Holiday ...um.... fun. Sure it is!

Well, I have realized I am a Thanksgiving Grinch. I don't exactly GET IT. A big meal, a big mess, and then back home groggy and over-stuffed. Invariably, dinner that is scheduled for 12:30 is not served until 1:00. So you have the choice of either eating beforehand and then not being as hungry as you would like, or not eating and then you are starving by the time everything is done.

I can easily tend towards irritation with this situation, especially when trying to appease 4 small children, but this year I reminded myself of my new purpose. My purpose to try and see good in all that is around me. To sit with God and enjoy my time with him throughout every nuance of my life. So with my eyes open to Him, I looked at all the work my mother had done and let go of the fact that it was 30 minutes late. I looked at my beautiful children and let go of the fact that they were fussy and hungry. And to look at my husband and tell myself he is helping by watching the baby even though it LOOKS like he's sleeping on the couch!

Overall, this helped immensely in improving my Thanksgiving mood. And I am thankful for so many things this year, even if turkey isn't one of them!

Mama said there'd be days like this

So for about 3 weeks the low tire pressure light has been on in my car. Yes, I said for 3 weeks and no, I didn't really do anything about it. Well, that's not entirely true because after 2 weeks, I went to get the oil changed and they aired the tires up. Light still on. So the next day I went to the Honda place and asked them about the light. They aired the tires up and said the oil change place had them too low. Okay. Light still on. Honda said I'd have to bring it in there and they'd reset the computer to turn it off. Right, like I have time for that. So I ignored it. And so today, of course, I have a flat tire. Blah. A nice lady at Sonic informs me the tire is flat. Of course the car informed me too but since it had been crying "Flat tire!" for three weeks, I was ignoring it. I debated changing it but quickly shelved that insane notice and drove across the street to Walmart to get it fixed. Tire is, of course, ruined. Who knew how long I had been driving with it like that! After all, it was the back passenger side tire and I never look at the tires! I'm too busy rounding up small children who run in 4 different directions and buckling up 400 separate buckles (car seats stink), and carrying 500 bags of things children need.

So, Walmart will replace the tire... Oh wait, no they won't since they don't have that size. Lovely. Will you put the spare of for me? Of course, happy to. Get all 4 kids out of the car (400 buckles off), traipse into Walmart to wait. Waiting... waiting. Ryan has to pee. Well, of course you do! The bathroom is all the way across the store. Here we go! It's a field trip! An adventure! Here's the adventure - we get to go right past all the toy aisles to get to the bathroom. Yay!!! Run wild in the store kids! "Don't touch that! We're not stopping! I WILL leave you behind in this store!"

We make it to the bathroom which is filthy. Erin - "OOOHHH! It stinks in here!! I can't stand it!" That is helpful, and I'm sure the lady currently in a stall appreciates the commentary greatly. Now, as you can figure out, Ryan can't get onto the potty on her own. I have to lift her up. But I'm holding 25 pound chunky monkey and those stalls aren't that big. (Handicap one was particularly gross.) So I give Reagan to Evan to hold for just a second. She immediately starts sliding down his body until he is bent backward at about a 45 degree angle and he's holding her from under her arms with her little, well her fat little legs dangling. He says, "Oh geez!! She is so heavy! You carry this around all day long?!" The lady in the next stall (not the one offended by Erin) cracked up. Well, yes as a matter of fact I do! Plus a diaper bag, plus your backpack half the time and my coffee and a pocket full of junk you left behind for me to gather up. Thank you for noticing!

So, Ryan still going potty and Erin starts yelling that she's bleeding. Bloody nose dripping down her face. Evan's about to drop Reagan. Ryan needs to be wiped. And I had all these kids, why? And where is the nice random person in the bathroom that usually asks to hold your baby? That used to happen to me all the time when I would go to use the bathroom myself in stores. Like I'm really going say, "Sure stranger! I'll give you my baby and then go into this stall, lock the door, and pull down my pants! If you run off with my baby I'm sure I can get out of here fast enough to chase you across the store with my pants around my ankles to get my baby back!" Anyway, no such luck at Walmart.

So there you go! Mama said there'd be days like this! We managed to get it all taken care of. Car has the spare on now so I'll have to fix that tomorrow. Got back on the road, 400 buckles back on, and were only 15 minutes late to music. What will tomorrow bring? I can only imagine.

We had an eventful week! Evan turned seven this week. His actual birthday day was uneventful. Dinner with the maternal grandparents and a couple of presents. We're trying to cut back on the gifts this year. Turns out kids are just as happy with one special present as they are with a cart load. this year it was a skateboard for Evan. Emergency room, here we come!

Actually, that was true and the next day we headed off for the emergency clinic but not because of the skateboard. he actually tripped at school and hit his head on a desk. three stitches just over his left eye. we went to Grace clinic so it was less stressful than the ER but still not good. Jay took Evan while I ran home to get his favorite bear (at his request). The things moms will do. drive 15 minutes in the wrong direction for a stuffed piece of felt! While there I also got juice cups for all the kids. That's when Erin informed me I should worry about my family, not the cups! Thanks, kiddo! Who did you think the cups were for?!

Now maybe Evan'll have a scar to match Erin's which crosses through her left eyebrow. of course she was quick to point out that she had to have 6 stitches! Jay wondered if our kids are being marked! if it happens to another one we may start looking for the hidden meaning!

Today he had his party at Main Event. Bowling with 12 of his friends. It was a good day. I love parties there where "Miss Julie" (not me, the party assistant) took care of everything from rounding up kids, getting hands washed, to cutting the cake and cleaning up. Worth every penny! So that wraps up Evan's birthday week! Now we take down his banner and put up Erin's! Fall birthdays for the E's and spring birthdays for the R's!

Starting a blog with all my free time!

Well, at this point I figure I don't have enough on my plate already and I tend to get about 5 hours of sleep a night, so why not use that time to blog! Ha! I guess I'll get all the widgets and gadgets figured out as I go but for now, just a starting page.

J2E2R2 comes from when Jay and I first got married. Our initials are exactly the same so my dad called us J2 (J squared). Mostly in written communication, but sometimes in person. Then came Evan - J2+E; then Erin - J2E2; then Ryan - J2E2 + R; and now Reagan - J2E2R2. It's how I sign my cards to my dad and sometimes to other people too. Easier than writing everyone's name out! So there you have it. I guess if we have any more kids we'll have to have 2 more to keep things balanced!