it will come as no surprise to some of you that this fair skinned, freckled irish girl burns in the sun. see above picture for a quick reference. well today in all of its glory and splendor i hit up roots, my favorite local market, and the trampoline for some well deserved rest and relaxation while the kids were napping. the later done with a book and sure enough i got my first burn of the season my cheeks and about an inch of skin on both my back and stomach are burned. not the severe hurting kind, but more the ouch i feel that kind. i love the sun and this weather. i'm in heaven. but now comes the time for my favorite summer time pal sunblock.
This is all my fault - I know this, but I am still rather annoyed.
I took to knitting this past fall for an enrichment activity. Embarked on making a antique white chenille scarf for my anticipated black wool coat, which I got for Christmas, finished the skein of yarn to realize I need another one for it to be long enough to wear.
Head back to the store to buy another one and they don't have it, neither does AC Moore. What do I do now? It's been sitting on my desk for over a month waiting for a solution.
Well Lancaster County living has come with some unexpected surprises. Amish people no surprise, yummy food no surprise, Roots being fabulous no surprise. Earthquakes a surprise, tornados, a bit of a surprise. Today as I sat watching tv I saw a tornado warning for York County. But black started rolling in here at our house.
I went outside to see funnel clouds starting to drop from the sky and I knew for real we were going to have a tornado. Then the hail came in huge chunks covering the whole ground, then melting as fast as it had come because it was still warm out. Then the funnel clouds sucked back up, regurlar rain came, and the river flowed through the backyard.
And yes we took the mat off the tramp in the hail storm because it has been known to take flight and we would rather not have to pay a homeowner's claim for our traveling tramp. Took the wind right out of its sails. But we survived. Thanks for the ward members who gave us warning calls that the tornado was coming. I feel so loved by your concern.
This car. On my way to take Bella to ballet class this morning with Travis already gone to clean the church with the boys I found the car wouldn't start. Praying for it to be a dead battery although skeptical I pushed it out of the garage to the driveway and got my neighbor to give me a jump and then a ride to ballet.
Alas it was no dead battery. Crap! Silver lining in this cloud my husband is sort of handy. He has taken apart the starter and is running to get a new one from the car parts store. I am praying this fixes it. Fingers crossed, voodoo promises made to Heavenly Father, "Secreting" its start.
I have this book called "What Animal Are You?". I love it and find it to be a pretty entertaining small gathering kind of conversation booster. Basically you take a quiz and based on your responses you are best paired with an animal in the animal kingdom and then told about the dominant traits both you and it possess. Although mostly comical and silly I find it to be quite accurate when taken by one who knows himself well.
There is a question near the end that always creates quite a stir among the answering individuals. It goes like this: Which of the following is most important for every child to know? a. Our imagination is like baby powder: You may not need it to live, but if feels really good when you put it on. b. You have to be willing to defend yourself if trouble comes your way. c. Stuffed animals are fun to cuddle with but sometimes you should put them in the washing machine. d. You should try to cultivate a group of friends to spend time with. e. More than anything, you should always act according to your best interests. f. Never let yourself become lazy. Something about a legacy with your children sparks passion in the testing individuals.
Travis and I have both taken this quiz and were surprised when we both answered this question similarly without much doubt. Any guesses to what we both felt passionately about. Well the answer lies in option f. Often our friends are horrified at that being our lasting lesson to our children but our minds remain unchanged. And so it is we have our kids age 1,3,5, and 7 working hard. Travis believes kids are like a free work force. I'm not quite there but I truly believe in the value of hard work and learning to work. So all the kids have daily chores, weekly chores, and are expected to help out on anything they are asked to do. They unload, and load the dishwasher, empty the trash, put away their own folded laundry, make their beds, clear their plates and silverware after every meal, clean their rooms, dust, vacuum, etc...Really if they are physically able they are probably doing it.
I honestly feel blessed and lucky to have such obedient and willing participants in my parenting experiment in my kids. They are amazing and astound me. Especially Kody who at eighteen months lately has become obsessed with helping and always puts away his own plate. But yesterday I was downright floored by these boys. My mom recently had back surgery and so I have been going over to York most days first thing in the morning and coming back in time to pick Bella up from the bus stop. We leave our house shortly after 8 when the boys wake up. Each morning I have packed them a bag with cereal to eat on the way over, toast with their preferred topping, or some other kind of breakfast on the go food. Yesterday I didn't have to pick Bella up from the bus stop and so was not feeling quite as rushed. After she left for school at 7:15 instead of scurrying around to get ready I jumped back in bed to relax knowing I had more time to spend at my mom's house in the afternoon.
At a couple of minutes after 8 the boys walked into my room. Apparently I had dozed off. They were up, dressed, beds made, Wyatt had prepared cereal bags, Issac had gotten Kody out of the crib and undressed from his pajamas and started on redressing him, Wyatt had helped Issac get his shoes and socks on. There stood Wyatt and Issac totally ready telling me that the baby wouldn't cooperate any longer but was close to ready. "We're ready and waiting on you" were the words Wyatt said as he entered my room. They had done everything they could, more than their share, and willingly.
(f) may not be a popular choice but it pays itself off in its parenting dividends. In that moment my heart was filled with joy because these kids were being the kind of people I really want them to be when they become older. Always willing to help, proactive in their approach toward life, and hard working. I count myself very lucky to have such amazing kids.
Mom's back surgery was a success and each day she is exponentially healing. Her back scar is about six inches long with eighteen staples and a ton of bruising. Today for the first time both Wyatt and Issac were able to see it. Issac's reation - whoa Wyatt's reaction - wow that is so cool and a little scary My reaction (the first time I saw it) - Eeks that is really scary and a little cool.
I think that boys enjoy the grizzliness just a little more. It's all about perspective.
