Blah.

Not enough time in the day.  So much I want to do.  So little time.  So little energy.  Blah.  Blah.  BLAHH!!

Just Another Few Days in the Life

I've been getting a ton of things done lately; it just doesn't feel like it.  But I keep reminding myself that my basement is a bit more organized, and my "craft" closet is neater, and Rex's room is immaculately clean (although I think I must attribute that to Caleb moving out of his room, because strangely, the mess has migrated to Caleb's new room), and my living room floor has been vacuumed this week ... twice, even.  Really bizarre.

Bob has been a painting fiend this week.  Our hall bathroom is now a pretty shade of green.  Going on, and against the blue painter's tape, I was a little concerned, but it's not nearly so bad as I initially thought it was going to be.

Sariah has been sick for two days with a fever and a sticky cough.  Trying to decide to take her to the doctor.  It's probably just a cold, but the school system gets all in a snit when you don't have official reasons for absence.

Sam went pee pee on the potty yesterday.  Woohoo!  Not that he's been back since then, but hey, progress is progress.

We are preparing for Bob's mom to move into our home.  It will require a little shifting, but the kids are excited, and I think overall it will be a good thing (though there are sure to be hiccups along the way).

Rescue Me

I'm still trying to figure out my life these days.  There's so much I want to do, and not matter how hard I try, I just can't get it all into one day, between the kids' activities and the things I want to do around the house and the things I'd like to do "for myself."  For example, today I should get up and go to the Y.  But it winds up taking 2.5 hours to drive over there and put Sam in the nursery and do the workout I want to and then return again.  But I am one laundry basket away from completing the Great Laundry Basket Rescue (all of my laundry baskets were filled with things that were NOT laundry), and I need to move on to the Great Master Suite Rescue (seems fairly self-explanatory), and I realized last week that there is a set of blankets that we haven't found since our move and there are only a few more boxes to look in that haven't been unpacked, and, and, and, and....  But missing the Y hardly meets my goal to get healthier.  But there's so much to do!

So I'll just keep plugging along, doing the best I can.  Only like 10 more weeks of football.  And then my schedule will be crystal clear again.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...

Yesterday was a little bit of a bust.  Everything I did took longer than I thought it was going to, and at the very end of the day (we're talking like 10:30 pm), I had to run to the store unexpectedly.  Awesomeness right there.

But rather than completely focus on how things did not work as planned, I thought I would list out what I got done that I didn't expect to: I tried a new exercise class at the Y (my coordination skills have not surprisingly not improved over the last 15 years, so I probably won't be going back, lol), and I got to offer some service to a friend, and I ate some fresh vegetables (this may not sound like an accomplishment to some of you, but on some days this is a real accomplishment in my life), and I got the littles bathed before church activities so Bob wouldn't have to do it after he got back from football with Caleb, and I found Caleb's scout books (right where they belonged--really????).

Sometimes it is so easy for me to get caught up in everything that I wanted to get done or was "supposed" to get done but didn't actually get done.  Then I feel like a failure or like I lack self-discipline, or I feel overwhelmingly overwhelmed.  Or any combination thereof.  Plus some.

It's good to take the time to remind myself that I am taking care of seven other people.  And a dog.  And a house (not that I do this part terribly well).  And it's good to take the time to remind myself of all the other things that I got done.  It's really hard for me to stick to a plan when I have these other 7 variables, but I just keep working on it one day at a time.  And as long as I keep on trying, I'm doing good.

MOTY Nominations

Hmmm.

So today. Today was a whopper.

I worked out the Y. Burned almost 600 calories and did 4.5 miles on a cross trainer. Yay me!!  When I picked Sam up from nursery, he was happily telling the workers about his truck. Which he doesn't pronounce that way. You should have seen the look she gave me.  Oh yeah, Mother-of-the-Year right here. And it seems like the more we try to teach him to say ttttttttt-rrrrrrrrrr-uck, the better he gets that initial F. I think we should give up and ignore it for a while.  But my mother pride keeps getting itself up.

For more MOTY (mother-of-the-year) merriment ... I completely wrecked the day for one of my teenage daughters. Awesome. Sooooo, tonight while we were supposed to be at football, swim team, and Daisy Girl Scouts all at the same time, I was doing damage control. Fortunately, this involved a strawberry shake (good thing I burned all those calories, right?).  And clothes shopping, which was still fun even if the purchases weren't for me.

Good thing tomorrow is another day.

I still have 4 kids to warp in some way. Just kidding. Sort of.

Gospel Sod (It IS the Sabbath after all)

The hymns we sang at church today were ... fun.

The first one was fun because nobody sings it very often, therefore nobody really knew it very well, therefore, it sounded ... fun.

Two of the other hymns were some of my all-time favorites, and were some of the first hymns I learned as a member of the church: I Know That My Redeemer Lives, and I Believe in Christ.

It took some time, but I Believe in Christ really hit me hard today.  I got through the first few verses without really paying attention, but when we got to, "My feet He plants on gospel sod," I remembered how, well ... grounded that phrase always makes me feel.  I guess it's because I grew up with a mom who was and is happy to garden, happy to nourish little or big things in the soil and watch them strengthen and grow.  She's so good at it.  And though it's not something I often make time for, I like to have my hands in soil and watch green things unfurl and blossom.  But you have to take good care of their roots, make sure they have all the things they need.  Plants and growing, blooming things and dark, rich soil seem so fertile and full of potential.  I guess I like to think of my feet firmly planted in the sod of the gospel--me, full of potential and hope and strength with roots grasping mightily to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am including the words of this hymn here.  Some hymns you really have to sort through to figure out what is being said, but this one is a simple and straightforward testimony (the apostle Bruce R. McConkie's testimony, actually) that needs no interpretation.

31243, Hymns, I Believe in Christ, no. 134

1. I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.

2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign
’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men: “Come, follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

3. I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.

4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.

Text: Bruce R. McConkie, 1915–1985. © 1972 IRI

Music: John Longhurst, b. 1940. © 1985 IRI

Waaaaaaait a Minute...

Sadly, we were recently the victims of a joke.

My friend texted me on Thursday night to tell us that OU was playing BYU.  Bob stepped up the "trash talk" by informing her that BYU wasn't a real school. But we didn't even turn on the TV cuz it couldn't possibly be football.

On Friday, our Y-loving friend brought us these cupcakes to celebrate BYU's football victory over OU.  We kept wondering how we missed that OU had a football game (on a Thursday night??) ... but then this IS some serious SEC country so we don't see many OU games these days. :(

The game was from 3 years ago.  Darn that BYU-TV.

No wonder no one had posted anything on Facebook....

But it's nice to have friends that take the time to pick on you a little.  :)   Especially when their teasing involves sweet treats. Even if they do have little Ys all over them.

Technology Is NOT Foolproof

I had a whole new post for today.  I composed it on my phone, complete with a picture, and sent it off in cyberspace to land on my blog.  Presumably, it is still out there somewhere, because as of now, it hasn't really landed.  Alas, I will recreate it later this afternoon.

Hope on the Horizon

This little man went to the doctor today.  He's been sick with a cold for over a week, and his cough at night just kept getting worse.  He didn't run a fever so I debated taking him to the doc, because who wants to spend $30 for someone to tell you it's a cold?  But I felt like I should take him, so take him I did.

He has bronchitis. This afternoon we loaded him up on antibiotics and a better cough medicine. We are supposed to give him steroids, too, but there was no way on earth I was giving him that at 4 pm.

Good thing I didn't. He was feeling so much better that he laid in bed crashing his cars into each other for like 2 hours tonight.  Without the assistance of steroids.

But now that he's asleep, he's already breathing better. So thankful my little guy is on the mend.