You missed me, you know you did

I'm back! But without pictures :( Sorry. I haven't unpacked/found/located/looked for the camera charger yet. And of course it died after taking like THREE pictures. I promise to post photos as soon as I find it. Well, shortly thereafter.

Just because I"m posting doesn't mean I am out of the whirlwind yet. But I was afraid that you all might think I had dropped off the edge of the planet. I wanted to reassure you that things are good! I'm living amongst boxes, but things are still good :D I've learned a lot through this move. Maybe someday I'll share my top ten moving lessons with you :D But for now, a funny conversation I had....
I'm a moron...apparently. At least according to a lady that I was talking to about furniture. We don't have a lot of furniture for our house so we have had to buy a few pieces here and there to fill in the gaps. I was explaining to a lady at an antique store what I was looking for and she said, "Oh, you like shabby?" My response, "Not shabby so much, as vintage." I don't mind distressed finishes, but I don't care for the ones that have ACTUAL paint flaking off of them. I went on to tell her that I like vintage pieces that have been refinished or painted. I don't care for "fussy" decorating either. I'm not a knick-knack kind of gal. So she said, "Oh, you like modern vintage?" I said, "isn't that the opposite?" Her reply....are you ready for this...??? "Oh, that makes you one of those morons."

hmmm, ok.

I'm a moron.

I like vintage furniture, done in a modern way.

ok.

Then it finally dawned on me.....what she meant to say was that I was an OXYmoron.

We both had a fun chuckle over that. And she offered to give me 10 percent off of anything just for calling me a name. Not too shabby! :)

More Progress

When I was little I used to wake up on Saturdays to the smell of lemon Pledge. My mom loved to clean on Saturdays. She would blast her music (KC and the sunshine band, Lionel Ritchie, etc.) and dust everything within her reach. To this day, the smell of lemon Pledge takes me back. It smells like home. It makes me smile. Those were good days. Sleeping in. Not having to help with chores. :) Good music. Healthy family.

Today I walked the halls of the hospital to the ICU where my mom is, and I got sick to my stomach. Am I hungry? Am I tired? (probably!) Am I pregnant? (Lord, NO!) Then I realized what it was. There's a certain hospital smell. I can't quite describe it other than to say it's a mix of ick. Bad coffee, antibacterial gel, and unshowered folks. :) Whatever it was, I had a physical reaction. It wasn't home. My wave of nausea subsided and I was able to go in and visit with my mom for about an hour and a half. I'm so blessed to have folks willing to watch the girls so I can spend some time with her!! My mom is doing better. For the most part. She is making progress. She is talking a bunch, and she is very coherent. She misses the girls...and her dog. :D She's still in pain. She's heavily medicated and is still very bruised from the surgery. She's still in ICU because she has developed borderline pneumonia. The nurses assure us that it's normal after such an invasive surgery, but it sucks nonetheless. It delays her moving to another room (with a bathroom and a phone) where the girls can go see her. But as I was leaving today her nurse was getting her up to walk her around and told her that she would be on solid food tonight! Praise God! She asked me to bring her a few things from home the next time I go see her: glasses, cell phone, her book she was reading....and chocolate. I think she is going to be just fine.

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Today was Reagan's graduation from kindergarten. I took two pictures and the camera died. It's just as well because I was wrangling the younger girls and it started to sprinkle a bit. Thank the Lord for other parents that have offered to email me their pictures. I finished the video and it was a huge hit. Check. Tomorrow is the last day of school. I don't know who is more excited, Reagan or me! Two whole months of not having to wake her up, pack a lunch, and walk her to her class. yay!

We are still moving this Saturday. Despite not having all the carpet and tile done, or the painting, or the cleaning, or the touch ups, or a hot water heater, or the kitchen cabinets, we are moving this Saturday. Lord help us. I mean that. Lord, please help us. I'm almost to my breaking point. I know the Lord does not give us more than we can handle, but he's really pushing it on this one.

I will update as I can, but in the meantime, here are a few photos from Reagan's birthday two weeks ago.

Juggling Chicken Santa

I can't decide which one I resemble more this week....
A juggler, with a ton of balls in the air
A Chicken, with it's head cut off (of course)
Or Santa...Making a list and checking it twice.
Maybe I'm all three. Whichever I resemble, one thing is for sure....
I'm exhausted.

I'm a list maker. I even write things on it that I have ALREADY done, just so I can cross them off.
My to-do list runs through my mind continually. But lately my "list" is overwhelming. I don't want to add anything to it. I just want things OFF of it! I know it's just a few more weeks of craziness, but sometimes I wonder if it really WILL end.
There is something written on each day of my calendar for the next three weeks straight. Here's a small glimpse into why I may not be blogging much in the next few weeks:

Tomorrow is Reagan's birthday party for her friends. We are having it at Pump it Up this year just to make things easier. I didn't want to worry about cleaning the whole house and finding activities for 20 six-year-olds to do.
Friday, we are celebrating her birthday IN the classroom with cupcakes.
Friday night is Family Night at her school. Saturday is her ACTUAL birthday. She wants to go to Round Table and have cake and ice cream at our house that night with family.
Hopefully Friday and Saturday we are having a few guys come and tear the tile out of the new house. Then, Brian gets to "grind" the concrete subfloor to make it nice and smooth for carpet and hardwood.
Sunday, it's back to the house to work on painting and cleaning.
Next week, Reagan has TWO field trips. SERIOUSLY? Both of which I have volunteered to chaperone. Tuesday is SeaWorld and Thursday is the Zoo. Or is it the other way around? I'm not sure. Thank goodness I write these things down.
Some time during next week, we need to have the carpet installed. And Brian is going to start the hardwood floors. And the baseboards.
The following Monday is ANOTHER field trip for the kids to meet their pen pals.
Then, Wednesday is the class party where the class video will be shown. Who's making the video you ask? That would be ME. Of course. That afternoon is "kindergarten promotion" and the following day is the last day of school.
Friday the 12th is Reagan's six year visit and her hearing re-check.
We move the 13th.
Somewhere in there I have to pack....everything.
All of this on top of the normal day-to-day activities of chasing an active baby, cleaning up, making meals, laundry, etc. etc. etc.
Have I mentioned I'm exhausted? :)
Thank the Lord for my mom and her help with the girls. Even so, I'm hoping this "season" passes soon.

Happenings

We have been busy bees lately! Last weekend we went to the strawberry fields in Carlsbad and picked our own fresh berries! For the last few days we have enjoyed strawberry pie, strawberry smoothies, strawberry milkshakes, and strawberry shortcakes. Mmmmmm! (So much for the four pounds I had lost....)





We also took a "personal" day and went to SeaWorld. Since Reagan had her hearing loss during her Spring Break (and there was no way I was going to take her to a crowded theme park when she couldn't hear me!), we decided to do something fun and take her out of school. It was unseasonably warm and thoroughly enjoyable.

My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE to do crafts so this past week, we made candles! It was fun and easy (and not nearly as messy as it could have been thanks to some tips from Tamara) We even added some "scent" to the candles so they would smell nice while burning. By far one of the favorites so far!! We've had "candlelit dinners" most nights this week.





In an attempt to be organized, I packed our first few boxes. I filled five boxes with toys from the playroom (although you can't really tell if you look in there now). Five down, 200 to go. Sigh. Moving is good. Moving is good. Moving is good.

We are hoping to close on the house by Thursday of next week! Prayers would be appreciated! :) Then the real fun begins!!