While he was out...

My husband went to Florida. Life isn't fair. Before he left he asked me not to attempt any painting projects while he was gone. It might help to give you a little context. The last time he went away I decided it would be a great idea for us to surprise him by re-decorating his office. So my neighbor helped me move all the furniture into the middle of the room and take everything off the walls. I decided to forgo spackling. It's highly overrated. Who minds a few holes in the wall here or there? A perfectionist, I am not.

I chose a great shade of red and purchased the paint committing my self to this course of action. Have I mentioned that Bill does all the painting in our home? There's a reason for that. I rarely succeed at jobs that require an ability to be precise. I'm intuitive. I don't like measuring and all that boring kind of stuff. Are you getting the feeling that this project of mine is destined for failure? Here's how it all went down. I marched those three kids in that office with a gallon of dark gray primer and all sorts of enthusiasm. We got primer on one wall. And on a few other things too. There was paint on the baseboard. Paint on the carpet. There was paint on Jack's arm. And paint in Emma's hair. And there was a frazzled Mom with no shred of her ridiculous optimism in tact.

So Bill returned home, weary from travel, to find the room in that state. The kids were saying, "Daddy we have a surprise for you!" I sheepishly opened the door and said "surprise". He looked at me and said evenly "Surprise you trashed my office?". You are correct, sir. He spent the next few days painting his "surprise" himself. This is why I purposely married a very patient man. It comes in handy given my personality. And painting ability.

So I honored his wishes. No painting projects this time. There were a few things that I did do and some that I didn't do while he was gone. They are as follows:

I did get the children to school without one single tardy. This is usually Bill's job since promptness is not exactly one of my virtues. But we did it, which was even more amazing since...

I did get the stomach flu. The night I was the sickest the children were left to fend for themselves for dinner. Tate and Em did fine with Easy Mac. Jack was a different story. The evidence (strewn on the kitchen floor) showed that his dinner consisted of 6 fruit snacks and a cheese stick.

I didn't take the trash out, at all . Call me old fashioned, but in my opinion there are some jobs that are distinctly boy jobs. Trash? Totally a boy job. Mowing the lawn? Boy job. Washing Dishes? Also a boy job.

I didn't feed the dog for approximately two days. I don't know how it happened. Maybe it's another boy job. Ruby took matters into her own hands and a woman three blocks away called saying "We have your dog and I think she's hungry. We're going to go ahead and feed her." Oops. Before you call Animal Protective Services, please know that I made it up to her...I gave her a cheese stick.

And finally, I did miss him like crazy.

He's home now and so the planets are aligned again around here.

Ballet, buns and abs...

The Divine Miss Em had her ballet recital last weekend.
One thing I appreciate about this studio is they make
recitals special, but not so special that you
have to get a second mortgage to participate.
They wore plain pink leotards which I borrowed (thanks Beth)
and homemade skirts from 3 years ago.
Emmie is pictured below(left) with her best friend.
I love that they can share these memories.

One requirement for the recital was to have the girl's hair in a bun.
I was a bit panicky.
I do pony tails. I do pigtails.
But I don't do buns.
Until now.
I kept congratulating myself to pretty much anyone who
would listen about my feat.

Ta-da...

In other news,
the weather has been beautiful.
Jack has been dressing appropriately...

Could spring be here for good?

what is my problem?

When my kids are fighting(which is not infrequently) it drives me insane. INSANE. I grew up as the youngest by 6, 9, and 12 years. There wasn't very much sibling fighting in my home, at least not that I remember. And because of this age difference, I think my 3 sisters would have gotten in pretty big trouble for fighting with the "innocent" baby of the family. So, part of my frustration it is that I'm just not used to it.

Another part of how I respond is that one of my strengths (according to the Strengths Finders assessment which I highly recommend) is Positivity. I like feeling happy. I look for the silver lining. I'm a shiny, happy people. I'm Izzy. Not dark and twisty like Meredith. And fighting children messes up the picture of a happy little home that I desire to have. Don't mess with my positivity. It makes me negative.

If you have any thoughts on dealing with fighting and sibling rivalry, feel free to send them my way. I know I need to PRAY and watch my reactions. Because their fighting grates at me so, I can tend to react in frustration and anger. I am currently memorizing and meditating on Proverbs 15:1. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. And James 1:19, 20. My dear brothers, take note of this, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Unfortunately, I'm slow where I should be quick and quick where I should be slow.

But really what compelled me to write this post is that when my kids fight, I'm frustrated. But when they are getting along, running through the house laughing and playfully teasing one another joyfully and boisterously (as they are this very minute), I am bugged. Severely bugged. I'm telling them to STOP!

Seriously, what is my problem????

Well I should be getting to bed a bit earlier now. Now that I've finished the Twilight series. And maybe I can stop having intense vampire dreams someday soon. I didn't want to read the books. But I was intrigued by friends my age who were reading a teeny bopper book. Friends going in groups to the movie wearing "Edward Bite me" shirts (Jenna). What's up with that? I was perplexed and my friend Amy was obsessed kind enough to lend me the books so I could see for myself.

And I did see the (twi)light.

If you have not read them, you may not want to read on. I tried to be careful not to reveal anything, but I don't like to know anything about a story so I thought I warn you that I do say a wee little bit.

At first, I didn't get the whole Edward thing. I couldn't be with a man, however immortal, that was cold all the time. I like heat to emanate from my man, at least in the winter. I think I'd much prefer a werewolf from that standpoint. But now that I've read all of them, I can understand a bit better. Strength and tenderness. Great combination.

I was bugged by Edward and Bella's relationship until the final book "Breaking Dawn". I mean they were just so young. I'm a mom, young love doesn't look real cute from this vantage point. A lot of the time, Bella seemed pretty pathetic and dysfunctional while Edward was a bit controlling. Before you get too mad at me, know that their relationship grew on me. It helped that they were married. And that I had spent so many late nights with them. By the last book I was feeling like I knew them. I was wishing the Cullen's would be coming over for dinner. Sorry, Ruby...I'm afraid the Golden Retriever would have to be the main course. (Can I really publish that? I'm going to, but please know it was totally a joke. I do love my dog.)

So no more late night reading. My husband will be relieved. One night while reading an especially intense part, I woke him up twice to see what the noises were I was hearing downstairs. After he came up the second time he said "There was nothing. Just the vampire sitting at the kitchen table."

Don't I wish. I really am going to miss all my vampire friends.

Our very own Top Ten

We got our new wait list number today. We are #9 on the girl's list. We're in the top ten! Honestly, I have no idea what that means about when we might receive a referral, but I think it's best not to try and guess such things. Here are two Ethiopia-related things I am excited about. The first is a purchase and the second a gift.

Here is the purchase. An adorable market bag with this happy little bird from my new friend at Better World. She is making these bags to raise money for their adoption. She has fabulous taste and you will be lookin' sass with one on your arm, while supporting a good cause!

And now for the gift. I wasn't sure how my Mom would react to our adoption. She is an incredible woman, but she comes from a different generation. Plus she's a mom and she tends to worry about her kids. She has been supportive all along, but when she came back from a Free Trade store with this...
I was so moved. She had asked the woman in the store if she had anything from Ethiopia. She said "When I saw it I knew it was an Ethiopian angel for our Ethiopian angel." Insert hugging and sobbing.

The best part of the story is that later I noticed there was a little tag on it that read "Colombia". Hmmmm. That's curious. If you know my mother PLEASE PROMISE not to tell her about the Colombia part. As far as we are concerned, this is our Ethiopian Angel...and her name just happens to be Colombia.

Such a tease

Today it was 70 degrees and unbelievably gorgeous. Everyone in the neighborhood was out enjoying it. We opted to have bagels and craisins for dinner so we could spend the evening at the park as a family. It was a great decision!
The 10-day forecast? Snow on Thursday. This weather is such a tease. But I don't mind being teased when the sun is shining.

fun and games

In the summer our family plays tag almost nightly. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love being carefree and being together. But I'm not the most athletic girl you will ever meet. So most games end up with my oldest son offering me a "mercy tagging" as I gasp and heave after not being able to catch anyone. But tag in blogland does not require any sort of physical prowess, therefore I enjoy it so much more.

So I'm going to catch up on a few tags now. The longest overdue was from Angela.

Thanks, Ang. I think your blog is fabulous as well. Ang (a real life friend!) inspires me to live out compassion, not just talk (or blog) about it. You are supposed to tag 5 people and then admit 5 of your obsessions. I'm not going to tag anyone on this (blog tag can be tiring too, ya know), but please know that if I've ever commented on your blog then I do think your blog is fabulous (obsessively so) and you can consider yourself tagged.

3 Obsessions (I can't come up with 5 right now, this post is already long enough!):
1. (hanging my head as I write this) I was obsessed with The Bachelor this season. Now I am depressed. The switcheroo? I mean really, Jason, come one. Why do I fall for this show when I have long said that the view of love it portrays is SO jacked up????? This season proves that point more than any other.
2. I was obsessed with Diet Coke, but it was upsetting my stomach. So instead of doing the smart thing and cutting out the unnecessary poison, I just switched to Diet Pepsi. I formerly found it a far inferior drink. But I've changed my mind, for now.
3. I'm still obsessed with Rainbow Couscous. I'm having this versatile treat for lunch most days. It's light and different. Here's the recipe:

1 box couscous of your choice (I prefer the garlic or parmesan) While preparing couscous according to directions:

Dice half a peeled cucumber, 1 large tomato, 1/2 a Vidalia onion, and a half bunch of fresh cilantro.

Add the above to the couscous, along with a cup of thawed, frozen corn (or canned if you prefer).

Mix altogether.

Can be served alone or as a side dish. Can also be served on top of lettuce as a salad. Or on top of scrambled eggs with black beans and salsa.

Next came the "Purse Tag" from Havin' Fun Yet(also a RL friend!). Now this is a tag after my own heart. Here are the rules:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!
2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

I love purses. Several years ago, our son was really into drawing things to represent people. Every time he drew something to represent my husband, it was a Bible. Every time he drew something to represent me, it was a purse. He nailed me.

When I go on the search for a new purse it is almost like a spiritual experience. Please note, I did say almost. I'm not that shallow. I love the hunt for a new purse. I love crouching and waiting for the one that will rise as my next conquest. This year it has been this bad boy.
Check out the zipper pulls. Love them!I got from an Ebay shop for $38. If you are a purse-lover, tag. You're it.

And the last tag is from Heidi, my new BFF (blog friend forever). She's hiLARious!


The rules of this award are:
1.Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I am going to tag a few people who have become my "sisters" through this crazy world of blogging. These are women(Flamingo Mama, Kristi and Chris and Jana) who I don't know personally but who I'd love to meet in real life if I ever got the chance. Except Chris and Jana who started as blog friends, but have become RL friends(yea!) and Chris is not a woman nor a sister. Sorry about that part.