What Do You Do?

Every day looks like this. It might start off clean in my house, but it never ends that way - at least while the kids are still awake. I really do clean (it seems like it's constant).


So how do you do it? How do you keep your house clean constantly? Yes, I've heard of putting things away after you use them, but I have 3 kids and sometimes don't have that luxury.



Then I ran across this (click to make it larger):
Hmmm, yes, that is part of it.

Also, I've been told not to worry about it, focus on the kids and life instead - which is great in theory; it's just that I like it to be clean in my home. Very clean. And it rarely is.

And there's my dilemma.

King Mason

It Had To Be Done

Cara's hair is taking forever to grow. Finally she had enough length in the back that it touched the middle of her neck. However, it didn't look good. It was not thick enough, so it just looked stringy. Therefore, she got a "bob" today. It does look much better, and everyone says it will grow faster. We'll see.

Last Pics of 2008

I just uploaded some pics from my camera onto the computer, and I found the last 2 photos of 2008.
This was Mason's 1st time making a pizza - so serious about it. He sort of liked the result, but I know he would have preferred Pizza Hut.

Oh Well

*Job update: The position must have been filled - it's no longer on the district website.

I Blame My Sister

Mason has always liked to bring stuff with him wherever he goes. So he tends to grab a bag and fill it full on the way out the door. Well, recently my sister heard him call his bag a "purse". She thought maybe she should give him a better term to use than a purse, so she told him it really should be called a "man-bag". !!!!!

And yes, now he routinely calls his bag of stuff his man-bag. :)

What a Week... and it's only Wednesday!

Sunday night - difficult children
Monday - snow, snow, but not the blizzard that was expected, difficult children
Tuesday - a fire at the boys' school, no school, an appointment with nutritionist for Mason, long day
Wednesday - snow, shoveling, no school again due to the smoke damage at the school, long morning, cold, took kids to movie in the afternoon (Bedtime Stories) - Cara doesn't get the quiet concept and talked - loudly - throughout, cold evening
Thursday - the outlook doesn't look promising as it's going to be so cold they've already canceled school for the district tomorrow (!!)
Friday - I can only hope... school.

Really, I'm not trying to be negative. It is what it is.

What Kind of News Is Good News?

*No news on the job yet.

*Today Mason had a full evaluation done at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This means academic and psychological testing, including speech, as well as talking with psychologist/psychiatrist. He put forth a great effort, for not wanting to be there. At the end of all the testing, we met with all the professionals. Mason is average to above average on all academic and cognitive testing. The doctors believe that his diagnoses are correct, although they think oppositional defiant disorder is in the mix also. They believe he is on the correct medicine currently, and they agree with his current doctor on the direction with which to go with meds. They highly praised his school and the school district for the work they've done with Mason, and we agreed they've been outstanding.

So, we're on track. We're not missing any piece of the big picture. I have to admit I hoped for something - anything to be found that could explain this, help him, or "fix" it. So while we haven't found out anything horrible, we know this will continue to be his life, our lives and our challenges.

I Might Just Be Crazy

This morning I was stressing. About money, about kids, about life.

This is no surprise to anyone who knows me, but I make snap decisions. If I think about something too long, I find reasons to not do it.

So why might I be crazy? Because I decided today that I'm going to try to go back to teaching. Yep. I've kept up with my license. So I looked through the old newspaper ads, and I found an opening nearby for mid-year. And it was exactly the same type of position I had before I became a SAHM.

Here's another reason to think I'm crazy. The district needs everything turned in tomorrow. Of course, I had nothing ready because I hadn't been thinking about it. The "plan" was to stay home with Cara until she started kindergarten in Aug. 2010. I don't think I can do that. I believe I'm ready to go back. So I've spent the day frantically working on a resume, cover letter, application, calling people for reference letters, etc.

Thank you to help from Beth and Jennifer, plus mental you-can-do-it from Jodi. I don't expect much from this, but I guess you never know what will happen. At the very least it motivated me to do something!

Too Funny

This picture was taken by my mom when we were celebrating Christmas. I'm not typically a napper, but I've mentioned how tired I've been lately. Yes, I am in this photo; you can mostly just see my legs because I have Cara and Mason sleeping on top of me.

My dad, Riley, Mason, me, and Cara