Nutmeg, Unplugged

And becoming unwound, it seems.

Another unscheduled break from blogging and all things virtual has taught me a few things:


1. Life goes on. Real and virtual. I was pleasantly surprised.

:)

2. Without distractions, it is possible for an entire house to be unpacked in two weeks.

3. It is also possible for 5 children to hop from stomach flu symptoms to head colds, pretty much instantaneously, as you cross over the Texas border.

4. By the way, this rocks this any day.... just trust me on this, and don't ask me to explain....

5. I am officially not addicted to anything bloggy, including our book club, apparently. Sorry for bowing out on you, Emily! Hope everyone else enjoyed it and participated.

6. Too much time on my hands translated into me re-vamping our home school approach, again; re-decorating the entire house (in my head only... waiting for the financing) and painting the formal living room; along with finding many projects for DH.

7. DH got the internet connected ASAP. Wonder why?

:)

8. Oh, and most importantly, I missed y'all!

The Box That Isn't

Unpacking is an adventure. And each one of us has her own style.

Guess what mine is.

Yep, I'm the I-hate-unpacking-where-the-h*ll-does-this-go-get-this-over-with type.

And so, my kitchen is almost entirely unpacked. The fact that it is my favorite room in the house has nothing to do with it, of course.

:)

In all of this unpacking, you realize what you don't have.

You know, THAT BOX.

The one with the toaster, the tea kettle, the ladle, our laundry baskets, and all the couch pillows.

The one with that certain set of screws for that bed, and the drill to assemble it, and oh-yeah, Action Man's Little League photos.... right.

In fact, whenever ANYTHING cannot be found, and is absolutely needed right away? I assure my DH that it must be in.... that box.

The step ladder? In that box.
The rug for our bedroom? In that box.
The hobby horses? THAT BOX.

All I know is that box must be truly gargantuan, and not so easily overlooked.

Hmmmmm.

In short, we're missing a box. And since I went out and bought a toaster today, I have high hopes of finding that box tomorrow.

:)

And.... We're Off!

Today is our last day in the snowy north.

Action Man said before bed last night: "Wow! I can't believe the time went by so quickly!"

We've been here almost a month.

And that statement he made says a lot about our hosts, my parents. Even though I am sure the kids got underfoot a few times, and the noise level exceeded an appropriate decibel more than once or twice (a day... that is) my parents never complained. My dad would always welcome a child (usually Little Boo) onto his lap no matter how trying his day at work. And my mom would willingly listen to many a story either told at lightning speed by Little Dear, or stuttered out in some unknown 3 year-old-speak by our Little Love.

They are amazing Grandparents.

Today is a day of sorting and packing. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? But this is it. The last time for awhile. Tomorrow we venture out to the wilds of the Great Family Road Trip. And after an overnight stay at some comfy hotel, we will finish out the last two hours of our journey Saturday morning and land right on the doorstep of our new home. (Prayers for an uneventful trip would be most appreciated!)

A perfect finish to a wonderful vacation.

:)

Because, as usual....

Elizabeth says it much better than I ever could.

This article is one that a dear friend of mine clipped from the Arlington Catholic Herald way back when my first 3 children were ages 3 and younger. This is what introduced me to the writings of Elizabeth Foss, and I have found such a source of strength and encouragement ever since.

I sincerely wish sometimes that I could have the same temperament, life experience, and/or amount of children that some of these wonderful women have. Elizabeth makes it sound so wonderful, although I know that her family life is amazingly normal. And that gives me comfort.

God indeed knows what He is doing.

And I am so content to let Him remain in control.

:)

Wasting My Time... (aka preaching to the choir)

The awesome Danielle Bean has quite the discussion going on over at her place, and since I totally agree with her, I just had to jump in.

See how confrontational I am?

:)

I think it will come as no surprise to any of my readers that we do not practice attachment parenting. But the truth is, we certainly tried. And by the latter years of parenting, I was able to BF my youngest, exclusively for 8 whole months... and she stayed in our bed for the first 6 months of her life!

It was such an achievement. I was glowing with joy at my accomplishment.

Now bring in some of these unbelievable commenters who would most likely berate my satisfaction with scorn and accusations of selfishness, etc...

(sigh)

Not that I need to justify it, but it was such a struggle. Add to that our Little Love's condition of acid reflux, aggravated by my nursing her in bed whilst lying down, thus necessitating a special contraption for her crib, so she slept at an angle after feedings.... etc.

You really and truly cannot have an infallible answer for everyone.

Really.

And truly.

And those "helpful comments"?

Not so helpful.

*I have a few really good friends who practice AP, and they have been absolutely wonderful and sympathetic. I am so grateful for them.

:)

Mixed Blessing*

Even though the young'ins in our household are still beset with that pesky bug, I continue to heartily partake in the Holiday fare...

Which leads me to the very thing I am most grateful for this Christmas Season:

My parents' scale is broken.

In this case, I firmly believe that ignorance is bliss.

please pass the bon bons

:)


*ETA: apparently I've had a few too many bon bons... I'll be in bed today, checking e-mail and blogs. Feel free to drop me a line, or write a few dozen blog posts.....

:)

Ode to a Germ...

O stomach bug, O stomach bug
Why do you still pursue us?
O stomach bug O stomach bug
What have we done to earn thus?

When you insist
and stay so near...
we can't enjoy
our Christmas cheer.

O stomach bug O stomach bug
Why do you thus pursue us?


You guessed it. We still got it. And I'm not talking about any misplaced 30-something hipness.

My mantra is... better this week than next week.

Happy Epiphany all!

:)

I Can't Believe I'm Saying This...

But after spending almost 3 weeks in the beautiful, yet extremely frigid, mountains of Colorado, I shooed the kids outdoors this afternoon with this:

It's warm today! Get outside! No, you don't need a hat!

The high today is supposed to be 46.

Somebody get me back to Texas, quick!

:)

Book Club Reminder

This one's for me, too.

Our next bloggy book club meeting will be held over at Emily's on January 21st. We will be discussing In This House of Brede, by Rumer Godden. Details on how to participate are here.

And now, the confession.

Help! I don't even have the book yet!

I have been used-bookstore-shopping a few times, the latest being last week with my sister at a great shop in town called The Bookman. Wall to wall books, two grey cats, and deeply discounted prices.

It was heavenly.

I looked for the Rumer Godden book, but it wasn't there!

So, I spent $30 in children's books.

Things have been a tad more relaxed around here as a result.

:)

Happy New Year!

Sitting here, nursing my ginger ale and plain tortilla chips, I am thankful.

Thankful that Sports Fan has only thrown up once, and I haven't done so at all.

Thankful that the woozy stomachs around me have withheld their fury.

And particularly thankful that my Mom is in charge of dinner tonight.

:)

The picture says: Is Christmas Fun or What? heh heh...