In a Puddle

That's where my heart's been lately.
Thanks to my kids.

It's a good thing.Brookie.
Giving me a hug.
At her school.
In front of friends.
And other parents even.

That is BIG.Jakie.
Reaching for a tall light:
Hey, I'm growing!
I used to have to stand on my toes to turn this on.
Now I can do it flat-footed!

He wants to grow so BADLY.Jobie.
Standing up on the counter:
Wook Mommy.
I'm tawer than you.
Me: Yes, you are.
Some day you really will be taller than Mommy.
Jobie: But I don't want to be tawer than you!
Me: Why not?
Jobie: Because I want you to always be my Momma!

Oh, Jobie.
No worries there.
I could never stop being your momma.Ezzie.
Writing sweet, sweet things at school.I can't think of much that a momma would love to hear more.A puddle.
I'm tellin' ya.

A Day with Jobie

Jobe is finding ways to keep busy while Ezra is at school.
He lines up his Hot Wheels.
While sucking his thumb.
Quite a feat.Plays soccer.
Imagine that.Has multiple meltdowns.
Always been good at that.Which then leads to black boogers on the nose.
Lovely.Helps mommy water flowers.
Most of the time missing the plant altogether.Pretty sure he gets more on himself
than on the plants.Shares chocolate waffle cookies with mommy.
We don't tell the others how many we eat during the day.
Hehe!Yummy!Plays the computer.
He's just learning how to move the cursor.
Cute little finger!Walks...
Rather, runs with his shadow.Rides his bike.Searches for gourds.
And finds the tiniest one.Gets lots of mommy time.And now I understand why the youngest is spoiled.
You just can't help it.

I Hope She Still Likes Me

This may come as a surprise to you.
Or maybe not.
I am not the most compassionate mom.
Lara found that out this morning.

We have a rule at our house.
About missing school
You either need to have a fever.
Be throwing up.
Or both (that goes without saying).
To get out of school.

Mom cannot be convinced otherwise.
Don't try.

To her credit,
Lara never asked to not go to school this morning.
But I'm pretty sure she was hoping I would say she didn't have to go.

On a school day, she is always up before me.
When I come in the kitchen in the morning,
she's there eating breakfast.
This morning I walked in.
She was sitting in her usual spot.
Hugging her little leopard.
Crying.
Still in her pj's.

I gave her a hug.
Asked her what was wrong.
She had a headache and her neck hurt.
I gave her a couple ibuprofen.
And then went to wake the other kids.
Came back.
She was still crying
.
I told her I would take her temperature.
But if she didn't have a fever,
she would have to go to school.
She didn't have one.
I told her she should go get ready.
She did.
Then sat down on the couch.
Hugging a pillow.
Crying.
Oh, boy.

Her ride called.
Was having car trouble.
So we dropped Ezra off at school.
Then I took her to the high school.
A few minutes late.
Crying.
I asked her if anything else was wrong.
No.
Asked her if she was a little homesick.
No.
More crying.

Just to show that I'm not totally heartless,
I took her into the office.
Helped her get an admit slip.
Then talked in the hall with her a moment.
Gave her a hug.
Said: I'm sorry hon,
but this is what I would do with my kids.
And you are one of my kids.
She said:
I look terrible.
I said:
Your eyes are a little red.
But you look cute.

She walks down the hall to her 1st hour class.
Opens the door.
And I hear the teacher boom:
Well, good morning!
Way to draw attention to the poor girl.
From another country.
Walking in late.
With red eyes.
I hope she survives the day...

My thought is she was testing me.
She has a test today.
She studied some Saturday.
I thought she was going to study more last night.
But she didn't.
I'm not sure she's ready for it.
This may not be the problem.
I'm just guessing.

I felt bad leaving her there.
I really did.
She will be okay, right?Tell me I'm not a big, bad meany.

Not Much...

To say today.
Other than I am really happy to be a mom.
To these four fantastic kids.
My momness was hard to find last week.
But it's back.
And I love these kids.
Really, really love these kids.
So much I feel like I could pop.

A Little Honesty

Today is one of those days.
One of those days.
When I wanted to be the one driving off.
In my car.
By myself.
With only the sounds of silence.
To a job away from home.
With adult conversation.

The little boys have been fighting.
A lot.
Jobe is almost 3.
WAY worse than the 2's.
Still trying to potty train.
Ryan is gone the next two and a half days.
On a business trip.
My computer is on its last life.
I can't seem to keep my house clean.
My back is killing me.
Whine, whine, whine.Turn it around.
My kids are healthy.
My husband has a good job.
And works hard for us.
My computer is working today.
Sorta...
Only had to restart it 5 times...
To do this post.
I have a place to live.
I have much more than some.
(That would be why I can't keep the house clean.)
My back will get better.

I will choose to look for the blessings.