So She Did

 On Monday, Sophia wanted to wear a moustache to preschool.

So she did.

.

Tuesday, I had bible study and Sophia and Dawn wanted to go to Chocolatte afterwards.

So we did.

.

Wednesday, Sophia wanted to wear her winter coat, hat and gloves to school.

So she did. 

.

This is also how I looked by Friday. Part of the reason that I let Sophia do what she wanted picked my battles carefully this week is because I worked 40 hours and I just didn't haven't the energy to do anything else. And it wasn't my old-life, sit in a cushy chair, deal with people through the phone or on the computer and drink my coffee. It was hard manual labor! But I got to be outside in the sunshine nearly the entire time :-) 

However, when I put in that many hours a week at work, my house is a disaster, my kids' haven't had help with homework, I've missed a couple of football games, marching band, etc.

.

But today is Sunday. A day of rest. After 20's Diner ;-)

.

I'm tired........

I'm tired of being the grown-up. Why can't I just be a kid for a while?

Applesauce

That giant pot Riley is stirring is full of homemade applause. I'll be canning it later today after a trip to SF. The process was temporarily interrupted to help one of our previous foster kids who was stranded on the interstate with his girlfriend and baby.

Freezing Corn

Half done!!!

Fun at Homecoming

Zaya

These were the best pictures of the visitor dog I could get because she never stops moving.

Berndt Produce Main Stand

Brittney - Homecoming & Cheer

Saturday

Homecoming last night (pic coming), cooler to cheer meet by 7am, Steve working concessions at 8th grade football game this morning at 9am, cheer competition starting at 11am (pic of the dare that I accepted from Dawn pertaining to a giant red bow coming), Steve grilling for the 1st Bank tailgating for the SDSU beef bowl at 3pm and working at the Swiftel Center tonight.
I was supposed to be in Sioux Falls by 3pm for bridal shower and a party at 6 but it doesn't look like that's going to happen today. Maybe I'll have time to freeze some more corn tonight and make applesauce at home instead.


Oh, did I mention that Brittney decided to babysit a dog for the weekend? A really big, bulky dog. (pics later) The dog was dropped off Thursday and Brittney's not really home much this weekend. She originally told me that it was the same kind as Jamie's; a boxer. Turns out it's a pitbull/bulldog mix :-/ I guess it's for a good cause. Her owner has guards this weekend so I guess if she's serving our country, I can watch her dog for one LONG weekend. The dog is really sweet, just huge and bulldozer-like. She is fine with the kids and buddy but when Steve came home Thursday night, he was using an angry voice. The dog lowered her ears and backed away quickly. Then she started growling at him and they haven't really gotten along since. Tune in later for all the pictures I've promised.


PS to Val:  Turns out the mystery text I got the other day was from a co-worker, Rebecca, that I didn't even realize had my phone number!  I wish I would've thought of having her bring coffee!!! I was headed to work so I told her that unless she had a pillow and blanket she wanted to bring for a nap, I would probably be fine. She went and got lunch for us instead. Then when I got to work, I found a muffin in my work van from Janet!!! So it was a good morning.  By the way, if you ever have any Friday free time, it's usually my most available day ;-)

Text

I received a text this morning saying "Is there anything I can bring you? I'll be there at 10:45."

Wonderful...........except I have no idea who it's from!

Trauma of Drop-Off

This morning I dropped Sophia off at daycare because I have to be at work in an hour. There are a lot of times she's a little clingy but eventually warms to the situation. This morning, she was more clingy and whiny then usual. I'm not sure if she was just tired or if it had to do with the time she spent with bio family last night. In any case, she didn't want me to leave. I told her I would stay with her for a while.


When we got there, she pulled me down to her and held on for dear life. (If I would have tried to pry her off at that point, she would have screamed)


I knelt down on the floor to her level and hugged her really tightly. I think she needed to feel that I wasn't going anywhere. After only about three minutes of this, she let go of my body but grabbed on to my fingers and pulled me to the painting table. (If I would have pulled away at this point, she would've just grabbed on to my body again.)


I allowed her to take me to the table and then she finally let go of my hand and sat down to paint, with me standing right behind her. She used apple pieces to paint but wanted to write her name on her paper. Up to this point, she hadn't interacted with the teachers at all. They tried but she wasn't having it. She asked me for a pen and I told her that I didn't know where they were. She would need to ask a teacher. So she did. The first time she tried, the teacher didn't hear her. She tried again and the teacher happily found her a pen. After signing her name, Sophia proudly carried her painting into the other room (without me) and put it on the drying rack. (If I would have snuck out at this point, she would have been in tears when she discovered that I was gone.)


Then she came back and asked me to do a puzzle with her. I told her I would do one piece and then I needed to go. She said, "Ok. Teacher, would you do this puzzle with me?"


The teacher came over to play with her. I asked Sophia for a hug before I left and then she gave me two hugs and a kiss and said, "Bye mom!" I walked out without incident and the whole process only took about 10 minutes.


As I was giving Sophia the final hug, I saw a mom walk in the doorway with her little boy clinging to her legs and crying. Her response was to tell him to be a big boy, pull him off and hand him over to the teacher. Granted, the teacher did an amazing job with him and I don't mean to be judgmental of the mom. I'm sure she was frustrated, probably running late and worried what everyone was thinking of her parenting ability since her child was "acting up".


I'm just relived that I'm past the point of caring what others think of my parenting. Who knows?Maybe this morning, people thought I was spoiling Sophia and I should've just left and let her learn to deal with it. But that doesn't worry me anymore because I know in the end, I did what was best for Sophia. Sure, it took a little extra time, but I've tried to learn to be more flexible these days and give time to what's really important. And those extra ten minutes gave me a confident, happy kid instead of a dis-regulated angry child who didn't feel safe.
.

Best Moment

Our bible study on David started again this morning & afterwards I got to have coffee with a friend but the best moment of my day was my teenager showing me how to connect my phone's YouTube to my tv!!!!

We watched Brit's guy friends performing a funny modern dance for the high school assembly. Then Riley & Taylor came in and we sang along to some of our favorite songs on video.

Brit & Sophia

While Steve was working at the bank and I was watching Riley play football today, Brittney had fun with Sophia.

Riley's Game

Riley

Dropping Riley off at the bus for football at the early hour of 6am. They play three games in Mitchell today. He's well prepared with his breakfast, lunch, snacks, new gloves & shoes!

Pictures

I'm on my phone now so I'll post captions later.

I am tired. That is all.

Morning

Just hanging out in the van with this cutie while waiting for her school to start before I head to work.

Recliner

Steve had the morning off so I snuggled up to him and told him that instead of giving him a "honey-do" list, I would just let him know my wish list. After I listed quite a few things, he smirked and "I wish you'd keep your list to yourself!

We're all about multi-propose and multi-function around here. Why not have a recliner in the kitchen. Relax, put your feet up, watch tv, grab a snack from the refrigerator and put supper in the oven all from the comfort of your favorite chair!

Or it could be that we decided to finally carpet clean the white carpet the kids decimated over the summer and we had to move all our heavy furniture out of the family room ;-)

.

Morning Conversation

Conversation in my bathroom as I was getting ready for church this morning:

"Mom, I call all your necklaces when you die. Except for this one. I know it's special to you, so you can be buried in it."

"Thanks for that Taylor."

*Love Seat

About 20 years ago, I used my bonus money from my job at Larson's to purchase a loveseat. At the time, Steve and I thought about getting a couple of recliners but opted to go with the love seat. I was concerned that we would just plop down in our own seats and not spend any time close to each other. So we found a love seat that we both liked that had recliners built into the seats. The couch has served us well over the years and is still in pretty good shape for it's age.


Here's a picture of it. It's just right for three little ones and one medium sized one :-)

 

Last night, I was freezing sweet corn and decided to watch tv during the down-time. Steve came home from tailgating at SDSU and sat down beside me. Just like old times! Then the dog decided to join us. Our big, bulky lab. So I scooted over a little and the three of us snuggled on the couch. Until Sophia thought she needed to spend quality time with us too. We had the recliners up for our feet but I wouldn't exactly say we were comfortable.

We sat all smushed together like that for a while until  Steve decided to move and the entire couch tipped over!!! Probably would have made money on a video.

 

Taylor Says

The other night I was quietly laying in my bed after all the kids were asleep. I was just starting to drift off when Taylor angrily burst into the bedroom.


Tay: "Mom!!! My alarm clock is broken!!!"


Me: "Really?"


Tay: "Yes!!! Someone came in and broke it!!!"


Me: "What makes you think it's broken?"


Tay: "It says 10:18!!!"


Me: "Taylor, it is 10:18."


Tay: "Oh......."


Then she wandered back to bed.

Wise Thought for the Day

I just spent the last two hours cleaning up the office and putting things into my calendar. It'll be busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, I'm searching for another "project".  By project, I mean something I'm passionate about that I want to expend time, energy and effort on in order to make a difference. I have no idea yet exactly what that will look like yet. For now, I'm back to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Sophia doesn't start kindergarten until next year but she does have preschool three mornings a week when the rest of the kids are in school.


It's been an emotional week with our neighbors/friends moving and the death of Mariah's little boy so I think I'll relax for a while this morning. Brittney's sleeping, Riley's at a friend's house, Steve and Taylor went to Madison to run in a 5K with the bank, Zeke's having a meltdown in his room, Anthony's playing video games and Sophia is watching cartoons.


I should go help Zeke but I think I'll just let him handle it by himself for a while. I've already cleaned the entire kitchen and office and dealt with two of Taylor's meltdowns. I'm going on break! With my coffee and some red grapes :-)


>
Here's my wise thought for the day:
I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.

Caleb

Today is the day we remember Caleb's short 8 years with us and celebrate his life and ultimate healing and home-going.  

I Got a Magic Pen

I got a magic pen and now I can write again! Just kidding. Kind of. I really did get a new pen. Anyway, if you're curious as to what's been going on in our lives lately or more specifically, my head, I'll be blogging on a more regular basis again. However, right now I need to leave for Watertown for my eldest daughter's cheer competition.