Cumulonimbus

When Calvin was little, he loved Little Einsteins.  Quincy, Leo, Annie, June, and Rocket were his favs!  Fortunately, we didn't find them too annoying because he really learned a lot from those videos.  One day when we were taking the girls to school

he points to the sky and shouts (with great articulation...if you were around him at that age, you remember how in awe we always were with the things he would say) "CUMULONIMBUS!"  Makes me smile as I hear his little voice in my head every time we have thunderstorms.  And it's been a lot lately.  Why do they have to grow?

Joy of Love

yea yea yea I didn't get very far with it.  I actually have plenty of photos I could use for each assignment, but I really wanted to take new ones.  And time got away from me.  I did take a few of the pics, just didn't mess with them and upload them.  One day I'll have them all done....one day...

For now, this assignment was

the eyes

All my kiddos have gorgeous eyes and eyelashes.  (I cannot hide my adoration) They all have such long and curled lashes I am often envious!  But this pic, to me, captures the freckles that I LOVE.  Mia is the only one with freckles.  She only has a few and they are unique to her, making me love them even more.  I often wonder if she will one day hate them, as I often did mine.  I hope not.

Extreme Couponing

I've become addicted. 

It can be a sickness to have an addiction.

This addiction, however, is a good one for our family.  I've become addicted to finding deals.  And I mean real deals.  Deals that you have to work the system to figure out.  Deals that you can stack on top of one another to make an even sweeter deal.  Deals where you can come  home with a dozen $0.12 boxes of cereal and 4 free salad dressings and 6 boxes of pasta for $0.08 a piece and eight 2 Liters of Pepsi for $2.00.  Those kind of deals.  Deals that make you feel like you've won the championship!

"Couponing"  Did you know that word existed?  It's even underlined here as a word that I should check the spelling of!  It is a word.  However new to my vocabulary, it is a word.  I get the local paper on Sundays and I scower the ads.  I clip any that I think I may use.  I used to only clip the ones that I KNEW I'd use, but now I pretty much clip them all.  Then I go online and find the coupons at various websites, and I print more coupons.  I sit with the weekly ads, and I match up which stores have the lowest prices on what I want and compile a list of what I am going to get and where.  Then I go back online and find which stores have "Catalinas" for which items, and which stores have the biggest store credit I can get for such items I have coupons for.

Sound a little demented?  It is.  Sound time consuming?  It is.  Sound worth it?  I guarantee it is.  My girlfriend, in MS, is my inspiration.  She can find a deal like nobody's business.  I mean she can go into a store and come out with a BASKETFUL and tell me she has spent $2.12.  Try and tell me that is not inspiring! 

I'm on a mission.  Extreme couponing.  I'm learning the ropes and I'm going to nail this.  And once I do, I'll teach you all!  I'm thinking I might even take the inspiration of my friend, Emily, and teach a class on how to do it!  Then I can make some moola while I'm saving moola! 

Oh, and it's a darn good thing I bought that box of copy paper a while back when I had the coupon....

It's a Blustery Day

The wind and the rain are mad outside and it's loud inside.  I must admit, I love this kind of weather now and again.  It doesn't seem to happen that often here, but when I does, I like it.  Maybe because where I grew up, we had this kind of weather ALL the time.  When it happens all the time, it's not so fun.  You begin to long for sunny days.  The constant rain and wetness and lack of sunshine can wear a person down.  Oh, and the fog too.  Can't forget the fog.  It would roll out about 10am and back in about 3pm.  From the view of my parents house, we could watch it go out, and come back in again.  And in between those times, if the sun was out, we'd all wash our cars really quickly, then drive somewhere, anywhere with the windows down just trying to take in the fresh air.  It didn't matter if it was 60 degrees out!  We considered it summertime! 

Now that we live where we do, this rain does not last.  The blustery storms are rare.  But the sunshine....that lasts a nice long time.  It even gets to the point in the fall when I long for a rainy day!  Who knew that could happen?!  I'm glad God made seasons.  I'm equally glad He has us living in a place now that has 4 seasons.  It's funny because after about three to three and a half months of one season, I start to crave the next season.  It's God.  And I love it!

Calvin can read!

He can read this note at least!

The girls have grown tired of him forgetting to flush, 

so Mia thought a note would help him!  I chuckled inside, 

but honestly he has not forgotten since the note has been placed there.

CAN'T is no longer a dirty word.

Here we are.  March 1st. 
My doctor has not yet released me to work. 
So I will be spending this month home, just like the last few.  I have fully enjoyed spending this time home with Calvin and sometimes Mike (when he's not working days).  However, we don't do a lot of activities, because I can't. 

When I was a swim coach (way back in the day!) I used to make my swimmers do 25 push ups if they used the dreaded word...CAN'T.  And look at me now.  It's amazing how many things we do in our daily lives that we take for granted.  I have discovered many of those things recently. 

Things that I can't do right now:

• Laundry.  I can start it, but can't take from the washer and put into the dryer.  I can't bend to take the clothes out of the dryer, nor fold them.  wow.  Did you know how much you use your neck/shoulder muscles just to fold clothes?  I didn't either.
• Dishes. I can wash some of them.  Cannot take them from the sink and put them in the dishwasher though.  The kids have become really good at the dishes, thankfully.  But we are now in need of a new set of dishes due to the many breaks that have happened lately!  Oh well.
• Vacuuming.  I learned that one the hard way too, and it wasn't pretty.
• Picking up.  Have you realized how many things you pick up off the floor in a day?  A lot.  I often forget and when I see something to pick up, I do.  And then it hurts.
• Yard work.  Forget any of those activities.
• Making the bed.  The sheet and comforter just get tossed up like it's made.  That's it.
• Getting pans out to make dinner.
• Close the trunk on the van.
• Open/close the slide doors on the van
• Cleaning or scrubbing anything.

The list could continue, but then I'd be boring you, and getting myself in a slump.  Daily I have to choose to see the positives.  I get to spend Cal's last year before school with him.  We play cards, I watch him play the Wii or take pictures of him on the trampoline. We don't do all the things I dreamed I'd do as a stay at home mom, but I do get time with him. 
Time.
Something that we can't get back once it's gone. 

I will be back to normal one of these days.  I do feel a peace in my heart that God is doing a work in our family.  He is turning a crummy situation into good family times.  Meaningful family times at that.  As much as I prefer to be out and about "doing things" as a family, this laid back time is good for us.

I miss my Kindergartners.  As difficult as the year started out to be, I do miss those little guys.  But each time I get up off the couch and feel pain all down my back, and each time I walk the girls to school and all I feel is pain in my low back, I'm reminded that teaching is just not an option yet.  God has comforted me many times in my heart letting me know that this is just temporary.  It's not forever.  And being the patient person that I am, my version of temporary is longer than it once was!