How come no one ever told me?

That motherhood would be sooooo exhausting. Mentally, physically, spiritually, utterly exhausting. Sure, they tell you about the sleepless nights, and the worrying.

But they somehow forget to mention, the minute by minute, nonstop going all day. From the repeated wake ups,
"Yes you have to wake up today. Yes, you have to get out of bed. Yes you have to get up right NOW," to the arguing over clothes,
"No you can't wear shorts, its 21 degrees outside, no you can't wear brown dress shoes with black running pants, just because I bought the sweatshirt from the boys department does NOT mean it's a boy's shirt....just put it on NOW!"

Then the lunch box arguments, "oreos are not a fruit, pick a fruit!"
and the "I brushed my hair yesterday, I hate this toothpaste, why is he looking at me in the mirror like that" whining.

And that is just the first 30 minutes of the day.

From there we argue about who's turn it is to sit in the blue booster, and who has to shut the car door. Until we get to the drivethru (yes, we hit the drive thru), and when asked what they want, they respond, "I already told you." SERIOUSLY????? Obviously if I heard you, I would NOT be asking! AAAGGGGHHHH!

Only to pull up at the bus stop and hear, "Mom...where's my backpack?"
Ummm.....it's not mine. I have my bags. He has his bag. Where is yours???
"I thought you would get it, mom"
HAVE I EVER?

Fast forward to seven hours later, and the drama starts right where it left off.

"I forgot my homework"
"I don't want to sit there while she dances"
"I hate his soccer practices"
"I don't like rice, can't I just eat bologna"
"I'm not hungry, I only want a snack"
" My seatbelt is stuck"
"I can't walk"
"my foot is stuck in the door"
"I'm not tired"


STOP! STOP! STOP!!


"Why are you yelling, mom?"

How come no one ever tells you this stuff?

Because there are some moments that make you love these little monsters. Handfuls of dandelions, presented like a priceless bouquet. Fingerprints and poems, telling you how "speshal" you are. Magnetic necklaces, that when placed just so, make a beautiful heart proclaiming for the world that you are mother and daughter. There are dance competitions and soccer games, where they work so hard and are so proud of themselves, you can't help but be proud of them as well!

And so, in those moments, you forget about the craziness, the whining. You forget just how tired you are, and remember,

"I'm their mom."

And that's the most rewarding job there could ever be!
And makes you appreciate your own mom that much more!

After the rain....

It's been rainging FOREVER and after the extremely long winter and all the snow....we are all getting a little antsy to get out of the house and into the sunshine.


So after a much needed after school nap, the rain let up for a few minutes and we went out to play some basketball.

And were greeted with this.......

So I attempted to take some pictures of the kids AND the rainbow.....

And this is what I got!

5 dinners 1 hour??? Can it be done?

After some seriously unhealthy food choices for months and some major unmotivation to fix that, I stumbled upon a blog called 5dinners1hour.blogspot.com . The claim is that I can spend one hour each week prepping 5 dinners and have them ready and waiting each night. Sounds too good to be true? I agree!

BUT....I'm willing to try anything to get out of this rut. So I shopped and I spent $65.00 (more than I'd prefer to spend, but less than my fast food budget!). I came home, unloaded the bags on the table and got to work.

I started with a sink full of soapy water. I put chicken in a pot on the stove to cook (probably not the "right" way, but hey, it got the job done). And I followed the plan. 45 minutes later, I was done. Dishes washed (although not put away....baby steps, people!), food stocked in the fridge, and I even called the sitter to see if she would pop the meals in the oven for us (yes, we are THAT busy!) so we can eat before dance and soccer and church. She agreed and tomorrow we'll find out if the kids will be on board.

As for the meals....here's what on the menu:

Monday- Mini Honey Mustard Meat Loaves with mashed potatoes and green beans(The kids really liked these and I did as well....so these will definitely be made again!)

Tuesday: Crispy Pork Chops w/ steamed veggies and applesauce (These were amazing and we had steamed cauliflour/broccoli/carrots and applesauce! They were a hit!)

Wednesday- Chicken and Broccoli bake served w/ rice and a salad (This was eaten, but Delaney picked out the stems and Braden wouldn't touch the rice. Next time I'll cut the rice smaller and mix the rice in better!)

Thursday- Chicken Caesar Salad Pitas w/ carrots and ranch dip (easy, fast and well received...another keeper!)

Friday- Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Tacos (YUM!!!! I should have made them Thursday for Cinco de Mayo, but everyone enjoyed making their own tacos!)

I'll update and let you know how it goes!
So...five dinners, prepped in an hour, can be done and will be done again! I'll let you know when we prep next weeks menu!

Flood Warning = Water Fun

Our entire area was under a flood warning, and now that we live so close to the water, we had to check things out.

We walked the hundred yards from the front door to the "sea"wall. The waves were crashing crazily against the wall, sounding more like a drum, than water.

Delaney couldn't resist leaning over and while Braden ran back and forth "whooping." I'm not sure why he felt the need to whoop....maybe he just needed to be louder than the water...he's a boy, I haven't figured him out yet!

After dodging the waves, they finally gave in and just let the water win! I'm pretty sure it was a win-win all the way around!

Back to the Blog

well, it's been awhile but I really want to get back into this blogging business. We've done a TON of amazing activities in the past 10 months and with each one I say, ooooohh, that would have made a great blog post and sooo....I am going to start. There may be some random posts with old activities thrown in for good measure (just because they are too good to leave out!), but I will try to stay current!!! Bear with me..it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Simple, Sane Saturday.......Right!

Simple, Sane Saturday.......Right!

9am came awfully early and with it, the start of a BUSY day. Nationals Bootcamp commenced this morning and Delaney had dance class from 10-12. She enjoyed it and I enjoyed chatting with all my dance mom (and dad) friends! It's nice to have adult conversations every now and then and even more nice good, juicy dirt is shared!!! OOOHHHH....it's gonna be a interesting school year , that 2010-2011 is!!!

Bootcamp ran over a little, but we still forged ahead with the next plan on our Saturday to-do list. Van loaded, friends filled in and off to Imagination Station we went! They had a beautiful sidewalk chalk in progress and they even let our kids participate on a section of sidewalk....wwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy over there! Apparently, our artistic abilities did not mesh with their envisioned final project....and neither did our coloring outside the lines (or given boundaries!). Eventually our chalk was confiscated and our fun was relocated! We headed inside to the BIG DIG! The kids have been asking to do this for quite some time, and today we did. They began by fighting over the brooms in the bone dig, and ended by fighting over the hammer in the fossil dig...in between, they built a swimming dinosaur, did fossil rubs, and molded missing bones out of silly putty! Today's adventure in the BIG DIG was a success!

From there we traveled North (through a path not often traveled, but scenic!) and delivered our friends safely to their waiting vehicle. The next stop on our action packed day? Bekkah's graduation party! Great food, family, friends, and laughs.....the party was enjoyable, but HOT. So sweaty and tired, we headed home to SWIM!

We let the dog we are sitting out, fought some more over seats and music and places in the shower and finally...the kids are in bed. I'd say it was a fairly successful day!

Some Free things to do this summer!!!







June 26-27



Detroit Children's Museum Grand reopening



**Entertainment, hands on crafts, planetarium and more!







June 26



Build and Grow at Lowes 10 am



Monster Truck


Saturday June 26
Imagination Station has a big Sidewalk Chalk presentation with hands on activities as well!





July 3



Kid's Build Workshop at Home Depot 9am-12 pm



Periscope









July 10



Build and Grow at Lowes 10 am



Ball and cup game








August 7



Kid's Build Workshop at Home Depot 9am-12pm



Bus shaped pencil organizer

The library also has their Make a Splash~Read with Magic Fish, Dive into the ocean and explore, It's a luau, and Bubble fun with the Bubble Lady!

For those of you with a membership to Imagination Station, Little Kidspace has story/craft time every weekday at 11:00 and Sunday's at 1:00.

Monday Mumblings

Bible Study~
Look up verses about treating your body as a temple.

Memory verse~

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Train Them up~

*Work on summer bridge workbooks at least 4 times this week.
*Have them read for 15 minutes each day.
*Be less distracted.
*Get a routine started!

Personal Goals~

*Drink WAY less pop!
*Walk every day for at least 10 minutes.
*get out the roller blades at least once this week.

Menu plan~

Monday-pork chops
Tuesday- tuna helper
Wednesday-spaghetti and garlic bread
Thursday- Taco ring
Friday- Pizza @the bowling alley!

New Habit~

Wipe down the bathroom every night!


Fun things to do this week~

*Imagination station-Sidewalk chalk adventure...
*Bowling- free and I'm really craving pizza!
*Library Summer Reading Program- learning how to speak like a pirate!
*Toy Story 3 @the IMAX!!!

Friday's Fab Five

My favorites for this week:

1. Strawberry picking with friends. the kids had a blast and ate about as many as they put in the box. Looking forward to strawberry shortcake tonight!

2. Tot lot opened!!!! the kids are SOOOOOOO excited to be able to go down to the park and play with neighborhood kids. Moving here in December didn't give them much time to meet the neighborhood kids, but they are making up for it now! they also like playing organized games and making crafts! I love that they are busy, happy, and I can gt some things done arounf the house!

3. Getting rid of "stuff." A friend came over yesterday and we spent some time in the afternoon purging toys and shoes. Still a long way from decluttered, but every little bit helps!

4. Metro Parent. I found this publication while downriver for the kids dentist appointment this week. Love that it has soo many great ideas for things to do this summer. Can't wait to take ALL the ideas I circled and get them on the calendar! Which leads me to......

5. This AWESOME Summer To-Do List. I cannot wait to complete this project this weekend! I found this at www.eighteen25.blogspot.com.

So that's it. My plan is to blog more this summer! Thanks for reading!

Summer Break 2010

Weeks 1-2

4 dance recitals
+13 Ball games
+1 day at the beach
+1 library program
+1 day strawberry picking
+2 days at tot lot
+1 day in the sprinkler
+1 tornado
+1 convention at COBO center
+1 flat tire
+20 pages of summer workbook activities
+5 books read
+2 trips to the ice cream stand
+countless popsicles
= crazy adventures and serious FUN!

Summer has been an adventure and we are only 14 days in.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was
studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time"

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday.. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone
was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship..

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own
push-ups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr... Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr.. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to
slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr.. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"

Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten
donuts on the desks..

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row.. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that
ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to
come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room..

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is
the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With
the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. "

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price
has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Share this with someone. It's bound to touch their heart and demonstrate Salvation in a very special way.
Psalms 138:8

Another Easter post....sorry! Apparently Braden was on a roll with the priceless comments. After the Easter Bunny dropped off the kids bikes and baskets and left around midnight, I finally went to bed. About 45 minutes later, Braden comes up to my room and says, "Mom, can I sleep with you?" I tell him yes, and he gets comfortable. He lays there for a few minutes and then I hear him again,

"Mom?"

"Yes, Braden?"

"You don't have to get us new bikes, the Easter Bunny brought us some. Good night, I love you."

......and then he was out.

So the Easter Bunny came to our house and brought some pretty sweet bikes. She also brought each kid a new Webkinz and a GPak case for their Nintento DS's. All in all it was a pretty sweet haul for these darling children of mine.

After church we went to my mom's and had dinner with the aunts, uncles and cousins. I had made my nieces each a basket and took them over there with me. As I gave the baskets to the girls, Braden got upset and whined, "That's not fair!" I was slightly confused about the unfairness of this (HELLO......DID YOU SEE WHAT THE BUNNY BROUGHT THEM?!?!?!?) and said, "what do you mean, it's not fair? You got an Easter basket too!" And poor Braden answered, "That was from the Easter Bunny....we didn't get anything from you!"

Awwwww...I guess when you look at it that way, he's right. It's just not fair!

Out of the mouths of Babes....

So we were driving down the road and out of the blue, Monster Girl throws this at me....

MG- So mom, how come there were so many black and white presidents, a few other color presidents, and then Orock Obama is all the colors.

ME- Ummmm...what Are you talking about?

MG- (frustrated at my obvious ignorance) THE PICTURES IN THE HALL AT SCHOOL. There are a lot of black and white presidents.....

Ahhh...the ways their minds work.

There is a building in our town with the address 444 painted HUGE on the side of the building. EVERY time we pass it, Monster Boy says, "That's my work." So, Tuesday was Monster Boy's birthday and we spent the afternoon at the park. On the way home we passed the 444 building and as usual Monster Boy said, "there's my....." and then it hit him. "Aww man, that's not my work anymore." Apparently, now that he's not 4 anymore, he's lost his "job" at the 444 building. Anyone know of any buildings with address 555???

School has started and while that has it's own issues, it also brings the start of all the extra activities the kids are involved in. So Monster Girl had her first dance class of the season last night. It's a lyrical ballet class, and the teacher is new to the studio. After class I asked her how it was. Her response? "It was better than last year. At least this teacher isn't part Franch." I (laughing to myself) said, "what do you mean?" She answered, so matter of factly, " She's not part Franch, or whatever, she uses real words, not those Franch ones to tell us what the moves are." She's such a goofball....

Shoty who?

While chatting with some friends today, I was reminded of a comment monster boy made last year, and thought I'd share it with you! While preparing for the parent dance at monster girl's dance studio,we repeatedly listened to Flo'rida's song "Low." Weeks later, while driving monster boy and I had this conversation:



monster boy: Mommy? who's Shoty?

me: huh?

monster boy: (impatiently)SHOTY!

me: I hear what you are saying, but I don't know what you are asking.

monster boy: you know mommy, in the song, it says Shoty got low low low.



Apparently you can put the boy in the ghetto, but you can't put the ghetto in the boy!!!

When in doubt, DANCE!

So I sat through a 90 minute meeting debating the pros and cons of competitive vs performance team for the fall. Is Monster Girl ready? Can she really handle the extra classes? Does she even pay attention now? Can she possibly learn a dance in two hours? Does she even want to?

With all those questions in mind, I came home and did something I don't so often enough....I asked her. Do you want to take harder dance classes? Do you want to take more classes? Will you practice and learn your dance? After very impatiently and dramatically (would we have it any other way)answering all these questions, she jumped up and began doing her current routine. The routine that I sat and watched her NOT DO at class yesterday. The routine that I watched and thought to myself...there is NO way she is ready for more. Yep...that's the one...the oe she just did move for move and right on. Brat! So I decided to challenge her a little bit. "How about your box step? Can you do that?" At this point the drama has come out in full force. The eyes are rolling, the heads cocked to the side and in the most snotty,know-it-all voice I heard, "Do you mean my jazz square (apparently I don't know dance terms and I'm being called out on it by a 5 year old!)? Duh!" And she proceeds to do a perfect jazz square......So the auditions are in a few weeks......I guess we'll let the judges decide!

Will I ever learn to do hair?????

So Monster Girl decided today that she wanted braids on both sides of her head. Her hair isn't really long enough to pull up and still have enough to braid.....so I attempted a french braid......with attempted being the operative word. Apparently I braid upside down, so the braid sits above the hair, instead of under. And I don't have the patience( or the actual ability) to grab EVEN amounts of hair from each side. And so, poor Monster Girl went to school with this hair. If anyone wants to give me lessons, I'm in!!!

Out of the mouths of babes.......

This was sent to me by the media specialist at my school.....apparently this was a first grader.

What would you do?
I was working with a very young child this week, teaching him something about a computer program. He was so amazed at the “magic” that I could perform on the computer! Apparently, I showed him something that just blew his mind, because in the most serious, innocent way, he said to me,
“ FO’ REAL BITCH?” No disrespect intended. Now, I’ve gotten many unusual responses from kids in my 15 years, but that’s one for the books!

Only at Lincoln!!!