Manic at McDonald's

Fast food is bad for you physically but did you know that it can also be bad for you mentally?

Drive-thru's make me twitch.

Even on a good day, it never fails that you pull out and they have forgotten something. 

Ketchup, 

Sandwich...

Toy!

Heaven forbid we forget that 35 cent piece of junk that will inevitably cause more fights than anything they have ever gotten from an actual toy store....

that will get broken or lost in the first 48 hours we own it causing a constant stream of questions about its location, and a need to verify whose toy is it that remains??? Since they are usually identical....

 that if it survives our home beyond the first night will somehow end up on the path between my bed and the bathroom, for the sole purpose of causing me mind numbing pain as I stumble through the dark at 3 am.

But this is not what made me crazy just a few days ago at the drive-thru.
They remembered everything...

"What then was it that caused you such mental anguish?" you say...

Allow me to set the scene first.
It was our big shopping day, and I needed to take all the kids with me. So first we hit Aldi's, then Walmart.
I made that sound simple but in reality it took 3 and a half hours, one diaper change, one bottle, and two extra strength Tylenol for me.
And my mom was helping for part of the time!
I have done it by myself before...
I want credit for that...
and I don't want to talk about it anymore...
 my therapist says it could take years to recover from the trauma and I shouldn't rush myself...

Anyway....
The kids ate lunch at Walmart and when we headed home I realized it was after lunch and I had so many bags to unpack it could take me until dinner time.
I thought I'd go through McDonalds and get something to eat as I drove. So I could get right to work when I got home.

I waved a lady on ahead of me as I left one of the two order box's.
Big mistake.
There are lots of people in front of us, plenty of time to count her money... but no,
she waits until the other cars are gone and its her turn and she sits about two feet back from the window and counts her change... for a good minute or two!!!
I was admittedly tired.... but this was rude.
Still I waited,
finally she pulled up and paid... she starts to pull ahead so I can go.... plenty of room...
then she stops... for no reason I can see, and she is just far enough back that I can just barley not get up to the window to pay...
Then I see that she is sorting and putting away her money.
At this point I am praying for her air bag to suddenly deploy... I want justice.
So she finally moves up... I pay... move up...
Its her turn.... she moves up....sooooo slowly...

Ok... then she gets her order.
One coffee.
I almost cried.
She either has a very complicated cup holder or she was taking the time to put in cream and sugar right then and there.
Finally she begins to move, and once again to my complete disbelief she stops again!
The hood of my car is next to the pick up window... and I can't go any farther
I am finished
furious
indigent at this woman's lack of forethought and manners.
So with out thinking I lay on the horn....
and scare the living daylights out of the poor girl at the window
and the girl at the drink machine,
and the boy beside them.
The girl at the window actually shreiked!

"uh... what was that you just said about forethought... and manners?"

Not now I'm telling a story.

She left, I pulled up and began to explain and apologize, and the girl said,
"don't worry about it, we can't stand her either!"
and the boy behind her actually thanked me....

I don't know what the moral is here....
If you are me the moral is stop eating fast food or you will end up fat and crazy....(er)
If you are the woman i am writing about its, check your rear view mirror!
... and don't bother going to the drive-thru for one coffee!
Do you know how many places you can get a free coffee without holding me up?? Do you??
And they don't like you either... what if they spit in it!?

If you work at McDonald's the moral is wear ear plugs.
 

Fat Friday....on Thursday??

Once again I have failed to make it to my meeting.

Once again I have an excuse.

All three of my kids have a stomach bug.

 I won't go into details... it would be very icky...

If you are feeling a deep sense of pity for me right now, that is normal and appropriate.

I'm going to start a charity project for you to donate to if you feel so inclined.

I'm calling it "Send mama to the Bahama's!"

There will be cute posters with my children's desperate, pleading adorable faces.

 In the back round of the shot you will see me looking disheveled, wearing stained gym clothes, and lying face down on the couch. 

I'm OK... just resting...

Won't you please think of the children?

I will be such a better mother once I've read a few books, gotten some sun, and spent a few days in the spa.

Not sold?

Ah well... it was worth a try.

My Mother's Poem

I was complaining about not being able to find a half hour to clean my bathroom yesterday and my very wise mother reminded me of this....
I have no idea who wrote this but my mom had a version of it on the wall when we were little.

I hope my children
look back on today
and see parents
who had time to play.

Dusting and scrubbing
can wait 'till tomorrow
for babies grow fast
we learn to our sorrow.

There will be years
for cleaning and cooking
but children grow up
when we are not looking.

So settle down cobwebs
and dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby
and babies don't keep.

In Love and War... and Easter Eggs!

The following is a ridiculous amount of pictures from our Easter egg hunt at Nana and Pappy's house...its almost to much cuteness for mere humans to handle....you have been warned....

looking out the window for eggs!

The hunt for the baskets begins, Isabella said we had to do this first so she would have a basket to carry all the eggs she was going to find... the girl thinks ahead.

maybe in the playroom....

not a basket... but something....

Swords!!! Yay!!! Now we can beat each other and mom and dad won't yell!!!

...or we could just hit Nana and Aunt Julie... either way....

Finally, Isabella finds the basket....Tommy is still over on the battlefront trying to finish off Nana :)

It must seem that all Daniel does is eat while the rest of us have fun... not true... sometimes he sleeps :)

Tommy is getting ready to hunt.... he feels protective head gear is more important than and egg receptacle.

Nana is giving her the pep talk....

Or the guilt trip... 

"Tommy is little, let him find some too."

I too am the oldest child, so I've got that speech memorized.

And off we go... with cute shoes of course....

And now my favorite part of the whole day!

Bella found the last egg... then she waited for her brother and showed him where it was..

My heart is happy :)

And so is Tommy's!

So this is what my mom meant when she said there will be moments of unspeakable joy...

I love that they love each other.

I remember watching Isabella play at a playground when she was little and I was pregnant with Tommy and my heart ached for her all alone, surrounded by all those big kids, she looked a little lost, and more than a little overwhelmed! This is a big part of why we have three kids and we will hopefully have more, there is something special about someone with whom you share your whole history, someone who was there with you from the beginning. 

If you want to know how your girl will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother.  ~Sam Levenson

 

To the outside world we all grow old. 

But not to brothers and sisters. 

We know each other as we always were.  

We know each other's hearts. 

We share private family jokes. 

We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  

We live outside the touch of time.  

~Clara Ortega

Easter Eggs and Mr. Clean to the Rescue.

Easter Eggs    

Eggs are often identified with Easter. 

Long a symbol of fertility and immortality, the egg reminds Christians of the rock tomb from which Christ arose.   In medieval times, eggs were traditionally given to all servants at Easter.

It is said that King Edward I of England distributed 450 boiled Easter eggs, dyed or covered with gold leaf, to members of the royal household.     

Today, in most countries the eggs are stained with plain vegetable-dye colors. 

The Syrian and Greek faithful present each other with crimson eggs in honor of the blood of Christ.….

(from www.parentingideas.org)

Who knows if this is the real origin of Easter eggs? But I thought it was beautifully symbolic... and I'm a sucker for tradition, no matter how messy.

It was not as bad as I had feared... please ignore my toes... at least they are polished :)

Nana came over with Aunt GG and brought our supplies... this is the only proof I have that she was even there.... she is not as angry as she looks :)

Here is what GG and Daniel did the whole time... to say they love each other would be an understatement!

This is reality, this is how we look most mornings... and a lot of afternoons too. There is a certain joy that can only be found by staying in your pj's all day... we are very joyful around here.

They both used spoons to take their eggs in and out of the dye... I can't believe it but we didn't loose an egg or spill a cup, we had a few close calls but no catastrophic messes. 

The were both very careful. I was very proud... 

until I heard my mom go in the living room when we were done and gasp...

Tommy drew on the couch with the clear crayon...

this is his second offense. 

If you didn't know clear crayon shows up bright white on upholstery.... just my luck.

The first offense was and electric teal color and it almost made me lose my mind trying to figure out how to get it out. In the end we used a magic eraser... I truly believe it is magic... I haven't met a problem yet that couldn't be solved with a magic eraser, and some good old fashion determination.

I made him help me clean it up this time as a punishment... he loved helping me so I may have just made it more enticing to draw on the couch again! Figures......

But mostly they are very neat and clean kids.

I think the reason they try so hard to be neat is because I have made them crazy.... 

they both hated the fact that we couldn't get the dye off of our hands.

I was trying to get a picture of them together, when Daniel dragged himself in and distracted everyone.

...I love that they love each other.

This is our sad attempt at a group shot... 

Daniel wants the egg bad,

Tommy is about to become an unsuspecting victim, 

and I don't even know what to say about Isabella....

seriously.... what are you doing!?!?

He is Risen.

Tonight we talked about Easter with the kids,

in the vain hope that somewhere in the blur tomorrow they will remember..

Its not about my pretty new dress,
or my white patent leather shoes.

Its not about the cool necktie... just like Dad's.

Its not about the chocolate rabbit the size of my forearm.... 
(that one was for me!)

Its not about the money in the Easter eggs we found.

Its not about the stuffed puppy or the sparkly pony Nana got me.

Its not about the delicious ham....  
(that one was for my husband.)

Its about Jesus.

"God's Son!", Isabella shouts.

We say yes... remember how God took Sheba to heaven?

"Evan?" Tommy asks.

"Yes... but I miss her..." Bella says sadly.

God made a way for us all to go there by giving us His Son.... Jesus.

He died for us... for all the bad things we ever did or ever will do.

He was punished instead of us... even though we were bad...
not Him.

And then to prove he was God's Son, 

and show us we would all live forever in Heaven, he rose again, 

He came back. 

"So we can go there too?" Bella asks.

Amazed.... she is always amazed when we tell her.

At first when we explained Heaven she was afraid... to her the thought of not coming "home" was scary.

She wanted familiar, known, comfortable.

I can relate... I think most of us can.

But once we explained more... always joy, never tired, or sick, or lonely.

"Are there toys?" she asked.

I said yes without thinking...God is a God of love, he is our Father, 

His Son loved Children and often exemplified there faith and devotion... of course there must be toys!! 

 That was all she needed to hear :)

Hopefully by the time she's headed home she won't care about toys anymore.

Hopefully, she will just want to stand face to face with her Lord and her Savior and say Thank you.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

1 John 3:16  This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Things to Smile About....

My windows are open and my curtains are blowing on a warm breeze.

I can see daffodils from my window.

Poppy seed Cake!

Tom is on his way home and he is all mine until Monday... well mostly :)

New Shoes!

Isabella asked me to paint her toes pink... when I said yes immediately and got up to get the nail polish her smile was priceless.

*note to self... say yes more often*

She wants me to paint my toes to match... I'm relishing this short time where she want to do everything with me.

The way Tommy talks right now.... 

"Base-Ah-Ball-Ah".... 

"Yook ma! Anoder Boodie!" (look mom another birdie)...  

"Sock-Ah Ball"... 

"Bellya"... 

"Yessaa Mammaa" (Yes ma'am, he says his with a Jamaican sort of accent...sounds more like Yeah man :)

Daniels army crawl.... he drags himself like his leg is injured... and somehow he is still so fast!

Daniels smile, he only has his two bottom teeth, kind of like and inverted Easter Bunny.

The sound of Daniel growling at his Daddy.

Tommy and Bella screaming and giggling while Tom chases them.

How grown up and serious Bella looks on her new bike.

How excited they all are to go to the Zoo tomorrow.