls a few times a month, and with an amazing co-leader. I hope they all come back in the fall. <3

* * * * *

There, an update post. I'm sure I missed something, but it'll wait till another time. I'm going to re-drug and hit the sack...and I'll try to post a little more regularly. Especially if the drugs work as well this time as they did last time.

My Big, Whiny Comeback Post

When I blow a New Year's resolution - or rather, goal - I do it completely. One of my goals for this year was to blog regularly, and yet here I am on April 18, having not blogged in more than two months.

There are several reasons that I've been MIA from blogdom:

1. busy
2. busy
3. busy
4. fear of writing the dreaded big, whiny comeback post when I finally decided it was time to start blogging again.

The biggest reason, for the past couple of weeks, has been #4. So much has happened in the past two months - where in the world do I begin...again?

My last post detailed Rachael's 7th birthday, back in February. Gene had just started his new job with Utz, and was enjoying it, despite the crazy hours that were sure to get better soon.

Thing is, they haven't gotten better. The poor man leaves home at 4 a.m. and we don't usually see him again until 6-ish. The spring semester hasn't yet ended, which means that he doesn't get home until around 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, and the girls don't see him at all that day. Once or twice, he's gotten incredibly lucky on one of his "short" days and gotten home around 3:30 or 4. There's no day off mid-week as he was told when he signed on. And I've learned that his having to work every single Saturday sucks about a million times more than I expected it to.

In theory, we should still see him from about 6-10 (his new bedtime) four nights a week, slightly longer on Saturday, and all day on Sunday. But since he is still in school, and taking two online classes in addition to his Tuesday night class, he has to devote at least a night or two per week to studying, taking quizzes online, and going to the college to take tests. On Sundays, our routine is church-lunch-nap (because he doesn't get enough sleep now, ever, and he's a beast if you insinuate that something could be planned that would maybe interfere with his Sunday afternoon nap.) Sunday evenings usually include his doing more schoolwork and my doing the grocery shopping. We truly see each other in passing most days.

This has meant that I've had to pick up more slack at home than I was previously used to. When it was still cold - through February and March - the job of building a fire in our outdoor furnace and keeping it going through the day fell to me. Learning to build a fire wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. In fact, I've learned to embrace my teensy inner pyromaniac and actually rather enjoy seeing things go up in flames now...within the confines of the furnace, of course. What stunk was never having enough kindling to get the stupid fire started, or enough wood cut that was smallish enough for me to chunk into the furnace, since he didn't have time to cut anything in the evenings. This resulted in our having to buy two loads of already-cut firewood - which really irked our chickens since we have 27 wooded acres from which to find firewood.

He no longer has time to take out the trash. Or check the mail. Or several other menial tasks that I'm quite capable of handling myself. The thing is, when you add any menial task to the kazillion things that a mom already does on a daily basis, it's kind of a pain in the butt. As is never knowing when he may finally get to come home, which makes timing a hot evening meal practically impossible.

Of course, I still have it better than he does...I still get to stay at home with my children, and I don't have to drag my carcass out of bed when it's still dark outside. I don't have to deal with other people all day long unless I choose to do so. I don't get even one day off per week, but even my "work" time is more leisurely.

Still, I hate this. HATE it. Loathe, detest, despise and abhor this. I knew that this job was going to be such a blessing to our family, after years and years of trying to get out of the sawmill where he worked before. I had no idea that it would mean never seeing him, that our children would be sad that Daddy is never home. I don't know how women manage whose husbands are gone - really gone - all the time. I would lose my mind.

But hey...free chips.

Back in February, Rachael participated in the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She was so excited and nervous to audition this year, since she auditioned last year and didn't get a part. We were all thrilled when she had a great audition and was cast as one of the evil queen's pet bats (clearly, this was not your traditional telling of the story!) Auditions were held on Valentine's Day - a Monday evening - and the children rehearsed all week before performing in two shows on Saturday. Thankfully, Gene was able to finish up in time to catch the second performance. I couldn't miss either one. :)

I survived my first Girl Scout cookie season...with much encouragement from my troop co-leader and the moms in our troop. I thought it would be so much fun to do the whole thing myself, being my first year as a leader, but I'll definitely be recruiting more help next year. Gene and Rachael attended their second Girl Scout daddy/daughter dance, and she looked just like a little princess. And our troop attended a lock-in at a nearby mall - a dozen girls from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. No one slept until 4 a.m. I didn't sleep at all. And I hope we get to do it again next year. We only have three meetings left before breaking off for summer - as well as a service project, a yard sale, and a trip to a farm with a ropes course and zip line. Our last meeting of the year will be a fairly big to-do, with pizza, sundaes, games, awards for the girls, and the ceremonial "bridging" of some up to the next level of Scouting. I'll cry, but I'll also be happy for the reprieve of summer. Being a troop leader has been so much more time-consuming than I imagined it would be, but also so much more rewarding. I love "my" girls - all 18 of them. 18! After we worried that we may not have the five we needed to start our troop last fall! We just keep growing and growing, and are actually holding two spaces for next fall, which will make us a troop of 20.

In March, I celebrated my first anniversary with Scentsy...with a BIG promotion, thanks to a fundraiser that I landed with an area high school band. They did so well that I was able to write them a check for $1400, and I was promoted two levels, to SuperStar Consultant. The next step up is Director, and I want it. It may take me a while, but that's my goal. I have a great little team of eight going, I still love the products, and the company is one that I'm proud to be associated with...so I'm still "the Scentsy lady."

That wasn't the biggest deal in March, though - I loved celebrating my friend Cathy's 30th birthday with her! I wish I could have made just a huge, spectacular deal out of it, but her party was a lot of fun. (Turning 30 made her even again, while I'm still odd...but I'll be even again before long!) She's such an amazing friend, and such a blessing to me...I've never had a friend quite like her, and I hope to celebrate many more milestone birthdays with her.

And on April 7th, another reason for celebration - our 10th anniversary! That sounds like such a long time, and then like no time at all. I told him when we celebrated our 5th anniversary that if I put up with him for five more years, I'd be needing more diamonds for our 10th anniversary. He didn't disappoint - I got a beautiful new wrap for my engagement ring, and I definitely don't want any more ring on that finger now. Hmm, what idea should I start planting in his head for our 20th...?!

So to recap - I'm tired. Gene isn't here. Rachael is sweet, when she's not being sassy. Milly is still mean, with a side of cuddly. I still need a housekeeper, I spend way too much on gas, and our church conflict has yet to be resolved. Life goes on, even though I'm a little overwhelmed with it.

There's so much more that I could share, but the update will suffice for now. I'll be back soon, with randomness rather than an overview. I miss Pink Saturdays and the Saturday 9, and although the idea of the Wednesday Weigh-in makes me a bit queasy, it's something that I should be doing as well. There was also a giveaway that was left hanging when blogging disappeared entirely from my stream of consciousness...I'll be emailing the store owner soon to see if we can resume that. My apologies to those who entered already.

We're off to a slow start.

Major changes don't always happen on January 1st. Sometimes they take a little time to get warmed up.

To begin with, 2011 rolled in during a weekend this year - and weekends are always a little chaotic around our house. With Daddy home from work on the weekends, all vestiges of my girls' usual routine is flung out the window. So we enjoyed an alternately crazy and lazy weekend, and I looked forward to the return of normalcy on Monday morning.

However, Monday wasn't quite typical either. We decided to take one more week off from school, to put the house back together after the holidays, enjoy the news, and just recoup from the insanity of the past few weeks. Very slowly, things are being picked up, put away, washed, swept, vacuumed. Only one ungodly task remains for the week: de-junking the junk room and moving one little girl down the hall.

Yes, as of this weekend, my girls will have their own separate bedrooms. I would prefer to leave them in the same room, but bedtime fights have become the norm, and they've been getting on each others' nerves more and more during daytime hours as well. Ever the sensitive one, I detect the slightest bit of jealousy toward her little sister from Rachael...and think that having her own space may help alleviate a bit of that. It's not all because of Rachael, though - Milly is a little hothead, and needs some private "cool down" room quite frequently as well. So, we're cleaning and throwing out and giving away, and moving the bunk beds down the hall to create a room that's just Milly's. (Rachael will be the proud new owner of a queen-sized bed from her Gramma - she's super excited, and I hope she still loves the idea when she sees how the floor space in her room will be diminished with the larger bed. However, I grew up with a queen bed in the very same bedroom, and managed just fine.)

I am under no delusions whatsoever that it will be an easy transition. In fact, I'll be surprised if they don't wind up in bed together, in one room or the other, more often than not. As much as they fight, and as crazy as they make me, they really do love each other.

So cleaning and rearranging are the theme of my week...I had even entertained notions of taking down the Christmas decorations this weekend, but only after the bedroom situation has been resolved.

How about those goals for 2011? Well, I've blogged a little, and still have that giveaway that I need to get posted this week. I've scrapped one more page for my nephew's album, and have a good idea for the next one. I've Facebooked less, but could check in less still. And I spent the first Sunday of the new year at the church where I feel most at home, albeit with only Rachael accompanying me, and even visited a new Sunday School class that I'm looking forward to visiting again soon.

Oh. I've also learned that I can walk a 20-minute mile on the treadmill and not fall over dead. I know, a 20-minute mile is hardly bragworthy - but it's more than I've done in quite some time, and it's a start. Actually, it's an improvement, as the mile took me 30 minutes on Monday, 25 minutes on Tuesday and only 20 today. I wish I could say with confidence that I'll make it in only 15 tomorrow, but I rather doubt it. Baby steps! But steps nonetheless.

I'm reading a great book (on my new Kindle, which I love) that's helping keep me motivated to hit the treadmill - it's called Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir, by Jennette Fulda. Jennette began her journey at 372 pounds and lost 186 of them - on her own, by diet and exercise. Her story is amazing, but she's still so very real...and so many of her comments could have come from my own mouth. (In fact, I may have to share a couple of them before long, but that's a different post.) I only learned after buying the book that she's a blogger as well, at Pastaqueen.com - which makes me very happy, since I'll still have her blog to read once I finish her book. It's one of those reads that's so good that you start feeling sad about halfway through, knowing that it's going to end too soon and leave you wanting more.

Anyway...life will really shift back to "normal" mode next week, when we resume homeschooling and Gene starts a new semester as well. Once again, there will be two full days (consecutive days, at that) where it will be just me and the girls until well past their bedtime. I wish one of the days weren't Wednesday, as that messes up my church night (Milly will NOT stay in her class at church, and taking her into my own class is just too distracting for everyone) but it's only for the semester...maybe he won't be in school on Wednesdays next time. We also have the first Girl Scout meeting of the new year next week, so I'll be receiving a healthy dose of reality in a hurry...best to chill a bit and prepare for it this week.

(Speaking of Girl Scouts...it's cookie time! Have you ordered yours yet?! Yeah yeah, I know...but hey, a troop leader feels the cookie pressure like no other. We have 14 girls and minimal funds - we need your support so we can keep doing fun things!)

Coming up next...that giveaway. Who wants some nifty Snapware? Stay tuned. :)