April: The Month of Way Too Busy

I will be the first to admit that I hate the "too busy" excuse. It's like a catch-all for everything these days... I can't come to your party because 'I'm too busy.' I can't help you with that volunteer project because 'I'm too busy.' 'We're too busy' to have time for that, thanks though. Ugh! When someone offers that as their reason for not doing something, not coming to something, etc, it makes me want to scream!

Unfortunately, though, we have been the ones dolling out the above excuse lately. We have been "too busy."

I'd like to think that this wasn't our fault. I'd like to blame something/someone else. I'd like to tell you that we didn't set out to be too busy, that it was simply an unfortunate way that our commitments collided to make April our busiest month ever. I'd like to say that we couldn't help it. We were victims of circumstance. I mean, we generally keep ourselves fairly involved which often equals busy, but this month has been completely out of control. And while I do honestly think it was an unfortunate way some of our commitments collided, that wouldn't be taking ownership of the problem or problem-solving for the future.

I would, however, now that the month is over, like to give a few examples of what we're up to last month. (Please note: this is not to add to our list of 'too busy' excuses, but to literally give you a glimpse into what we were up against last month. This is not my way of bragging about our busyness. Last month wasn't pretty, and I'm certainly not proud of it, but want you to have a better understanding of what I mean when I say that April was out of control for us.... Just for the sake of information sharing.)

Here are a few Saturday examples:

Saturday, the 14th (all times approximate):

6am--up to get Jessica's stuff (which has been at the house) loaded into the Envoy

6:45am--Seth and Jessica leave to get the UHaul and then move her belongings from the storage unit to her new (finally ready) apartment

10:45am--Austin and I walk to go to a neighbor girl's 2nd bday party

noon--Daddy arrives at said party just in time for us to leave to go home

1pm--Austin goes down for his nap; Daddy mows our lawn and the neighbor's lawn

4pm--Austin is up and we go for his first official haircut, after stopping at Target on the way there for needed supplies for our evening meeting

5pm--Austin has his hair cut

6pm--Pool mtg. at the pool, Momma drops Daddy and Austin off and goes to CVS to buy cold medication before coming back to the meeting

7:30pm--meeting is done and attempt to leave pool, realize Austin's had a major blow out--Daddy strolls Austin home

8pm--Austin's bedtime, Momma/Daddy collapse after giving a bath and doing two loads of laundry to clean up from the blow-out, including taking apart the entire stroller to wash it

Saturday, the 21st (all times approximate):

6am--up to get ready for the March for Babies walk

7:15am--leave the house to stop for breakfast and then meet the shuttle at 7:45

11am--finish walk, head to lunch to celebrate

12:15pm--arrive home, and go immediately next door for neighbor girl's 5th bday party

1pm--Austin to nap, Momma to clean house, Daddy to Pool Board meeting

3pm--Daddy mows and edges lawn

4pm--Austin up from nap, Momma dresses him for the next event while Daddy gets cleaned up from the yard work

4:40pm--head to next event

5pm--Crossroads picnic

7:30pm--head home

8pm--Daddy gives Austin a bath, followed by some aloe for the sunburn already showing up on his face from the morning walk (bad sunscreen application); Momma/Daddy collapse. Again.

Here are a few Sunday examples:

Sunday, the 15th (all times approximate):
7am--up to get ready for church/Sunday school
8:30am--leave for church
12:15pm--leave for home
12:30pm--eat lunch
1pm--Austin goes down for nap, Daddy goes to the pool to get ready for the meetings that afternoon
2:30pm--Pool Member meeting
3pm--Pool Open House
4pm--Austin wakes up so Momma and Austin join Daddy at the pool
4:45pm--leave Open House
5pm--host Small Group: FAMILY
7pm--Small Group leaves, Austin gets bath and more dinner
8pm--Austin goes to bed and so do Momma and Daddy

Sunday, the 22nd (all times approximate):
7am--up to get ready for church/Sunday school
8:15am--leave early for church because Momma/Daddy are working in ComfortZone
12:15pm--leave for home
12:30pm--eat lunch
1pm--Austin naps, Daddy finishes our lawn and heads to the pool to mow that grass while Momma cleans off the porch and patio
2pm--Austin up from nap, decides he's not going to take one
4pm--Daddy returns from pool
4:30pm--Once Daddy is showered, we head to the grocery store together (it'd been like 2 weeks!)
6pm--eat dinner
7pm--Austin gets bath and goes to bed
7:45pm--Seth takes Jessica's bike and mail to her at her new apartment
8pm--Momma sits down to watch Hallmark/ABC family movie--something she's been looking forward to for several months and has had it on her calendar since first hearing about it last fall
8:30pm--Daddy joins Momma on couch, we enjoy an ice cream treat
10pm-- movie is over; bedtime

A during-the-week, evening commitments example:

Monday--Chapters book club (Momma commitment)

Tuesday--Small Group: WOMEN (Momma commitment)

Wednesday--Rangers Game (Daddy commitment)
Thursday--Do stuff around the house that hasn't been gotten to all week because of other commitments and deal with a toddler unwilling to walk on his left leg

Friday--spend all evening as a family trying to come to terms with Austin's cast

I've been thinking that this busyness must mean we need to scale back our commitment level and the amount of things/organizations to which we volunteer, but all of the events, activities, commitments, etc that we have done this month are important to us. So, I'm not sold on that just yet. I mean, it isn't always like this. We haven't been to a neighbor kid's birthday party since we moved to Park Forest three years ago. We simply happened to get invited to two in one month. I'm certainly not willing to give up Chapters (my book club). Our Small Group is VERY important to us, so that's not going anywhere any time soon. The pool is one of our more-recent commitments, but Seth's the President and very unlikely to want to give that up. The Rangers games are something we could lose, but having bought half-season tickets has actually made us some money, and who am I to suggest Seth have less fun and work more?? And the lawn? Well, it needs to be mowed each week. Nothing can change that. And so does our neighbor's lawn, and they are unable to do it themselves. Thankfully, Seth is now sharing that responsibility with another neighbor, so he shouldn't have to do that but every other week. And the pool board is going to split the pool lawn responsibilities, so that shouldn't be on his mowing plate more than every third week or so.

Here's the thing, though... Because of the above list of 'important' things we've done this month, other 'important' things haven't happened. For example, we have been trying to have dinner with some friends of ours for a month. A Month. Since before Easter! I finally just emailed her and asked about May 12th. That's two weeks away! We will have put them off for a month and a half. That feels horrible. That feels selfish. That feels like I'm bragging about how busy we are. It feels down-right icky. ... Like I'm proud of it or think of it as something to make me feel good about myself or like I think it makes me cooler to be so busy. When actually, it only makes me feel sad and exhausted and more than a wee bit crabby. And Austin's 18-month pictures!? It's important to me to do those on the Saturday most-closely following his actual birthdate day, but now it's going to be over a month late. We couldn't do it a week early, we couldn't do it on the Saturday I prefer, and then by the following Saturday, he was in a cast! It bothers me that we created a schedule which makes important milestones like that something that gets sacrificed/put at the end of the priority list. (Don't even get me started about when we actually took his Progression Photo!)

I do know at least one thing for certain, though. This month has taught me that we need to say no to things even if we are actually available. We usually live by the motto which dictates that we don't say no to things unless we actually have a schedule conflict or something is already in that time slot. If we can squeeze it in, we do. I think, though, with our family continuing to grow, we need to realize that each event needs to have a bumper of empty time around it. Like those things they put in the gutters when kids bowl--something to prevent stuff from invading that space. I think we also need to realize that Seth is currently committed to mowing a lot of grass and that might need to take its own spot on the calendar. Like, it needs to have an appointment scheduled on the calendar for him to be able to mow the grass he's responsible for, and for it to also have a bumper of space around it.

And the last thing I know for certain? May is going to be MUCH simpler and slower. I can promise you that. (That's at least one positive about having a toddler in a full-leg cast.) Come on, May!

2012 Goals, update #1

If you've been following my blog for at least the last few months, you'll remember this post. In it, I list several of my personal goals for 2012. Well, time to update you, faithful reader, on where I stand so far. I need accountability in my life (as does everyone, I think) and that's where you come in.

Here is the list of things I shared in that post plus their current status:

1-feed into my friendships in intentional, overt ways ... in progress

2-make Small Group (the group as a whole and the members as individuals) a priority above most else ... in progress

3-go on a Girl's Getaway weekend with the bestest BFF ever-in-the-world ... CHECK!

4-get pregnant ... CHECK!

5-spend more 1:1 time with Georgia at the park ... in progress

6-buy a new laptop ... CHECK!

7-finish reading through the Bible (I'm doing a year plan, having started in December) ... in progress

8-figure out what's up with mine and Austin's digestive systems ... CHECK!

First of all, I'll admit right now that I'm overall very pleased with my progress toward these goals. While some things have slipped and I'm not happy with how I'm doing on a few particular goals, I feel my progress is sufficient given the happenings of the last 4 months.

I'd like to begin with those goals which I have accomplished. 

#3--Anne Marie and I stayed at Lakeway Resort and Spa for a long weekend in mid-February. She flew in from Atlanta, I picked her up at the airport, and we headed south to Austin in the Mazda 5. It was a really, really nice time. It was just the two of us. No husbands, no kids, no work, no laundry, etc. We made a point to have a spa treatment every single day we were there and enjoyed some good food, but mostly just spent time reconnecting and relishing in our time together. It worked out well timing-wise, too, because it was right before the morning sickness kicked in. Which brings me to #4. :-)

#4--We wanted to start adding to our family again, and began officially trying (a first for us!) with the beginning of January 2012. We must be pretty blessed in this area, because one month was all we needed! (I had originally wanted our children 2.5 - 3 years apart, but figured if we started at the earliest point of comfort, 2 years apart, it'd be a 'better safe than sorry' situation, because we had no idea how easy or difficult it might be for us.) The baby is due 10-11-12, and we find out in about 4 weeks whether said baby is a boy or a girl. People constantly ask if I have a preference, and I honestly don't. I will feel extremely blessed with either. (And me being the perpetual Pollyanna that I am, I can find the good in either situation.) I am starting to feel pretty good now (I'm right at 16 weeks), but had horrible morning sickness during the first trimester, just like last time. Though, it seems different this time around. --I've been warned not to think that it means a different gender, just a different pregnancy. I'm very excited for the appointment in a few weeks!

#6--I had been saving money for several months for a laptop, and in early February finally found one on a sale so good I couldn't pass it up. A Macbook Pro (for us, once you go Mac, you never go back. ;-) doesn't come cheap, so I had asked for money for Christmas and my birthday, saved money from a short-term babysitting gig in January, and then the final piece was some of the rent money from our roommate (she lived here February, March, and half of April). The computer sits in the family room, ready for use whenever you have something quick you want to look up. It doesn't get a whole lot of use, but is used exactly as I imagined.  It's perfect and I LOVE it. Thank you to everyone who helped me reach that goal!

#8--Gluten. I can't remember exactly when we got the results from the stool tests, but in any case, Austin and I both tested positive for having a Gluten Sensitivity. It is super obvious whenever he consumes gluten because the Spit-Up Factory is back full-strength. Yuck. I honestly haven't been as good about it with myself as I have with Austin. I hit a wall sometime in February when I realized that even though I had been attempting to eat gluten-free, I wasn't. One desperate Friday night, I hit the local Tom Thumb for every carb it was worth, not paying attention to food labels whatsoever. I need to start working on learning what foods are safe for me, now that I'm feeling better. It just was bad timing--I could barely keep anything down, barely desired to eat anything, and then to try to read labels to see if it was safe? Well, it was just too much.

That leaves #'s 1, 2, 5, and 7. All of these things have been attended to, at least somewhat. I mean, I have taken Georgia to the park. Once. I had dinner with One friend. One time. I was still working on my Read Through the Bible in a Year plan, but then 1st Trimester hit, and all bets were off. (I've also had two sinus infections during that time.) I mean, the house turns into a wreck--no cooking, no cleaning, no laundry. I barely can complete my book club book and my BSF homework let alone add anything else onto my plate. Some days I literally just curled up in the recliner in Austin's room while he played by himself on the floor. But now that I'm feeling better, I'm starting to tackle the list again. 

I'll check back in with you in another few months. Til then... Is there anything you'd like me to be holding you accountable for?

Small Group: SERVICE; March for Babies, April 2012

One of the families in our Small Group has a set of "spontaneous triplets." The word 'spontaneous' is used because it denotes the fact that there was zero intervention to accomplish a multiples birth. They decided to try to start a family, and they got pregnant with triplets! That is, she wasn't taking medication, they were simply blessed by God with 3 rather than 1 (or even 2!). The triplets include a set of identical twin girls and a fraternal brother.

We didn't know the Childress family then, but the later stages of pregnancy were pretty rough (as you can probably imagine!), and the babies were born, (healthy, but early) at 33 weeks, after mom had already been in the hospital for quite some time. After they were born, all three babies were in the NICU for a period of time. Because of the triplets' prematurity, the Childress Family supports the March of Dimes.

Our Small Group had been trying to find service projects that were kid-friendly and had considered doing the Water is Basic 5K which has a partnership with our church, Irving Bible Church, but the costs to enter were pretty high, even for the babies in the group. Once we decided that it wasn't really an option for us, the idea of doing the March for Babies walk to help support our own members (they had a team) came up. The date was one that worked for most everyone in the group, and the entry fee was whatever you were comfortable with (because we literally just contributed to the Childress Team Goal).

So, on April 21st, we met at 7:45am at Valley View mall in order to take the shuttle to White Rock Lake, the location of the walk. While chilly in the morning, the weather couldn't have turned out better! It was warm enough and sunny enough to make the walk feel more like a stroll. Miss Caroline rode on Daddy the whole time while Mattie and Austin rode in jogging strollers. Everyone wore their best versions of neon because Momma Childress had told us the triplets would be wearing different neon colors on the day of the race. Getting to dress similarly was something that made the prospect of the semi-grueling morning actually exciting. 

The entire walk is 5 miles, but that's completely unrealistic for our group, so we took the "Tiny Tot Turnaround" which made the walk one mile out and one mile back. They handed out plenty of water, and when we were done, we simply loaded back onto the shuttle bus to head back to the mall. It was about 11am when we got back to the mall, so we decided to head to lunch together as a group. We ate on the patio at Sherlock's (near Beltline and the Tollway) and had a GREAT time chatting with each other. It was The Perfect way to end a very fun morning!

The Alisento(e)no Family, waiting patiently (and happily!) for the shuttle.

The Rasoi Family on the shuttle.

Mr. Cutie Pie horsing around with Daddy's sunglasses whilst squirming on the shuttle.

Fingers and hair. Fingers and hair. Austin's "Man, this is boring." look.

Still more waiting. Everyone's wearing their 'neon,' our chosen team color.

The whole walking crew. From L-R: Alisentono Family, Rasoi Family, Spofford Family, Childress Family (with the triplets up front in the a-mazing wagon!)

Easter Weekend 2012

It has become our annual tradition to keep our nieces and nephew each Easter weekend (as they get old enough, this was Ireland's first year). It began as a way for Seth and I to spoil them. I want them to grow up with memories of us (their aunt and uncle) that don't include 10 other people, particularly their parents, around. (Most family events are so full and so busy, that we don't actually get to interact much with them, especially on a 1:1 basis.) But now it's also become time for the cousins to hang out. Delaney, Turner, and Ireland LOVE Austin and are always cracking up over the funny stuff he does. I want them to have time together without the house being packed full of people.

We usually have them over Friday evening to spend the night as well, but several factors prevented that from happening this year. Instead, Spencer dropped them off first thing Saturday morning. We begin at IHOP, go to IBC's Eggsperience, go back home to eat lunch, dye eggs, enjoy the park down the street, and then it's time to take them back home so that we can prepare for the following day.

To start off our day: breakfast

A picture perfectly describing Austin's mood most of the day. Not Happy.

We had 6 in my 5. LOVE my car!!!

We asked them what they wanted to do first, and all agreed on "Paint Face."

This is the first of many meltdowns of the day. We'd only been there like 20 minutes and he was full-on tantruming! It would have been cute except for the loud wailing that accompanied this pose. (The wetness on his butt is from his water leaking onto his high chair at IHOP.)

Next up, everyone wanted a tattoo.

It was such a proud moment, to see my son getting his first tattoo. :-)

Then we moved onto the carnival games, and I made sure Austin got a chance to play too.

The prizes were things not even close to being safe for him, but he had fun pulling the duck out.

I took a lot of pictures of Game Playing, and couldn't get many good ones as it seems our camera is on its last leg. But, can you see the blur of the white ball that Turner just smacked? It was hilarious!

Another game Austin could play. All she had to do was show him how to do it once, and he went about putting all the other rings on the bottles. Very cute! Again, not a prize he could enjoy, but still fun.

A series of photos of my mans. One happy and smiling, the other unwilling to even look at the camera.

"I'm. Not. Going. To. Look. At. You. Stop trying."

They all did really well at this. You had to actually make a line with the bean bags you got through the holes.

Waiting to get into the petting zoo.

Besides calling every animal "Georgia," I'm not sure he was really into it. Though he did pet this baby goat.

The following day... Easter Morning!

I wasn't quite ready with the camera when he came barreling into the front room to find his basket.

His favorite word--ba. That's 'ball' for all you non-Austin speakers.

He immediately wanted to play with the bubbles.

I tried to get him to pose with his stuff, and Daddy decided it was time for bubbles. Can you see the smile despite the fingers?

This is one of his newest favorite things to do--make a big "O" with his mouth while oohing at everything.

After we came home from church, we did an Easter Egg hunt with the 4 kids. Austin got several minutes to "find" eggs while no one else was there to bother him. AND so we could get some good photos!

He's a natural! I was NOT expecting him to walk over, crack open an egg and then try to eat the contents!! I wasn't sure he'd know what to do with them, but picking them up, cracking them open, and then finally putting them in his basket was easy for him.

And one of Georgia Mae with her Easter Haul too. Man, this dog hates being photographed. 

Happy Easter, everyone! He is Risen!!!

Texas Bluebonnets; April 2012

Our April schedule is unfortunately super-duper packed, so it would only make sense that the only day we have a chance to take Bluebonnet Pictures (which, if you're not familiar, is a Texas Tradition) was a day Austin was in rare form. He. Was. So. Grumpy. He is hardly ever this unwilling to smile! But, as you can see, we did get a few good ones, and of all the pictures taken, so long as we have one good one, I'm pleased.

the In A Sea of Bluebonnets picture

His face most of the day, and in most of the pictures we took. "I'm. Not. Happy."

I tried to get him to walk through the field, but he hated how they felt against his legs and just sat down.

And then, the Money Shot! :-) Don't mind the red marks... Mosquito Season has arrived.

love my sweet baby boy!