Why I am here...

Well, not in the philosophical sense but why I started blogging here. I was inspired to blog here after reading the blog of Jody Ferlaak. This woman is just amazing. She is a phenomenal scrapper, too. How can I resist? I am completely addicted to her blog and hope to create something even half as insightful.
I have a lot going on today. I celebrated John Michael's half birthday with him at school today. He is 10 and a 1/2 years old today. Since he is my only child with a summer birthday, I decided to give in and let him celebrate it. We can't start doing every one's half birthdays...that would be 8 for the kids, 12 if you include the parents! I hope he had a good time. I brought up Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies (we can only bring store bought treats to school) and I brought him lunch from one of his favorite places, Culver's. They just opened up on Monday. He ate a Triple ButterBurger with cheese, some onion rings and a chocolate shake. The kid ate it all. I don't know where he puts it. We call him "bones" and I just don't understand his metabolism.
I also got to sit with my kindergartner, Joseph as he ate lunch. He is so cute and sweet. He was so happy to see me up at school. I also picked up Christmas books for both boys. I hope they like them.
Tonight is a typical night in a house with 4 kids. We have many exciting things going on. First, both girls are staying after school. Lauren until 3:45pm for Forensics and Ashley until 4:30pm for Show Choir auditions. Then Joseph is having "Family Learning Night" in his classroom from 5:30-6:45pm. It is an Open House sort of thing where we get to see what he has been learning about in class. John Michael earned "Honorable Mention" for his Reflections entry on the topic of "I can make a difference by...". He will receive a ribbon and certificate tonight at the PTA meeting. Lauren has a vocal concert at the high school. Both girls have a mandatory ref-ing clinic for volleyball tonight. Ashley is riding ahead with a teammate and I am meeting her there with Lauren later. John is taking JM to his thing and keeping Joseph for me. Plus, our new dishwasher is in and ready to be picked up.
This is my life. It doesn't stop. It doesn't slow down. I know all too soon, the kids will be driving themselves to activities or not wanting mom around so I have to savor it. It is hard sometimes when you are in the middle of it, to stop and actually enjoy running in four different directions. I remember when I had three kids under the age of 4 and wondered if it would ever get easier. I remember wanting everyone to be potty trained and walking as soon as possible. I barely remember JM being a baby. I tried to savor every little bit of Joe's babyhood. I held him more than I probably should have. I waited patiently for each stage of development to come. I was so happy he got teeth pretty late (11 months) compared to his brother (5 months). I was okay with the fact that he didn't walk until after his 1st birthday, as compared to his sister, Ashley, who walked at 8 months. I wanted him to grow, be healthy and hit his milestones but I didn't rush it. I held him out of Kindergarten because of his late birthday so I got an extra year with him too. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was so hard to put him on that school bus this fall. Not because I love him more than the others, it is just knowing that he is the last one.
Well, I should probably get back to my busy day instead of just writing about it. The chaos should begin in a couple of hours...until then there is dishes, laundry and getting dinner ready for the troops!

First Blog

Well, here I am...my first blog. I am not sure what to say so I will just get going and see what happens. Right now the Christmas season is upon us. Each year we hope to be in a better position financially and for some reason it just never happens. It seems we struggle every year. The kids aren't getting any cheaper either! Sometimes I wonder how we will make it through. I really don't care for Christmas as much as I did when I was a kid. Yes, the presents make a difference, but it isn't just that. I mean, now we are the ones pressured to buy our kids the newest and greatest toys and gadgets. But I am also referring to people's attitudes. We were at the grocery store and it was super crowded...I mean really crowded. They were predicting bad weather so everyone ran to the store to stock up. Anyway, there is a HUGE line (we waited over 30 minutes) and these two guys start fighting because one guy cut the line. The man who was cutted had a valid point. I mean, we all waited and did our time who does this guy think he is that he can just cut in front of everyone. Luckily, it didn't escalate much more than a shouting match, but geez, I just wanted to yell, "Merry Christmas!!". People should be concentrating more on being nice, giving to those who need it and getting to know Jesus a little better. Instead, we are all frazzled and pressured and stressed out. It hardly seems right.

Well, that was a little tangent. Anyway, my life is pretty normal and ordinary, I guess. I have 4 children that keep me very busy. This is the first year that they are all in school full time. It has been an adjustment for me. I miss having someone here watching "Blue's Clues" or "Little Einsteins". I miss running errands with my little Joe and having lunch. Now his teacher gets to be with him all day. I hope she is enjoying him. He loves to talk. It used to drive me nuts but now I miss it. This fall my oldest "baby" went off to high school and my younest "baby" started kindergarten. It was quite a change. My oldest, Lauren, has changed so much in the past year. She is in great shape from volleyball. She lost over 20 pounds and is so muscular. She is just gorgeous. It seems like only yesterday we moved into our house and she started kindergarten. We have lived here since she started kindergarten. I want to move. I want a bigger, newer house, but there are a lot of memories here. Joe was brought home from the hospital to this house. All the kids started kindergarten from here. There have been birthday parties and holidays here.

Well, I guess I will end my first blog here and think about something to write for next time.