Thriving in Chaos?

Here's another post that's rooted in a tweet/Facebook status update, and I'll let you know know that the comment I received in return put me immediately on the defensive.

My tweet/status:
Aaaand....  My momAgenda has started to get crowded enough that color-coding is in order.  I resisted as long as possible : /

Comment on my status:
Being a mom is messy, scattered and often disorganized.  Let it go and enjoy the chaos!

My gut reaction was, "Isn't it obvious that, if I have a calendar going, that I don't like disorganization?"  (Never mind what my house looks like, ok?)  I felt criticized for trying to keep my life in order!  I mean, if I'm not organized, who's going to do it?  It's my job to keep it all together - that's why I'm a SAHM!

After taking a few moments to step back and take a few deep breaths (and pound some chicken with the bottom of a cast iron skillet - for grilling), I tried to take the "not as harsh as you think it was" perspective.

Of course being a mom can be messy, scattered, and disorganized.  It can certainly be chaotic.  And sometimes, that fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude can be fun (mainly - for me - in the summer time).  I also wonder if this attitude is related to the age and gender of your children.  My commenter has two teenage boys involved in sports.  I have elementary-aged children, a boy and a girl, who do not participate in the same activities as each other.

However, if I allow chaos to be our version of normal, I'm not doing anyone any favors.  And I'm not doing my job effectively.  My kids don't know what's coming next, which invites bad attitudes.  And things like clean clothes and dinner and bedtimes won't happen in a timely fashion.  And we won't make plans to do things like see the grandparents or go camping with friends because, well, you can't plan in the midst of chaos.

I'm not trying to be the perfect mother and wife, I'm just trying to be sure that everyone is where they need to be, when they need to be there, with the things they need to bring along with them.  Which, for me, means making note of things like swimming, library, market, and other special event days at school, scout/scout leader meetings, and my husband's on-call schedule.  And I'm trying to be sure that we do have special things (trips/activities/visits) planned beyond our day-to-day routines.  All of that fills up a calendar pretty quickly, even for a family with relatively few activities outside of work and school. 

What are your thoughts on enjoying the chaos?  Are you a planner?  Do your kids respond well to "go with the flow"?

Unexpected...

I just tweeted, and wanted to share:

"Suddenly I feel oddly unprepared for 1st day of school.  Lunches & supplies packed.  Forms completed.  Backpacks at door.  #crazymama #notears"

We had a good day today.  Miss M had a friend over, and the kids played really well together until that mid-afternoon hour when sleepiness seems to hit for M.  While they played, I got a good bit of work done (mostly sorting through all of the paper that seems to collect on every flat surface in the house).  After we took our friend home, I took Miss M to get her hair trimmed.  Thankfully there was only a 5-minute wait!  Then to St@ples for some last-minute school supply purchases.  The store was packed, and we only managed to get half of our list.  Boo.  (Why we don't have the true supply list until 2 days before school begins is a whole 'nother topic.)  Then to the grocery store for limes, the one missing ingredient for a chicken marinade I need to prep and freeze asap. 

Unfortunately, we had a rushed dinner this evening, but did manage a bit of snuggle time before heading upstairs for baths and bed.  Things kind of went downhill at that point.  M needed a bath, J needed to clean up the rest of his trains, I needed to buzz J's hair, then he also needed a shower.  Then I helped M select her outfit for tomorrow - which went much more smoothly than expected.  Then teeth-brushing and tucking in.  Whew!  I was disappointed that Mister J got to bed much later than I'd hoped.  Mostly due to dragging his feet on the clean-up (even though he knew it was a 'must-do' chore).  By 9:30, I was thinking about climbing into bed myself!

I didn't go to bed that early, but perhaps I should have.  While I was not going to bed, these are the things that popped up on my 'worry list' this evening:

What will I pack for lunch?  (Been doing this for two years now - why am I stressing?)
Did I get all of their supplies packed?  (Um, yes - you've been over the list a few times now...)
Wait - M said she wants me to pack a change of clothes just in case!  (Just needed to put them in a zip-top bag....)
Snacks!  Don't forget to pack snacks, too!  (I've forgotten to pack J's snack a few more times than I'd like to admit, and this is the first time M has needed me to pack a snack, so this is a valid worry.)
Pictures!!!!  Don't forget to take pictures!!!  (Um, duh....)
What will we have for breakfast?  (You'd laugh if you could see how many boxes of cereal are in my pantry.)
 I'm planning to have breakfast with some friends, and then...?  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty on my to-do list - but suddenly I find myself thinking, "The house is going to be sooooo quiet!"  Any other day, I'd be happy to be alone in my house - because that never happens.

Now that we've been together all summer, I think I'm going to miss their sweet faces tomorrow.....

Lighter

So many different meanings for this word - at least for me right now. 

Lighter.

Spring is turning into summer - the sun isn't setting so early.  It's still light outside when I run in the evenings.  It's still light outside when the kids go to bed.  After a cold winter with 6pm sunsets, I love this time of year.

Lighter.

I'm working on a whole-house de-cluttering and reorganization project.  Lightening the load for our home and for our spirits.  I am realizing just how much our 'stuff' weighs us down.  It's been a long process, beginning back when we were in Financial Peace University about three years ago and we took a tough look at our spending habits.  Then about a year ago, the work on the house began - slowly but surely.  I've had some great help from a friend, and just read some great inspiration from another friend today.  This isn't the only part of my life where these two women are allowing me to lean on and learn from them, either.  They are helping make life lighter for me.

Lighter.

After marriage and two babies, on whom I can no longer blame the baby weight, I'm trying to focus on myself a bit, too.  Yes, this is the literal version of 'lighter.'  I saw some nice results from the 5K training I began last fall, but I also realized that my eating habits still needed a change.  It's so hard, y'all.  I love food.  I just love all of the flavors and textures and aromas.  And I don't have very much willpower to curb those desires for more, more, more!  Sound familiar?  Yep, my house and I are both on a plan to lighten up.  Thanks again to a lovely, sweet, gentle, caring, meets-me-where-I-am friend, I am using Loseit.com to help me see the truth about how I eat.  Last weekend's results were not pretty - but that's ok.  Truth isn't always pretty.  It's how we react to it that's important.  So, I started Monday with a clean slate - and a bit of empowerment now that I can see where the calories come from every day.  I planned ahead for a dinner out one night, and stayed within my suggested calorie range - yeah!  I'm also able to track my exercise, which is a pretty big ego boost when you add that into the whole "net calories for the day" total!  I am patient but hopeful that I'll see some results - and feel the difference inside, too.

Lighter.

Excited and Scared

I haven't caught up on lunch posts like I promised, or posted about our Labor Day weekend, or shared all of the funny things our kids have said or my thoughts on how much they have grown. I haven't told you anything about our Very BusyWeekend, Vol. 2.

We have been pretty swamped with a Very Busy Week. The kids' after-school activities started this week, I am preparing for our church's clothing exchange next week, and tonight was the first meeting for my 5K training. And that is what I'm excited about, and what scares me just a little bit. Scared in a good way, I hope.

I just finished putting the training plan into my calendar. The mileage seems to tick up so quickly each week. Whoa.... Many of the coaches have been through this program in the last year. It's comforting to me to know that they aren't all super-athletes. Miss M's teacher is also in the program. I didn't see any other familiar faces, but there were about 100 people there tonight and 100 more at a meeting last night. Yep, 200 people!

I am SO EXCITED. I was grinning like a crazy person on the drive over this evening. Now, I'm more worried about not being able to do it. Instead of worrying, though, I am going to keep reminding myself that it's all about taking baby steps. I want to be able to run a 5K tomorrow, but I have 12 weeks to get there.

Twelve weeks.

Twelve weeks.

And I start tomorrow.

YEAH!

Eco-Smart?

I recently purchased this Dial soap refill for our liquid soap dispensers.  As I emptied it today, I was annoyed with myself for ever having purchased it.  What looks eco-smart now has me asking, "Is it really?"  Sure, there's less packaging.  The package even states, "uses 67% less plastic that bottle refills."  Perhaps the clue should have been this statement: "Lessens impact on landfills."  What's really got my feathers ruffled?  There is no recycling symbol on this 'eco-smart' packaging.

I was trying to be a smart, environmentally-conscious consumer by purchasing a product that uses less plastic.  And I was using it to refill a soap pump (a glass one) that I already have.  Apparently, though, this product is designed for someone who's not planning to recycle, so they can feel good about putting less plastic that usual into the landfill. Well, I don't feel food about that.  Note to self: look for the recycling symbol before purchasing!

I guess it's a non-issue at this point, really.  I'm slowing making the move to all-natural products.  As I run out of things, I'm trying hard to replace them with something healthier for our home, our bodies, and the planet.  (Now I sound all crunchy-granola, don't I?  Trust me, I've got a long way to go!)  My point is, this soap won't be on my grocery list again.  Even if it did have a recycling symbol.

Random Thoughts

It's been lovely in our part of the world this week.  A little warm for my taste, but mostly sunny and nice out.  In fact, I started this post while I was sitting out on my back porch.  My kids were outside, too.  My son was sitting next to me, working on his homework.  My daughter was running about using a toy butterfly net to scoop up grass clippings and put them in a pile to carry down to the curb.  She wasn't asked to gather the clippings, she was just having fun with a project. Aaaaaand pretending the loaded-up net was a giraffe - the filled-up net was the head and the handle was the looong neck!  She's really got a great imagination and is very artistic.  So different from me, and very entertaining! 

It's been a good week.  It started last Saturday when a good friend came over to help me get started on what will (hopefully) be a whole-house project to minimize and organize.  My kitchen has been a much more peaceful place, and I'm looking forward to creating this feeling in the rest of our home.  I must say, though, that even my newly-organized kitchen still looked a little, um, messy when someone (me) forgot to put detergent in the dishwasher.  And didn't realize it until the next mealtime rolled around.  So I had to re-wash a load of dishes while the next round waited patiently by the kitchen sink.  Still, it's a pretty quick fix.  I also cleaned out the fridge today, and I'm thinking about tackling the pantry over the long weekend.  The hardest part for me is avoiding the, "ooh, shiny" syndrome - that is, avoiding distraction so I can complete the project at hand.  There's only one (small) downside to these projects.  I have temporarily given up parking in the garage so that we have a space to store everything until we are ready to have a garage sale. 

Speaking of garage sales, Miss M was playing in the den this afternoon.  She was setting out several items on our ottoman and informed me that she was having a yard sale.  Too cute!  I wonder if she will be as excited when it's time to start paring down the toys.  We sold quite a bit of toys at a garage sale last summer, and I always put a few toys in our church's clothing exchange each year.  Still, the toys are completely out of control.  The good news - if I can't regain control of the toy chaos, Muffy can!  Now if I can just get my parking space back before the worst heat of summer sets in!

We've got just two weeks of school remaining before summer break, and these last weeks are flying by! So of course, we seemed to have hit on a very good nap schedule for Miss M and a good homework strategy for Mister J.  As far as Miss M's naps, she really does still need to nap most days even though she doesn't want to.  Although her new nap schedule eliminates any alone time for me in the afternoons, it's certainly worth it to have this improvement in our routine.  I've been doing most of my work on my laptop, and Miss M has been snuggling with me while I work.  She's never been a big snuggler, so I'm enjoying every minute!  Now that I think about it, maybe over the summer we should institute nap time for everyone! 

Back to that new homework strategy.  After several weeks of struggling to get homework completed, we seem to have figured it all out.  Two weeks in, this new strategy seems to be working pretty well for everyone.  Not just Mister J, but the whole family.  Yes, those rough homework nights were rough on all of us. Of course, this is the last week of homework before school is out for the summer.  At least we'll know how to have a smooth start in the fall!

I have been anxious about the approach of summer break.  As much as I love the freedom of summertime, I also love the routine of the school year.  However, the fun and freedom is getting pretty tempting!  I'm looking forward to the fun things we will do: swimming, going to the movies, summer camps for the kids, daytrips with friends, and (maybe most of all) being able to sleep in if the kids will let me!  While it's tempting to push back bedtime - after all, it's tough to put kids in bed before the sun goes down - I still hope to keep it relatively early so I can preserve some of the evening to spend with Big J.  Maybe even plan some at-home date nights - my favorite kind! 

If you wonder about scrapbooking...

If you ever wonder why I want to get caught up on my kids' scrapbooks - or why anyone would even want to scrapbook - hop on over to Katherine's blog and take a look at this post. It's a lovely post. Just looking at the photos gives me the same feeling as my hectic, non-stop days. The words are simple, but really express how I feel, too.

Thanks, Katherine, for putting it into words!

Seriously?!?

What an evening! Mister J went to bed with chills, a fever, and tummy ache this evening. He also asked me to set up a monitor so I could hear him in case he had an 'emergency.' And he was worried about vomiting on his comforter, so I pulled it off of the bed and put a cotton throw blanket on him - and his trashcan beside his bed, just in case. When it was time to put Miss M to bed, she decided that she wanted "to watch football" - and hugged me to try to get her point across! Then, when she went to bed, five minutes later she got up because she couldn't see her fingers. For real. Then she had to potty. Then she needed her daddy. She finally stayed....
After being home from school for 4 snow days last week, Mister J will be home again tomorrow. We did manage to complete his "100th Day of School" project before the fever and tummy ache set in - I hope he feels better in time to go back to school for the celebration. I'll post about his project later this week - it's great!

The Milestone That Wasn't

Remember Blanket? .... Aw, come on, sure you do! Blanket.... Mister J's constant bedtime companion (except for that one time when he got left behind at Grandma RL's). Well, friends, Blanket is getting old. He's been hanging around with Mister J for the better part of the last 5 years, and unfortunately blankets age faster than people. He's had his share of love, his share of travel, his share of bodily fluids, and his share of 'baths' (in a lingerie bag on the washer's gentle cycle). He's wearing out. Some places in the yarn are worn so thin that I fear they will pop and unravel with another wash.

I dreaded the day that Blanket would unravel. I gently worked with the thin places, pulling the yarn to a thicker point before tying a loop of yarn into a knot. I reminded Mister J that Blanket is delicate. I'd tried once to find a replacement blanket. When I brought it home, Mister J informed me that it didn't feel the same. So, that was that, and this new blanket was just added to the pile of kid-sized blankets and quilts to be used for camp-outs, naps, and playtime.

I was out shopping with Mom/Grandma RL a few days before Christmas and we dropped in at a local consignment shop. I always check out the children's section, and this trip was no different. And there it was - a lovely, light blue, knitted/crocheted (I can't tell the difference) blanket. I walked over to it, felt it, and was instantly excited that this blanket might be The One. I didn't buy it right away - I'd been down that road - but I decided I would approach Mister J with the idea that evening.

Mister J is most often tearful when the subject of Blanket's future comes up, so I tiptoed a bit when I brought it up. I decided to leave the choices completely to Mister J. I explained what I found at the store and asked if he was interested in looking at it if it was still there (it's a consignment store after all, so there was only one). His answer? Yes. Whew! Two days before Christmas, Mister J and I went back to the store to look at the blanket. It was still there. I took it off of the shelf, opened the bag (I'd already checked it for snags, etc., the first time I saw it), and let Mister J feel it. He liked it! The final question - could we put Blanket away in a special place and let this New Blanket be the one he would snuggle with at bedtime. With a smile on his face, he said yes. I could have cried. Instead, I smiled, we walked to the front of the store, and I gave Mister J the money to pay for the New Blanket.

That night, as I was tucking him into bed with a freshly washed New Blanket, Mister J asked me when I was going to put Blanket in a safe place. Truly, at this point, I could have boo-hooed. This was so much easier on Mister J than I thought it would be! And, for that reason, it was so hard on me! Right before my eyes, my baby is growing up. When did milestones turn into barely noticeable dips in the road? This wasn't even a bump - not for him. I am so proud of him, even though it was bittersweet for me.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, family and friends!

It's Christmas Eve, and I am so happy to be relaxing, waiting for my sister to arrive, and writing a holiday post.

The tree is decorated - I love the soft glow of Christmas tree lights!
The gifts are wrapped - I love seeing all of the different colors and patterns arranged under the tree!
All of the cards we have received are displayed in our 'gallery' - it's so nice to get cards and photos from all of our distant and not-so-distant family and friends.

My Mom has been here for several days already, and has been a great help with the gift-wrapping, cooking, child-wrangling, laundry, mailing, shopping.... That's a gift in itself! Big J has also been off this week, helping out with the kids, the cars (oil changes, new tires) and other tasks around the house, and was in charge of snowman construction over the weekend. Merry Christmas to me!
Now, though, it's time to sit back and enjoy all of these preparations in the peace of the evening before we go to bed and await Santa's arrival. The children have been in bed for a few hours now, though I know that they didn't go to sleep right away.
We attended two Christmas Eve services today, beginning with the Children's Christmas Eve Service. Any child that wants to participate in this service can, which is wonderful! Miss M was an angel and Mister J preferred to stay in the congregation and sing. After a quick dinner (Thank You and Merry Christmas to all who were on duty at McDonald's this evening!), we were back at church to hear Big J singing with the choir during the Service of Lessons and Carols. It's a much longer service, including candlelight and Communion, and the kids hung in there! After getting the wiggles out, they were very excited about the 'fire!' at the end ;)

We looked at Christmas lights on the way home, had some Christmas goodies for an evening snack, and let the kids watch a little TV while we wrapped the last couple of (hard-to-wrap!) gifts. Then, it was off to bed in their new Christmas jammies!

While much of what I am enjoying would be considered the 'stuff' of Christmas - the food, the lights, the giftwrap and ribbons - I was struck this evening by the simple beauty of some of the things around me. We had snow last Friday. As I sat in the balcony during the Service of Lessons and Carols, I could see the last of the day's light reflecting off of the snow and through the translucent glass of the sanctuary windows. Then there were all of the different sounds and styles of music from our choirs and special musicians. The Christmas story. Taking Communion with my little boy. The soft glow of the candlelight as it spread through the congregation. Tonight, it really feels like Christmas to me.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. May you have a blessed holiday, wonderful moments with family and friends, and the simple beauty that means 'Christmas" to you.

The Rush Is Over...

I am officially on vacation!

You may or may not know that I do a little work from home. After wrapping everything up late yesterday afternoon - and not playing in the snow while it was falling - I have two weeks off!

Now the rest of the rush begins.... House cleaning, light stringing, ornament hanging, gift wrapping, holiday baking, envelope addressing, package mailing.... BUT - this year, I'm hoping to eliminate some of the stress. Yes, I still have a pretty big to-do list. I'm clinging to what's most important this year, though, and realizing that I am NOT super mom.

Probably the most important gift I could give myself.

That and some play-in-the-snow time with my kiddos today!

Pomp and Circumstance

My little guy is now a graduate. Yes, that's right, he graduated today. This morning was his preschool graduation, including caps and "diplomas." I have several photos and a video of all of the children singing, which I will upload soon (-er or later). There was a picnic following the ceremony in the Family Life Center/gym/'Sanctuary with a Scoreboard' (thanks, Bob!). Along with the lunches I'd packed, the kids enjoyed running about and playing with all of the other graduates. The kids in Mister J's class all know Miss M since they see her at drop-off 2 of 4 mornings a week, and they were glad to include her in the fun (she was not in class today).

Sorry, not so great with the editing yet. Or remembering to use the zoom feature on my camera....

Miss M's class picnic is tomorrow - her next-to-last day of preschool for the year. Her next-to-last day of preschool at our church. Oh, this is a bittersweet time for me!

She'll be sporting a new haircut at school tomorrow. I gave her a cute little bob this evening. It'll be much easier for summer, especially since we'll be spending lots of time at the pool! I'm not the best at haircuts on young wiggly children, but I think it looks ok. Of course, it's not totally dry, slept on overnight, and combed out the next morning for other (perhaps more competent at hairstyling than me) adults to see. But she likes it!

The Fruit and Veggie Fairies

I visited with the Produce Fairies this morning. This gigantic box barely contained their bounteous offerings.

You can barely see it all, but I wrote a list because I can tell that you want to know just exactly what they brought me.

• 2 huge heads of green leaf lettuce
• 1 box of organic baby spinach (prewashed!)
• 4 pounds of potatoes
• 4 bell peppers - 2 each red and yellow
• 1 pineapple
• 2 big cucumbers
• 3 gorgeous zucchini (yes, that's the technical term)
  
• 2 pints of grape tomatoes
• 5 navel oranges
• 5 D'Anjou pears
• 1 pound of broccoli
• 1.75 pounds of red seedless grapes
• a 7 pound cantaloupe
  

I've prewashed most of the produce (including some strawberries and blueberries I picked up in addition to the fairies' provisions) so that the kids can snack on it at anytime. My scavengers have nearly polished off the grapes already, helped themselves to some bananas (a rare treat around here), and snacked on some fruit salad in addition to lunch.

Did you know that half of a seven-pound melon yields an IQ of 70 approximately 4 1/4 pounds of fruit? I am not completely sure what I'll do with this much melon, but I am already thinking about popsicles or some other frozen treat....

Oh, and for those of you who want details about the Produce Fairies... we didn't get the box from actual fairies. We joined a co-op, and I get to go pick up a lovely box like this every Saturday morning at 8am (until the week it's my turn to do the shopping at 6am...). The fruits and vegetables were more beautiful than what you see in the grocery store, and the price was unbeatable. I can't wait to see what comes each week, and excited about the new recipes I'll be trying with all of these fresh fruits and veggies!

Chocolate Monster

In addition to the room-moving and toy-wrangling this weekend, we had some fun, too!

Miss M had a blast when Daddy gave her a chocolate ice cream sandwich!

Look out - it's the chocolate monster! Roar!

After the kids were in bed, I had fun with my scrapbooking tools and some beautiful paper. I made some gift card holders for an event later on in the week. I can't wait to see the response when they are given away!

They look a little more yellow in the photo than in
real life. The colors are very vibrant and lovely.

I'm looking forward to a little more paper-crafting time later on in the week - I need to make some anniversary and birthday cards!

Spring Break, Day 2

So, what did we do this afternoon? Well, I'm glad you asked! We had the long-awaited-by-Mister J-since-the-snow-closed-everything-for-two-days-and-our-appointment-got-bumped trip to the dentist. The kids had back-to-back appointments, and thankfully Big J was able to get away from work to help out. Here's Mister J wearing his cool, dentist-provided shades to keep the bright light out of his eyes.

(Opening up to say, "Ahh," for the camera was his idea!)

Have you ever seen any better incentive for opening wide for the dentist? My kids are wild about video games (I have no idea where they got that from...), and were very excited that this one is a two-player game that doesn't need money. Woo hoo! Never mind all the rest of the swag they came home with....

Next on our list was the grocery store. I usually love going to the grocery store. I usually go alone, while the kids are in preschool. Today was a reminder of why.... When Mister J asked if he could push a small cart today, I thought he was talking about one like the lady is pushing in the background of the photo below. Nope, he meant the tiny, kid-sized carts - and he pulled out one for Miss M, as well. I forgot they had them at this particular store.... Two small carts + two smallish kids + one nutty mom = lots of comments from other customers, some of them unwelcome. Do I sound like I have a story? You guessed it, I do! Miss M's cart wasn't quite as easy to push as a cart designed for a child should be. I was trying to help her steer when she told me (in a less-than-patient manner) that she didn't want me to help. Lady (not in photo) walking by laughed out loud at the exchange. Then, she wanted to tell me a story about her granddaughter that I wasn't very interested in listening to - aside from the fact that she laughed out loud, I still had another child to keep track of, and he was walking in the opposite direction! To say I was somewhat frazzled at the end of this grocery run would be quite an accurate statement. To say that I missed preschool today would be accurate, as well. Here are my two personal shoppers. Jonah is trying to explain to me how the ice cream scoop he is looking at works, and why we need it. We actually have two ice cream scoops, which I have found to be plenty, so we did not purchase the ice cream scoop in question. Please ignore the frozen french fries and pay more attention to the organic lettuce....

It's been overcast all day today. It's supposed to rain the rest of the week. On our way out of the grocery store I stopped by the redbox for a movie we could enjoy as a family. It's not animated, so I expect it'll be just the adults watching. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thursday Thanks Tank #4

This week, I'm thankful for:

A weekend with friends - spent shopping, eating, and scrapbooking.
Springtime - the few days of it we have had so far, though the forecast is for rain and cooler temps.
Parking in the garage again - thanks to my dear husband for working so hard to get it cleaned out this past weekend.

And - that you are still checking in here although I've taken an unplanned blogging break. Thank you. I hope I'll be back soon.

Plastic Wrap

Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike plastic wrap? I can never get it to 'work' quite right, and end up throwing out half of what I pull off of the roll. Then I end up feeling super wasteful since it's not so environmentally friendly (and I try to be).

I despise plastic wrap.

That is all.

A Surprisingly Good Day

Today is the second day in a row that our attempts to go play at a local park have been thwarted by things beyond my control. I'm trying to help Mister J handle these disappointments with grace instead of grump, but must admit that I, too, was bummed when the sprinkles began just as we arrived at the park this morning. I let the kids get out for just a few minutes, but when the rain started falling harder (and neither of the kids was interested in sitting on a wet swing) we loaded back into the mommy-van to figure out Plan B. We ran a few errands and made plans to meet Big J for lunch.

We had a great lunch! The kids were very well-behaved, Big J and I got a chance to talk about a few things, and when it was almost time to go Mister J reminded me about our free doughnut coupons. The last time we'd planned to use them the kids misbehaved and lost the privilege, but I was willing to give it a shot today. Big J had to go back to work but asked us to bring one home for him. So, we said our goodbyes and then headed over to the nearby Krispy Kreme!

I gave the kids their coupons, then made them order on their own and give their coupons to the person at the register. I always hated when my mom made give my own order, but of course I understand why now that I'm a grown-up. My kids usually hesistate, but since they were ordering doughnuts they had a little extra incentive today and not a bit of hesitation.

While I ordered my doughnut (and one for Big J), the kids had already gone to pick out a table next to the Doughnut Theatre. No, I'm not making that up, and yes, at our Krispy Kreme, you get to watch them make the doughnuts!


It's tough to take pictures through the glass, but if you look closely you can see the proofing box in the photo above - and the doughnuts rising inside! They go up and down on a vertical sort of conveyor until they are ready to go into the fryer. They were making regular (sweet, delicious!) glazed doughnuts when we arrived today, but halfway through our doughnuts we saw that they were changing to the 'no-hole' doughnuts - the kind that end up as creme-, jelly-, or custard-filled doughnuts. We've never seen these being made before, and although the process is the same (rising, frying, flipping, frying, draining, and a ride through the sugary, white curtain of glaze) it was still exciting to see a 'new' kind of doughnut in the 'theatre'.

So, what kind of doughnuts did we enjoy today? The kids each ordered chocolate-iced doughnuts with sprinkles.
I ordered my favorite - chocolate-iced, custard-filled - and picked out a chocolate-iced, creme-filled one to take home for Big J. I may or may not have sent him a pix message with a photo very similar to this one:
I have to admit that when we rain started this morning, I did not have high hopes for the day. I was eager to get out of the house because Mister J was a little sad about our neighbors moving, and I wanted to get his mind off of the moving truck next door. (Thankfully, they will still be in the same town and we can still meet for playdates!) I knew there was a chance of rain, and we didn't make it to the park before the rain began. Hmph.

Now, though, I am thankful for a nice lunch as a family and some sweet moments with the kids (and for pix messaging - sorry, honey, that wasn't really 'sweet' of me, but you know I love you)! As 'everyday' as having doughnuts might seem, they really were some special moments for me, and hopefully for Mister J and Miss M, too!

My Unplugged Holiday

Hello out there!

If you are checking out this blog because you received the URL in our Christmas card, let me apologize for not having updated more recently. I had intended to post a Christmas letter (which we did not include in our cards this year), but the thought of a (mostly) unplugged holiday was so appealing - and so very needed! I hope to be back to a more regular blogging schedule early in January - hopefully with a wrap-up of 2008 and a peek at our holiday celebrations (which have all been lovely). For now, we are still making the most of family time before Big J returns to work and worrying way too much about the impending school selection process for Mister J (oh, yeah, you'll get to read plenty about that, too, I'm sure!).

I sincerely hope that you had a wonderful Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanzaa, and that you are looking forward to a happy and healthy 2009!

Overheard... #2 and #3

... as we were following Big J to the motorcycle shop:

Mister J: "Mom, why is Daddy wearing that helmet?"
Mommy: "To protect his head."
Mister J: "From the falling nuts?"
(I did give him a more accurate explanation, but it wasn't quite as entertaining as hearing his!)

... as we continued following Big J:

Mister J: "Daddy's motorcycle is so fast..."
Miss M: "I see him! I see him!"
Mister J: "Daddy's motorcycle is so fast - it's amazing!"
Miss M: "Amazing!"

They love watching him ride the motorcycle - which, of course, they only get to see if we are following him to and from the bike shop. I, on the other hand, get totally nervous watching him ride. I know that he's riding responsibly, but I also know that he's much more vulnerable to the carelessness of other drivers when he's on the bike. And now, I've got two more reasons to worry about him - they were strapped snugly in behind me, squealing with excitement as they watched their father's tail lights shining in the early darkness of a fall evening.