A Smelly Day

All day long, smells have greeted me no matter where I have been. It started with the smell of Sweet Olivia's hair. Then, the nasty stench of the water as my Dear Katie and I took a walk around the reservoir. At The Dancer's dance class tonight, someone had Chinese food (yum!). My car has to stale stink of dirty pool towels (oops!). I cleaned The Chef's closet and was met by filthy, dirty tennis shoes. Then, as I just let Scarlett out, I could tell someone was grilling barbecue chicken nearby.

It got me to thinking -- Spring always brings on the smell of freshly mowed grass. Summer brings on suntan lotion, sweaty children, and bug spray. Fall is burning leaves. Winter - the cold smell of snow that might come.

And I could go on and on, but I feel the need to go make some cookies or brownies to finish off my smelly day.

Swim Team

Ever since they saw their friends swimming on the swim team last year, The Gals have wanted to do it. For the past week, Wonderful Husband has had them at the pool practicing, and it is pretty much all they talked about. Well, last night we headed to the pool for "try outs". They had to swim one lap of freestyle and one lap of backstroke. After they finished, the Coach came over and told me they did fine. The Gals climbed out of the pool and wanted to know "did WE do it?" (it wasn't "Did I do it?" - it was "we"). After I told them they did, you cannot begin to imagine how excited they were. The Dancer told me she had prayed and crossed her fingers the whole way. The Soccer Player (it is a new season) told me the best part was that they knew people on the team, so they would be swimming with their friends. All I know is that I will never forget how happy they were or the look on their faces.

The Craft Box

When we moved into our new house about a year and a half ago, I had packed all my brads, ribbon, etc. into a box, labeled it "Craft Stuff" and never really thought about it again. Well, last night it came to me that I could use some of the stuff in there, so I asked Wonderful Husband to go up into the attic and get it down for me. He got up there, looked around and said, "I don't think it is up here." He was right. The box had gotten put into the corner of one of our closets. After pulling off all the suitcases, clothing and other miscellaneous items off the top of it, I pulled it out and opened it.

Much to my chagrin, there was more than ribbon or felt pieces in there. I had tossed old pictures in there - like The Chef's baseball pictures, a Christmas picture of me and my sisters from when I was 4, and old dance pictures of The Gals, just to name a few.

There were old scrapbooks The Gals had worked on. Wonderful Husband's prom photo (nice hair). My mom's old wedding album. It went from being a Craft Box to a Treasure Box. Shame on me for treating some of my most important items like they meant no more to me than some old crayons or stickers.

Lessons We Can Learn

I found this online - the author is unknown:

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can’t carry a tune and don’t have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children! Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

Spirit Award

The Dancer came home very excited. She won the Spirit Award for her class. She said she thought they were going to call someone else's name, but then she heard hers. She couldn't believe it! Looks like Wonderful Husband is on his way back to Cici's Pizza.

Heep How!

Once again, it was time for the Indian Princess Camp Out. And - once again - it was time for the weather to be awful! It was rainy and cold - Wonderful Husband calls it "raw". But it didn't stop The Gals from having a good time. And, as long as they were allowed to eat as many Pop Tarts as they wanted, they were happy.

The Glasses

Last week, I took The Gals to the eye doctor for their annual exam. The Cheerleader was told she had to get glasses. She is not happy about it. The Dancer wanted to get glasses - even had her frames picked out - only her eyes are fine. Sometimes it seems like no one in this house is ever satisfied.

Snowbound Day 3

One of the main advantages to having a teenager in the house is that he can take his sisters to the movies on their 3rd day home from school. I have had a nice couple of hours of quiet. It has almost made the irritation of The Chef's boredom worth it. Almost. At this point, I can't blame him. I am bored, too. I don't know why. For fun, I have been sending Scarlett outside and watching her duck pieces of falling snow that are coming down off the trees. Can you tell I am reaching for excitement?

Tomorrow there is a 2 hour delay, but they will be back in school! Hurray! I know they are all going to be very happy about that.

Snowbound Day 2

Well, the novelty of the snow has worn off, and we are all just ready for our lives to return to normal. No one has asked to build a snowman. No one has asked about sliding down the hill. We are all just over it. Even Scarlett. Yesterday, she was happy go lucky. Today, I have had to physically carry her outside for her to go to the bathroom. The Gals and I did venture out today to do some scrapbooking with our Dear Onofry girls, so at least we got out of the house. The fact that I could drive up to Michael's and all sorts of other stores should mean that our children will be returning to school tomorrow, right? WRONG! I am sure somewhere someone has a little pile of ice that no one wants to shovel away, so tomorrow will be Day 3. And, yes, I know what you are thinking - she's going to homeschool next year and The Gals will be with her every day. That's right - I am homeschooling - NEXT YEAR. That is why I am treasuring my solitude right now. These snow days are really cutting into my quiet time.

Snowbound Day 1

As you can see from the pictures I posted earlier, we have had fun today. But, if you really want to know what it is like to be in prison, try being snowbound with a TEENAGER. The Chef woke up around 10:00 this morning and was bored by 10:15. He whined all morning about wanting to go tubing down our hill, and when Wonderful Husband finally got it fixed up and I went to get him from his room, he said he didn't want to do it. I just got a call saying school is cancelled tomorrow, too. And, Wonderful Husband has to go back to work. So, it will just be me, The Gals, and Mr. Sunshine. I just love teenagers - I really do.

Tubing

FINALLY - a good use for the hill we live on! Wonderful Husband was able to fix it so they could go down the hill and slide into the cul de sac without getting hurt. The boys next door came over and joined in the fun for a while. The Gals spent at least 2 hours out there, and I expect after they warm up and eat lunch they will be back.

Wow!

And it is still snowing!

Another Update

This will probably be my last update for the night. Wonderful Husband just left with The Cheerleader to take her to a Doc In The Box. I wasn't going to do that, but when I just went up to check on her she looked so bad I was afraid to wait until tomorrow.

Update

Here's what it looks like around 6:00 tonight. The Dancer is out playing - trying to build a snowman. The Cheerleader is sick and in bed. I promised her she could go out tomorrow. Scarlett keeps going out and then running in - covered in snow. Once she dries off, she wants to go back out again. Wonderful Husband is being a boy and has taken his car to drive around in it. He never gets to use his 4-wheel drive, so he is excited!

Snow

Here's what it looks like here at 5:15. We are expecting about 6 inches, I think. Anything over one inch will make us happy. I'll keep you posted.