You Get Used to It

I've found, that whatever circumstance you're under when it comes to parenting, you get used to it. If you work outside the home, you get used to only having the kids around for a few hours at night and on the weekends. By Sunday night, you're ready to go back to work on Monday {or at least that what's people in this situation have told me}. If you homeschool, you get used to having the wee ones around most of the time. That's your norm. It kinda makes me chuckle when moms whose kids GO to school are pulling their hair out during the long summer days of having the kids home all the time. They just have a different norm. If your hubby works long hours, you probably get used to it, not having him around as much, doing what you can to manage most things on your own. If your hubby works from home, you get used to that too, an extra pair of hands for helping or another set of eyes to keep on the kiddos for a second. Until....

WHAM!

The rug gets pulled out from under ya. Yep. Ask me how I know. Tomorrow hubby is going to be taking his mobile office on the road as he will be going out practicing to get his CDL. He already has his permit, but needs hands-on training. Bummer for me. So I guess I just need prayer that I'll....

....get used to it.

P.S. I sent my mom an email that included this which you may find funny too:

Hubby leaving home + monthly cycle + 3 kids = crazy wigged out mommy

But I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Dear Blog...

....it's not that I don't care about you. I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have spent all that time and creative energy to give you a little facelift. Maybe after writing that last post, my internet love/hate relationship just swung a little bit the wrong way. I have just been busy doing other things. Like family stuff. Sewing. Researching for something super top-secret. Traveling to Chicago for massage therapy. Trying to exercise. Writhing in pain from my latest affliction. Enjoying not having to homeschool. Things other than blogging. I hope that maybe we can catch up soon. I just wanted you to know that I haven't abandoned you. I am just loving other parts of my life way too much! And whoever is {still} reading, I hope you are lovin' life too.

Talk About It: The Internet & Relationships

I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. I am an avid learner, so I love the endless information aspect. On the other hand, I could sit here endlessly soaking up all the information. Not good! I can barely remember life before Google, but I definitely think that the library and heavy encyclopedias may have been involved. I think many people enjoy the connection that they get to the outside world, especially if you are a homemaker, like me, who previously had little daytime adult interaction. I can't underestimate the importance of connecting and relating to others who have similar views, beliefs, and interests. Sometimes I wonder though, is this really a true connection? Can you really consider the internet a relationship builder? I have used email to build a relationship with a friend and to maintain my relationships with old friends, but something about just seems not real or maybe it's just that, at least to me, it pales in comparison to sitting face to face with someone chatting, laughing, sharing. Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still continue to use my email to keep in touch with other people, but if you find me dropping by unannounced or calling a little more often, it's just that I'm a little old-fashioned and rather see your facial expressions and hear your laughter instead of looking at a little emoticon or reading the abbreviation "LOL".

Do you think the internet gives us a false sense of connection with other people? Does it help you or hinder you from building what you consider to be real relationships?

Rules: Play nicely. We all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

Phew!

I'm finally finding a little time to catch my breath. It seems like I've been going and going since last week, with all my spare time going to keep up with homemaking & spending time with my loved ones. So here is my long update. My trip with my mom went wonderfully! After dropping her off at the convention center, I made my way to the local CVS. Here's my loot:


The Chex mixes were all free as they were 5/$5 and there is a $1 IP. The Johnson's Buddies Foaming Shampoo were a great find as they were on clearance for $1.90 and I had a $1 Q for each. It was kind of an expensive trip, with my OOP being around $6, but since I have recently weaned the baby, I needed the feminine products. YUK! My eyes nearly fell out of my skull when I opened the door to our eensy-weensy hotel room. Mom & I both agreed that it was the worst hotel room we had stayed in {in the US at least, for me}, but that rural Guatemalan huge-tropical-bugs-in-your-bed, concrete-floored, shower-is-a-pipe-sticking-out-of-the-wall hotel is a story for another day. The bed sagged & creaked and the noise from revelers outside our building kept us up til the wee hours of the morning, but at least we kept a sense of humor about it. It sure was memorable. The Bead & Button Show was A-MAZING! Seriously. Even though I'm not a beader, I sure can appreciate a passion for a craft when I see it. Miles and miles of beads. I purchased two things for myself. One is a beaded cross-stitching project. I am making that as sort of a Thank You gift for Mom. She picked out the design. The second one is a funky bracelet kit. Since it's sold as a kit, I think it should be fairly easy. I totally fell in love with these, but at $8 per bottle cap, I would need to spend about a weeks worth of grocery money to make myself a junky-funky bracelet. Couldn't justify the purchase at the time, but maybe next year. Now I am working on designs for Mom to make with all her bead purchases. I wore this to the bead show since it is the only beaded project I've ever made myself:

::Odessa by Grumperina::

::top view::

I got several comments/inquiries about it, as well as the tote bag I was carrying. My mom was cracking up by the end of the show & insisted that next year I carry some business cards with me. Immediately upon my return, Tatiana had her year end dance recital. Twice. This was the first year that she was in two shows, which was a little crazy. Here she is in all her glory:


After that I've been spending time doing my part-part-part time job for Metrostudy. When people ask if I work {meaning outside the home} I usually just say "NO" since this job is only a once every 3 months gig. It's works out kinda nice because I basically can do the surveying at my leisure as long as I return my materials within the allotted time. I have been "working" for them for 2 years now & am thanking God for recently expanding my territory {it nearly doubled!} as an answer to prayer for extra income. He's too good to us, isn't He? Hope you're having a lovely week & I plan to meet you here tomorrow for another Talk About It session.

Talk About It: Sibling Love

I've always wanted a sister. It seems like everyone I know {and I do mean nearly all my friends} have sisters. I have one friend who is an only child & one close cousin who does not have a sister {she does have a few step-sisters though}. I guess since I don't have one, I've built up in my mind what I missing. It is something like what you'd find on one of those made for TV movies on the Hallmark channel. I'd imagine us painting each other's toenails, late-night giggle and gab sessions, borrowing each other's clothes, keeping secrets from our parents. As adults I'd figure we'd be bridesmaids in each other's weddings, calling each other for parenting advice, crying on each other's shoulder. We'd be best friends. Um. I guess from people I've asked so far that my lovely little picture usually only happens in the movies! One older woman I asked this Talk About It question just looked puzzled and kept repeating, "I don't know." Another Christian man I asked, quipped a bit harshly, "What siblings?" {He does have siblings.} So, here it is:

Considering your own childhood, what can a parent do {or not do} with their children now to lay a firm foundation for sibling closeness as adults? If you're close with your siblings, then maybe you can say what your parents did right. If you're not, maybe you can discern what might have gone wrong.

Rules: Play nicely. We all have our own opinion, but let's be thoughtful and respectful of one another.

A Train, A Cab, An Automobile

Travel. Travel. Travel. That's this week's theme at our house! Today the girls and I spent some quality time together by taking the Metra from a nearby town to Chicago. Although I picked the morning Express train, cutting down the travel time by about 25 minutes, it was still an 1 1/2 hour commute & required an early rising time of 6:45 am. {I can't imagine having to wake my little pumpkins that early in the day, or earlier, to catch a school bus!} We barely made it in enough time to purchase our tickets at the station, which I was thankful for, because otherwise that would've meant a $2 surcharge. We leisurely snacked on dry cereal, trail mix & water as we rode along. Once we arrived in the Big City, I had a mildly difficult time catching a cab from our stop. It seems like that particular station is a bit out of the way, unlike the station downtown, so there aren't a plethora of cabs to be had. If you're a suburban girl like me & you ever find yourself in need of hailing a cab, here's two pieces of advice: 1) Stand at an intersection. It increases the likelihood of cabs passing by as opposed to just the side of one street. 2) Know which direction you will need to travel to your destination. i.e. I knew {only because I asked my dad} that I was heading North, so I made sure to stand on the East side of the main street, that way the cab wouldn't have to circle around to get where I needed to go which wastes time and in this case time = $$$. I got a much needed clinical massage & a quick lunch with the girls' grandma & then we were on our way back home again. My littlest pumpkin was so tuckered out, she was asleep and drooling on the car ride home from the station. All that and it was barely 1:30 pm!!

I made sure to spend extra kid time today, because tomorrow I am going to Milwaukee with my mom for this event. She is totally into beading & jewelry making, so this is really her thing. We are staying overnight in a hotel & I am traveling kid-free. I was having a bunch of mommy-guilt about it, but am trying to just Let. It. Go. Know what I'm talking about? I am praying for rain because then hubster's work will be slower, giving him a little less to worry about. It will be so weird to just be out and about by myself. Tatiana has her big year-end dance recital this weekend, so I will be busy with that immediately upon my return. Busy. Busy. Busy.

I will be kind of glad when this weekend is over, then I can just focus on the family, the house, and my part-part-part time job. I will be scheduling another Talk About It post for tomorrow for all to enjoy while I am gone!