Play Dates & Sunshine!

We were very lucky to have both today! I love having people over in the mornings...although I am starting to wonder where all my fellow coffee drinkers are??? Still, I was able to make homemade coffee cake and visit with a real live adult, in person! Plus, the kids were able to play--which in turn allowed me to have a quiet afternoon while they napped.

The sun is shining today...and I wish we could be outside and enjoy it! I asked the kids yesterday if they remembered when they were able to go outside without shoes and run around without coats. Bree's response, "no snow pants, either?" Yes, dear, no snow pants either. When Josh and I moved back home, it was April of 1998. He was 7 1/2 years old. Within six months, I was able to buy an older home in a small town, not far from here. It didn't take Josh long to realize that snow really wasn't that fun. In the movies, they don't show how hard and frozen it all gets. Then the spring, after our first winter in Minnesota, he went out to play, and grabbed his coat. I told him he didn't need it. Talk about being utterly confused at first...then it changed absolute bliss. Being able to run and play in the yard without being confined.

That is what I am looking forward to, being able to just go. Not being trapped in this house. To walk to the post office every day, just because the sun is shining. Going to the park, and watching them run and play in the outdoors.

Tomorrow, we are going to celebrate Lauren's birthday with her super secret birthday trip. We did this for Bree--we went to the zoo and Chuck E Cheese, and they didn't know where we were going until we got there. Tomorrow, we are going to a HUGE indoor playground, and a indoor park, where there are trees and plants growing everywhere. I can only assume that there is a glass roof, to allow the plants to grow as naturally as possible, and with that I hope we can have today's sunshine. Then at least we can run, jump, climb and play as we pretend it is a day in July...not January.

Now excuse me while I curl up with the dog on the front mat and catch some of those rays for myself...

Creative Kids...

So, it is nap time here. I have to go around the house and find all the beloved teddy bears, babies and blankets that must accompany my kids for their slumber time.

I could not believe the tragedy I discovered! The stomach flu has hit our house, and I didn't even realize...

Noise

When did I start being bothered by the sound of the TV or radio? There was a time not long ago, it seems, I needed it. Couldn't live without it. Was it the introduction of having three children in three years, and not every having any quiet time? I now, as I sit here, the kids are "flapping their wings like a birdie"--is it not enough to just go through the motions? Do they have to scream out what they are doing at every moment? It is insane.

We stay home for the most part. Being in this cold climate, and having so many people to dress for the weather makes it impossible to leave the house. Well, not impossible, but close to it. The other day, we had some friends over for a play date, and I thought it would be nice to offer some bakery fresh doughnuts. The bakery is 2 blocks away. How long could it possible take? Any guesses? I got them in the van, and looked at the clock. 8:50. Back in the house, 9:10. I am sure we started with the boots, coats, and everything else somewhere around 8:30. FORTY MINUTES to take the kids 2 blocks. Any longer and one of the two that are potty trained would have had to go to the bathroom. So, unless my husband is there to help, we stay home.

Which takes me back to my kids running around flapping their wings, or playing house, or school or "mysta googaa" whatever the day may bring. We very rarely sit in front of the TV. They run around, imagine, sing, fight, cry, tons of stuff. Then we do go to someone's house. And it seems the suggestion is to have the kids sit and watch a movie. They don't know how to sit and watch a movie. They do watch it in the van--but they have no choice to sit there. Honestly, they are better behaved in the car when we turn it off.

CAN they sit? Yes, they sit and play puzzles, they sit and play with playdough and flubber for an hour, and they could sit forever and listen to books. But watching TV, for some reason makes them hungry--when I know if they would be busy, food would be the farthest from their mind.

Kids are loud. Point Blank. If you happen to be lucky enough to have a houseful of kids, and it is quiet enough to listen to the radio, I would check on them.

Thinking Back...

Three years ago, at this moment, I was in labor with Lauren Elizabeth. I was due on this date, but I was impatient. With all the information available to a person on the "internet", the baby could have come two weeks ago. In fact, my husband and I were in the hospital on January 1st, and we were told WE would have the first New Year's baby. Here we were, 26 days later, and were "induced" last night. Ha. Lauren wanted to come at her own pace. She is still like that three years later...slow and steady will win her race.

A scary thing happened to me this very morning, three years ago. I woke up, feeling fine, and almost sent my husband to work...thinking he could probably get a full-days work in before Lauren decided to join us. I remember ringing the bell for the nurse, it was 6 AM, and they were going to restart the induction drugs again, and this would be a good time to empty that bladder. By the time the nurse arrived at my room, I felt strange, and I said so...then, right before me, on the white cabinet across the room that housed the delivery lights, I could see my eye. It was HUGE. I could see my pupil get smaller and smaller, until finally my husband was shaking me "Angie, you have to talk to us," he said. The doctor, who slept two rooms down, certain I would have Lauren in the night, was there in a flash. I remember, just coming out of it, her saying, "Well, I don't think it was a stroke". A stroke. A stroke. I was a healthy, 36 year-old woman. You don't think of having a stroke when you are suppose to be having a baby! Not sure what happened, other than knowing I passed out, they gave me some food and allowed me to wait before eventually breaking my water. By 2:15 that afternoon, we had Lauren Elizabeth in our lives.

The things we do as parents. The things, as children, we never realize our parents do for us. It is a daily, hourly sacrifice we make for them. But, oh, how it is worth it.

Wow

I never knew how long it took me to actually do something! I have been thinking of blogging for a long time now, and finally came up with a name last week. And still, there are no posts...hmmm.

My name: Pearls, Orchids & Magic...


Pearls refers to the things in my life that start out a bit rocky and little by little they turn into something beautiful.

Orchids are those things that are beautiful from the start.

Magic refers to those things that we don't understand...but will make us shutter with amazement and wonder.

I am a stay at home mom. I have four children, although the oldest is away at college. He is 19, and while I don't understand some things about him, I think that is the way it is suppose to be. It wasn't long ago, when I was his age, that I became a mom for the first time. How time flies...

The other three came later in life...all girls, to keep my on my toes through my midlife woes I may experience some day soon. My oldest daughter is 4, then 3 (today!!) and 1.

My husband is a wonderfully, supportive man whom I don't think I deserve...but for some reason he is here enjoying this life with me.

This blog will be a place for me to share my stories with anyone who wants to listen.

Thanks for joining me...let's keep our hands and feet inside the car, it's going to be a wild ride!