Where did all my time go?!

I'm sure my regular readers (all 2 of you! LOL) have noticed that I've not blogged since Thursday. There are many reasons for this but it can easily be summarized in one little statement...

My husband and I have 5 children.

The sad thing is that as much as has happened in my world between Thursday and Tuesday I have to rack my brain to figure out what it was. Once upon a time ago in a land in which I had no children I had a marvelous memory. I remembered everything in minute detail. Now I can't even remember if I brushed my teeth or had anything to eat.

Perhaps it is number of people I have counting on me to keep their lives afloat - keeping track of all the whos, the whens, the wheres, and the whats - it's a wonder I keep track of my wallet and car keys and leave the house with matching shoes! It could be that ADD gene resonating through me with the ever increasing vibrato of a badly out of tune harpsicord.

Or maybe I am just getting old. All I know is I have to use a pill dispender for my daily vitamins and supplements because it's the only way I know for sure if I've taken them or not.

Pathetic, I know.

Friday, Friday, Friday... what happened on Friday? Oh yes, the children had a day off of school for teacher work day. One thing you should know about me is that I live for school holidays. I abhor sending my children off to school. As much as they can stress me out, sending them out to be schooled by others goes against the grain of who I am, but that's another blog entry.

Let's see... where was I?

Oh yes, Friday. Being that school was not in session (insert cheers and applause here...) and the Super Hubbie had the day off (insert noise makers and confetti here...) we decided to have lunch out as a family and grab dinner at our favorite Buffet in Fredericksburg. No matter how much I rack my brain I can't seem to remember what else we did after that, only that were late getting back into town and therefor late to Awana's.

Saturday was a very fun and exciting day. Super Hubbie got up and dropped the younger two big kids off at church so they could ride in the church van to Richmond for the Awana's Bible Quiz. The van desperately needed a new tire before I could drive down there so Super Hubbie let me sleep and took my van to get a new tire and also made sure I had enough oil and water. After that he took the kids Little League registeration papers, which I had filled out the night before, along with their birth certificate and proof of residency and got all four of them registered for Spring Baseball and Softball. We will likely have four kids on four different teams again this year but that is also another blog. After that we loaded up the rest of the family in 2 cars (just in case the van didn't make it) and headed down to Richmond to watch all 4 of our big kids compete in the Awana's Bible Quiz. They did really well and I for one thoroughly enjoyed the day. This was Joshua and Luke's third year competeing but our first year going down to watch and now I really wish I'd been there for the other years.

Sunday brought as much sorrow and Saturday brought joy. Super Hubbie got the big kids up and ready for church and took them early for breakfast. I stayed behind waiting for hot water so I could take a shower, planning to follow shortly behind them in time for Sunday School. Just minutes later I hear Super Hubbie coming in with them and I hear gut wrenching wails. My initial assumption was that the kids had been fighting and hurt each other and then got in trouble. I wish I had been correct. As they all came up the stairs to where I was sitting on my bed watching Sarah play happily I never imagined the news they would bring. Super Hubbie came in followed by all four children. All four were sobbing as if their very world had been knocked off it's axis.

You see, we live on a farm and have a very long driveway. We got our dog Penny when she was just a baby, and she was near death when we got her. I nursed her back to health and she thrived. She had some habits which were a terrible nuisance (she chewed up our things, and stole our socks, rags, etc. and drug them out into the yard. She was also terribly disobedient) but she was such a sweetie. She loved us, she loved life, she loved living here, and she was so so so good with Sarah. So gentle and patient and so very very sweet. Anyway, she had free reign over the yard because she never left. The closest she ever came to leaving was following us down the driveway and watching us leave from the end of the driveway and then trotting home where she would wait for our return from the front porch. On this particular morning however she ran in front of the car. She was dead before they even got out of the vehicle. As you can imagine my children and their father are extremely traumatized by this experience - especially my precious husband, my gentle warrior with the tender heart.

One good thing happened on Sunday night though... I tried my hand at home made pizza, including making the crust from scratch. It turned out soooo yummy!!! I can't wait to make it again!

Monday brought much business. Super Hubbie had a doctors appointment after work so he didn't come home until later in the day, providing me with an oppurtunity to clean our bedroom. I'm not sure if many people can relate, but it is nearly impossible to clean that room as there is always someone sleeping in there. Super Hubbie works the night shift so he is sleeping in there during the day. Sarah still sleeps in our room so she and I are sleeping in there at night. The evening hours between Super Hubbie getting up and Sarah going to bed are such a whirlwind of busyness that I don't have time to be holed away upstairs cleaning up my bedroom. And by the time things slow down I am exhausted and want nothing more than to collapse! Needless to say I was (am!) very pleased with my accomplishments and am relishing in my clean bedroom.

This brings us to today - Tuesday. What a beautiful beautiful day!!! It was warm enough to be outside without bundling up so I got the Hazel-nut dressed, put on her socks and shoes and took her outside to play while I cleaned our enclosed front porch. I am so ashamed of how filthy the porch gets during the cold months, but it is simply TOO COLD to be outside for any longer than it takes to move from house to vehicle or vehicle to house. Once I had gathered the kiddos from their respective schools I had them help me clean most of the trash and toys out of the yard. I'm hoping tomorrow will be another warm day so we can get any remaining errant toys or trash up so that we can start focusing on cleaning up the flower beds in preparation for spring.

I'm toying with the idea of trying a veggie garden again this year, but only if I can get a few others families to go in together to form a garden co-op. I really really hope so! Not only would it provide delicious fresh vegetables and melons, but many oppurtunities for fellowship as well as a special way to minister to those in need.

Looking foward to the first signs of spring...
~ Melodie