The Pictures to Prove It

If you want to see if I'm telling the truth about how much fun I had on Sunday and how happy I was just go here. And to think I didn't even know they were taking pictures of me!

And yeah, the finishing with my hands in the air was kind of cheesy but hey, I was proud of myself and they actually called my name over the loudspeaker. "And here comes Amy Parris from Augusta, GA!" Cool...very cool!

Tired

Today I am tired of being tired. I'm tired of wondering where the day went. I'm tired of not having the time to do what I want to do (like Dawson's b'day video) or what I need to do (like the laundry in the dryer). I'm tired of being on my feet all day. I'm tired of going to bed late and getting up early. I'm tired of not writing what I want because it would take too much time and...you guessed it, I'm too tired for that too.

Does this stage ever end? Will I ever, ever feel like I have time to waste again? I'd ponder the big questions of how to find more time, but...yep...too tired.

Good night.

Hold That Happy

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention that my sweet, dimpled Dawson turned 4 today. However, it would be even worse if I tried to put together a video and honor him while I'm still recovering from yesterday...and the weekend, and a baby who didn't go to bed until 9:30 and two birthday parties, etc.

Dawson, you know I love you and I will expound on that when I'm not so tired that I can't see straight.

Happy Birthday!

13.1!

Today I did what I thought was impossible. I completed a half marathon. I ran 13.1 miles. And...I...had...FUN!

Another Theory

"Mama," Mackenzie asked this morning, "was that man without hair last night the one we've been praying for every day?"

"Yes, it was."

"What happened to his hair?"

"Well," I explained, "when people have cancer one way they try to get rid of it is called chemotherapy. It kills the bad cells, but it also causes people to lose their hair."

"Oh," she accepted easily.

Then from the back of the car Aiden piped in, "Is that what happened to Dampa's hair too?"

A Play Date with Two Extra Boys on the Trampoline...

equals one misguided elbow, one fat lip and quite a bit of blood. After a little clean-up and an ice cube to suck on, he headed back outside for more!

Missng Him

I am so VERY glad that my husband is coming home tonight. I'm wondering if the fact that I miss him more this time is directly related to the number of kids I'm left alone with or the fact that the longer I live with him, the harder it is to be without him.

Probably a little of both.

Little Lessons

This morning at mass, after staring at the Crucifix for some time, Aiden looked at me and asked, "Mama, if Jesus is stronger than soldiers, then how did soldiers kill him?"

"Well, God let that happen. It wasn't that the soldiers were stronger than Jesus, it's just that God knew Jesus had to die for our sins."

His little face lit up and a smile spread across his face, "Oh! So we can go to Heaven...right?"

"Exactly."

A Fun Saturday

Brian and I ran our last race before the big Half Marathon (which is a week from today!) on Saturday. Even though I was at the back of the pack, I was happy to finish a full 7 minutes faster than my last one.
The kids did the fun run and were very proud of their medals.
For participating in the race I got a free ticket to the Boshear's Air Show. I decided to brave it alone with the four kids since Nelson is out of town. The sky divers that they're watching here were very cool.
Although Max started in the stroller, when the weather cooled dramatically and he got fussy, this is how he spent the remaining 2 hours of our time (and no, he wasn't sleeping all of that time).
The kids had so much fun riding the rides, watching the planes and climbing in various aircraft like this helicopter, we closed the place down.

It was a fun way to spend the day, but waking at 6, running a 10K, getting the kids to their race and spending 4 hours at the air show, I was VERY tired. It did, however keep the house clean all day.

Generation Gap

"You know when I was a kid, cartoons only came on TV on Saturdays," I explained to the kids today.

"Only Saturday?!" they literally gasped in disbelief.

"Yes. We didn't have Noggin', PBS Kids, or Discovery Kids. Cartoons only came on Saturday mornings. Of course every morning we could watch things like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers."

"Mr. Rogers?" Mackenzie asked. "Who's that?"

Nice Try

As I got back in the car this morning after letting the big kids out to go to school, I thought the chill in the air was a bit more brisk than I first determined. I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed Dawson in his shorts.

"Mama, I'm REALLY REALLY cold."

"Okay buddy, we'll go back home and let you get some jeans on before you go to school."

"But Mama, I already have on my striped shirt and these are the shorts they go with," he responded like a true fashionista.

"That's okay," I told him. "Jeans go with everything."

"Even this striped shirt?"

"Yes. You can wear jeans with just about anything," I said relishing the fashion moment.

"Oh!" he said as the light went off. "You can really wear jeans with anything, kind of like...gold pants right? You could wear those with anything too."

Seems I have some more teaching to do.

Some Beach Moments

Surf's up!
Real food is good.
The hot tub is always warm.
Mama loves the bubbles.
Beauty on the beach.
The big bathtub is fun.
Family time is the best!

Some Girly Medicine

I'm discovering that time with the girls is worth every bit of the effort it takes to get there. Sitting among friends swapping stories and laughing until we cried was just what I needed tonight.

If only the house had miraculously cleaned itself while I was gone. But again, time well spent - time that needs to be spent similarly much more often than I allow myself.

Note to self: Do this more often :)

Rainy Day Discoveries

Today we had showers off and on all day. We spent 5 hours at the pool anyway. We figured we were already in our bathing suits, why worry about a little rain. What we discovered is that the hot tub is rather refreshing in the rain; the kids can entertain themselves for 5 hours with nothing more than some water, a ping pong table poolside and a break for some root beer floats; a rainy day at the beach is better than a rainy one at home; and packing is the saddest thing that's happened all week.

Vacation

I can't believe it's Thursday already. Why does vacation time go by so fast?

It was a lazy morning doing things like setting up dominoes and eating breakfast around 10:30. We played at the pool, sat in the hot tub, made foamy craft pumpkins, played bingo, ate some very tasty fish and just hung out together. In fact the last 5 days have been more of the same with some sandcastle building, wave jumping and seagull feeding thrown in.

I'm wondering how it would work to do this once a month instead of once a year.

The Beach

Today I stood on the beach as the sun was sinking into the sky. The temperature was mild and the horizon blue. I held onto Max while I watched Nelson dig the perfect river with Mackenzie, Aiden and Dawson.

A moment in time - the kind you wish you could freeze because you realize how soon moments like these will be gone. The whole family was together. They were perfectly content, happy cooperative.

Ah...I love the beach.

Another List

After running two morning carpools; shopping for long pants for the middle boy, who amazingly enough is too big for his and too small for Aiden’s; buying a gift for a wedding; shopping for groceries to take to the beach; picking up Kindergarten carpool plus Mackenzie, who was sick; picking up Dawson; supervising school work that will be missed next week; washing clothes; and welcoming our second set of guests to the apartment, I find myself utterly exhausted.

This seems to be a pattern for me. Most of you who read this always tell me I do too much and just seeing the above list makes me agree with you. However, I seriously don’t know how to slow it down.

Everything on this list had to be done today. Kids – had to get to school. Gift – had to be purchased, as wedding is tomorrow. Groceries – needed to be purchased now to provide more time to relax at the beach. Guests – totally separate from us and I did nothing other than provide clean sheets and towels.

I can tell you this, tonight, the family room will not be picked up and the banana bread will not be baked. I WILL get to bed before midnight if it kills me. I will push one more day and a half. And then…I will SLOW down. I will not rush anywhere or do anything unnecessary (unless it involves ice cream or a pedicure…hopefully both) for the next week.

A girl’s gotta’ do what a girl’s gotta’ do.

Proof My Theory Is Correct

The best food is messy food!

On Second Thought

"Dawson, do you know what day it is today?" I asked him this morning on the way to school.

"No."

"It's October 1. What happens in October?"

"My birthday!" he yelled gleefully.

"What would you like for your birthday?"

After several moments of thought, he simply replied, "You can just get me whatever you want."

"Really?" I asked in amazement. "That's so nice of you."

"Or..." he added upon some more thought, "you can get me the real Speed Racer."