Home sweet home!

It is wonderful to be back in my own home.  My friend AJ,  calls it, "cul-de-sac life."  I live on a dead end street.  I call it my "bubble."  I am protected here from outside sources.  But most of all, in my own home, I can cook and eat when we want.  No dinner at 8:30 in my house!! 

  Sunday night's meal was pork and beef roast with mashed potatoes.  This is my husband's favorite meal.  Last night was my favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs.  I had also made fresh sourdough bread.  I love to cook and I love to make things as fresh and organic as possible.  I think that is what I missed the most while in Florida.  Not being allowed to cook for us.

  When I got home Saturday night, I immediately went to the neighbors house and got my sourdough starter, that she was babysitting for me.  Mmmm, the smell of sourdough is so wonderful!  Then I started some homemade yogurt.  I eat a ton of yogurt and making my own is $2.65 to make 5 quarts.  Pretty economical.  After all that, I moved on to my kombucha.  I could not find "booch" anywhere in Florida!  I was excited to get home and drink my own brand of kombucha.  If you don't know what kombucha is, google it.  I like the website Kombucha Kamp. 

  So breakfast this morning consisted of plain homemade yogurt with a splash of vanilla, sourdough bread with honey, and coffee!  Yummo!

Vacation

  We have been in Florida for the past 7 days.  My dad and his wife live in Naples in the winter.  It is such a different life with them.  A life of no money worries, a life of no children, and most importantly, a life of sunshine and warmth!  It was 88-90 degrees and sunny.  Every single day!  Gorgeous!

  What I mean by a life of no children, is they don't have children.  This is a life that is completely foreign to me.  They live day to day, dictated by their whims.  They eat dinner at 8:30 at night!  WOW!  What a concept!  My children go to bed at 9.  So it was an interesting week.  Because my dad and his wife are so removed from our lifestyle, I tried very very hard to understand their lifestyle.  I still don't get them. 

  A few examples,  they used only plastic plates for us to eat off of.  Because they didn't want chipped plates or bowls.  Really??  Chairs couldn't be dragged across the floor, it would cause scratches on the tiles.  Chairs at the counter were not for spinning around on.  Really??  Even I sit at a counter and spin!!  I mean I do understand the rules, it's just, really??  They are kids!  They want to eat as fast as they can to go play in the pool!  They drag their chairs to get closer to PaPa.  Counter chairs are magical spinning rides.  Everything in front of them is to jump into, push across, or try and figure out another use for.  I love how kids minds work.  They are always thinking. 


  I don't mean to sound whiny and ungrateful.  Sorry if I do.  A week in a gorgeous home with a pool.  Fishing every day.  We went to beaches and museums.  Ate fantastic meals, (at 8:30 at night!).  It's just that being there was like being in a foreign country.  A country that doesn't have children and doesn't want to either!  My 3 children handled things very well.  It bothered me way more than it did them.  They don't know a life that doesn't revolve completely around them and their schedules.  So does that mean my children are oblivious to all this or does it mean they are happy and well adjusted kids?  Hopefully, they are well adjusted kids.

Death of a Pet.

I tend to take on more than I can handle.  My friend told me the other day, "You can't take care of everybody."   Well, I try to.  Which includes animals.  My husband says I collect people and animals.  Today, I have 3 extra people.  One of which is a crawling puking baby.  The other, is a friend that has hit a rough spot in her life.  The other is a sassy attitude teen.  Easy right?  Uumm, no.  Not really.  Top that off with a dog that has low self esteem and loud and noisy guinea pig.  And usually we have a very raucous bird named, Killer.  My youngest daughter came and said that Killer was laying on the bottom of his cage.  She thought he was sleeping.  My son, took Killer out of the cage and held his pet against his chest.  So for about an hour, my son held his favorite pet and cried and cried.  Tears and snot and a convulsing bird.  All the people in the house gathered to pay our last respects.  And that danged bird opened his eyes and sat, looking like he might make a comeback!!  He didn't.  Ok, crying children, snot, tears, extra people, food burning?  Not a good day.  My favorite Scripture verse lately is, "Do not grow weary in doing good."  I am weary, Lord.  So weary.  I want to argue and complain.  But, I am venting and taking a break.  Trying to refresh.  And go out and buy another bird.

Blue haired lady

It  hasn't occurred to me  that I am considered old!  Yes, OLD!!  When the heck did that happen??  Recently, I have been mistaken for my young friends mother.  My friend, AJ, is 32.  I guess I could be her biological parent.  We don't really look alike.  Except,,,,,I have white hair.  Tactless people ask if I am AJ's mother.  My friends all think it is hysterical!!  Of course they think it's funny!  They are all in their 30's.  I will be 49.  Still young, in my thinking.

  This  morning I spoke at a church Bible study about an outreach I am involved in.  As I drove out of the parking lot, I thought about how sweet those "blue haired ladies" are.  One blue hair gave me some money for our outreach.  Oh, those blue hairs are just the nicest ladies!  I smiled to myself.  Then, I saw myself in the rear view mirror.  Oh my gosh!!!  I AM one of those sweet old blue hairs!!! 

  My husband thinks I should go back to the unnatural color of red.  I don't like coloring my hair.  I feel it is a waste of my time and his money.  I can think of better ways to spend $60!!  I actually enjoy my white hair.  I like that I can wear vibrant lipstick.  (Bright lipstick is one way to spend $60!)  This is how God made me.  To be prematurely gray.  I am happy with this season of life.  I just wish other people would stop asking me how old I am.  I am the age I need to be!  Thank you God, for having me at the place I need to be!

My children

  My oldest daughter came home yesterday, for a short visit.  She and her husband live in Minnesota.  She and I had a few rough years while she was a teen.  About the age of 19, we became great friends.  I have been missing her company, so when she told me she had Spring Break this week, I asked her to come home.  She and I sat on the couch all afternoon, while the other 3 children drifted in and out of the living room.  Oldest and I talked and laughed and hung out.  Sometimes, she would hang out her younger siblings.  So peaceful, so wonderful to watch them!  After dinner, youngest daughter, went up to my room to watch tv.  Then I came upstairs, then came daughter #3, and then oldest daughter came up.  By 8:00, Oldest and I were in my bed, snuggled up.  Youngest, laid across the bottom of the bed, and #3, sat in various comfortable spots.  I sat in my bed, and looked at all 3 of my girls and marveled.  How awesome in God??!!  I can see all 3 girls in different seasons of life!  Young married, 13 year old teen, 9 year old daughter.  Makes me tear up, just thinking about our blessings in life!  Oldest and 13 year old, are the mirror image of each other.  Our youngest is the only child of the 5, that looks like my husband.  I like to look at all 5 of my children and enjoy each season of their life with them.  Someone once asked me, why we had so many children with such a huge age span?  I think that age span is the coolest thing EVER!!  I can look at my 22 year and see what is coming up next for my 13 year old.  I look at my 20 year old son, and watch the path my 11 year old boy is headed.  So cool, how God has allowed me to see some of the possibilities for my children.  Each child makes choices, but at least I feel a little prepared for the next season each one is headed for.

Food

  I have food issues.  Well, what woman doesn't?  I don't eat anything with wheat.  I try not to ingest anything with excess amounts of chemicals either.  If the list of ingredients is longer than my little finger, I don't eat it.  My 13 year old calls me a" hippie."  I have been called "crunchy" also.  This week I tried some new recipes.  Mostly Turkish food.  One of my friends is homesick for her Turkish food.  So I thought I would tackle it.  We had stuffed grape leaves, hummus, spicy spinach yogurt dip, and homemade baklava.  I could eat everything except the baklava.  Baklava is made with phyllo leaves, which has wheat in it.  But, my grandma used to make baklava all the time for us, when we were little.  I loved it!  So on Tuesday, I ate 3 pieces.  Wednesday, I had just a few aches and pains.  Thursday, I ate about 5 pieces. On Friday, the headaches started.  But, there were only 3 pieces left.  Of course I ate them all!!!  They were SO good!!!  Friday night, the aching knees started and then I could feel a migraine coming.  Before bed, I doused myself in peppermint oil.  That usually gets rid of my headaches.  I woke up Saturday morning, unable to bend my fingers, my head pounding, and feeling like I was going to puke.  Most of the day, I laid on the couch wondering why I eat junk??  Then remembering the wonderful taste and the sticky goodness of all the nuts and honey.  Oh my gosh!  So worth the pain!!!!  My husband asks when will I learn??  Probably never!  Sometimes it's worth feeling like crap!

A new season in life.

I have hit another season in life.  One that I thought my husband and I would NEVER reach!!  It happened innocently enough.  We were alone last night.  Yup, no kids all night and all day today.  Weird.  We have been parents since 1988!  I started to see light at the end of the tunnel in 2005.  It crept up on us.  One blink, and small toddlers are all gone.  I have told people we really enjoy the wide age span of all our children.  It shows us how quickly life with children speeds past.  One minute your child is wrapped around your leg, screaming to be picked up.  One blink, and that same child is screaming for you to leave them alone!!  Ugh.  I never really had a problem with the clingy toddlers.  I really didn't ever say they were terrible twos.  Terrific twos, we called them.  It is the terrible teens.  I am always in shock when my children push me away, when they scream to be left alone.  WOW!!  Where did my baby go??  But, don't we raise up our children to be independent adults?  Adults, that are capable of being productive in society?  So, I guess my husband and I are doing a fairly decent job at raising children.  They all have friends and a life.  So, I think they won't need as much therapy as we had originally thought.  #2 son, might argue with that point!

  Anyway,  I spent my day alone, dusting and cleaning.  Dusting the living room in #4 child's job.  As I was dusting and mumbling under my breath, about the crappy job he has been doing, I came across his secret stash.  His stash of Lego people and weapons.  Ha, had to smile to myself.  He is pretty cute for an 11 year old.  I continued to dust the dirty living room.  I went to my 2 sconces over the couch to dust.  Wait, what is that perched on the sconce?  A Lego skeleton, poised to shoot someone!!  Aaaahahahahahahaaaaa!   Life goes SO fast, a child's life speeds by!!

  Enjoy your blessings.  It goes to fast.
Don't blink, my favorite song by Kenny Chesney.