Adventures in potty training.  Peanut has been in big boy undies for 4 days now.  Only 1 accident – today after our walk when mommy forgot to ask right when we got home 2 hours after the walk began.  So, not really his fault, is it???  He’s doing amazing well for 24 months.  He does NOT want Elmo to get wet.

Fall has begun.  Three afternoons of dance = 6 classes and 2 work times.  One afternoon of church = youth hangout, 2 choirs, 2 game times, dinner, 2 adventure clubs, 1 eweth group.  One playgroup = 3 moms and 11 kids.  One cleaning day.  Still to come: another possible playgroup with a ton more moms and kids and another 2 tumbling classes with even more moms and kids.  Not to mention work: training, staff meeting, seminars, bills, and everything else.  Whoever thinks homeschoolers don’t live life really need to come live ours for a bit.  I really could use the break.  How boring would it be to sit in a room all day with the same kids all the time instead of heading to the science center, library, park, dance class, zoo, farm, dad’s work, out to lunch, playing videos games, on the swing set, riding your bike, reading some book, snuggling with mom, making some concoctions in the kitchen (always right after the cleaning lady has finished).  So much for the lack of socialization theory!!!!  The pool is closed so we have moved onto the bathtub pool.  Peanut and I enjoyed the sunny weather today and took a nap in the hammock.  What a life.

We’ve begun preparing for Christmas.  I have a couple of gifts made already.  I have the ideas for others but need a few things to get started.  The children are planning out what they would like to make for friends.  We started with what to buy then realized we (meaning they) don’t have the money to purchase said items so we moved onto making them.  It will be a light one this year (don’t I say that every year??) and I’m determined to get things done ahead of time.  I want some family time without the hassle of finishing gifts at the last minute.  How weird would that be?!

It’s one of those days.  It’s only 10:30am and the day is just blah.  It’s raining.  (I don’t think the children have noticed or they’d be in their swimsuits playing in it.)  The toddler is running around naked (we’re potty training) and wanting in the middle of everything.  The middle two are playing video games and mostly getting along.  I haven’t seen the oldest one yet.  I have a ton of projects to work on and very little energy to do any of them.  So, what projects are up my sleeve you ask?  Well, (BIG breath) Christmas gifts, cleaning around the house, folding laundry, starting the next round of laundry, scrapbooking (I’m missing it terribly right now), changing sheets on beds, going through picture files on the computer, putting directories together for La Leche League, getting dance shoes for children before class next week, planning for work, manuals for work, preping my bedroom to paint, pulling weeds, cleaning up the already picked weeds, planning backyard landscape, prepare for sunday school class this sunday, cleaning out files, cleaning out children’s clothing for fall, working on several papers for Birthworks training, reading my Bible, reading work books, and many others.  Are you tired yet?  I am just listing them.  OH!  I can’t forget the whole getting a workout done.  I have these delusions that my life will one day slow down and all the children will occupy themselves so I can get my projects done.  Somehow, this never seems to happen.  I’m not real sure as to why not.  They are old enough to occupy themselves but, gosh darn it, they still need Mom around for guidance!  You’d think at 11, 8, 6, and 2 they could just take care of everything themselves, right?  (Can you feel the tongue in my cheek or is that just me?)  It’s times like this I find I really envy the empty nesters and those without children yet.  They have time to do the things I can’t.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the season of my life where children are the priority and I love that.  I love hanging with them and watching them grow and learn.  I love seeing them learn a new skill and feeling their excitment with that skill.  I love watching them engage in an activity they love and seeing them just get lost in it for hours.  I know these are my true focus and bring me immeasureable joy.  But, that to do list just keeps knocking on my shoulder….Someone take it away!!!!!!!!

We had some exciting happenings around here!!  Our 6yr old got his first library card!!!  WOOHOO!!!  He’s entering the world of the reading.  He’d been asking for it and every now and then attempting his name but wasn’t putting forth the effort to get it done.  Ok, that’s fine with me – when it’s the right time for him, he’ll do it.  Well, we were at the library and his older sister kept talking about it so he just did it.  He was so excited!!!!  He also has his first loose tooth!!!!  I don’t think it’s coming out for a bit but he is just so excited and anxious about it.  I can’t keep his finger out of his mouth so I gave up even trying.  LOL  Peanut is now running around the house saying he has a loose tooth too.  WOOHOO, Peanut!!!  What an imagination you have!!!!!!

On a sadder note, I don’t understand some people.  I had a discussion with someone about what is unschooling.  After several emails of attempting to get my questions answered and being brushed off time and time again, that discussion has failed once again.  It’s not the first time it’s happened but I find it sad every time because of the anger in the messages I receive.  I’m on several unschooling list – some local and some national and even international.  In all but one, there is a spirit of learning.  People ask questions of any topic regarding schooling/unschooling (and sometimes about life in general) and they are answered by those on the list.  We get a variety of questions so as not to make the list boring and we get a variety of answers so as to learn as much as we can.  People share their links and everything and people learn a alot.  I love those lists because all people are welcomed and they know it.  It’s not that way on all the lists and I was confused as to why that is.  Is it not ok to ask questions of others?  Is it not ok to ask why things are the way they are?  I look at life as a series of questions.  What happens in the world is curious to me.  I loved sociology in college because it really helped me get people better.  I was able to better understand (with the psychology classes too) why people do things they do.  It fasinates me.  But, I don’t understand why others aren’t willing to answer those questions.  I like to be challenged.  It helps me grow into a stronger and more resillent person.  I can do without the stress of being challenged myself but I understand that’s part of the process.  I like people asking me why I do what I do because it gives me the ability to clarify for myself what I do and why.  It gives me the ability to see if there are areas that are difficult and need my attention.  It gives me the ability to see if there are areas that I’m really proud of and want to focus on more.  I don’t want to be complacent with what I do as a wife, mother, person.  I want to constantly re-evaluate and change what isn’t working.  Why don’t others want this to???  I just don’t understand.  I can understand telling someone you are really busy right now and will get to their question when things settle down or that you found their question to be a bit rude but will go ahead and answer it because you want a spirit of learning.  That I can understand.  But, refusing to answer someone else’s questions several times just seems a bit rude to me.  I don’t know.  Maybe I’m the weird one.  If so, I love myself even more now because I’ve been challenged and have grown yet again.  Thank you God and help me to continue loving those you place in my path for this purpose!!!!

We had an impromptu trip to Omaha yesterday.  My sil called and they were in town from Texas for her high school class reunion.  It’s only 2 hours away so we jumped in the car (way to early!) and headed out to spend the day with them.  I can not believe how big my nephews are!  One is completely taller than I am.  Now, that’s not too difficult at my 5′2″ but still!  The other two are either my size or shorter.  All the kids got along well except for one instance.  However, the boys dealt with things and got them handled really well.  I was so proud of them!  They are really growing up into mature young men.  We went to the Henry Doorly Zoo.  That is a very cool place.  We didn’t get to see everything but made some highlights.  It was so cool watching the sea lions eat their lunch.  They did some tricks for the crowd and we got some great pictures.  I saw a very pregnant aardvark and her box to den in after her baby comes.  How cool would that be to watch that birth!!!!!!!  Is it bad that I was secretly wishing she’d just spontaneously deliver so I could watch?  I’m such a birth junkie!!  Peanut didn’t know what to think of the sharks swimming over us.  He was good with it then decided he was all done and ready to go.  We had to go right then!  Such is the nature of a 2 year old.  He did so love the fish and all the splashing going on in all the pools!  (his major fascination at the moment.)  The other kids just really hung out with their cousins.  We all went swimming at the hotel for a bit.  Peanut is now into jumping in – sometimes without mommy realizing he’s jumping!  He goes under the water but not for long so still needs a close eye kept on him.  The others just do their thing.  All the kids are getting better at diving and forcing their bodies to the bottom of the pool.  They did flips and swam and just played like young adults should.  We then did a quick drive by of akdoc’s old neighborhood.  The kids were more than ready to head home so we didn’t go for long.  It was a nice day.  The next couple weeks will have people in and out around here so we’ll see how much blogging gets done.  The homeschool paperwork goes in on Thursday.  It’s amazing how soon school starts around here.  Why don’t people let the kids play and learn???  I just don’t get it.  They are designed to learn through play and work yet we’re going to force them to sit in a room for longer and longer and expect them to “learn” even more info that we deem appropriate for them at this very second no matter what their life is like?  (how’s that for a run-on?)  I just don’t agree with that approach.  My kids learn at their own pace and what they want to learn right now.  Sometimes that’s video games and sharing and other times it’s computer IT support.  Sometimes it’s scrapbooking and how color and texture go together and other times it’s physics in the bathtub “pool” with your swimsuit on.  Sometimes it’s reading and other times it’s cooking our favorite dinner.  You never  know.  But, I always know they are learning what they need to know right now and are applying it to their lives in the best way for them to really absorb the material for life.  When they do that, I’m doing my job as a parent.

It’s funny how different days go.  Some days you really and truly think you’ve made no difference in anything you did.  The world wasn’t changed because you FINALLY folded those 3 baskets of laundry.  Other days you do something so small yet it makes a dramatic impact.  You send a note to a friend about a frustration and the next thing you know that friend isn’t answering emails.  You can’t win!!!!!  So, what do you do?  I don’t know.  The best you can, I suppose.  I am a people pleaser.  That statement some I know would disagree with but it’s true.  I want to make other people happy.  I want to help them as best I can.  I want to make the dinners my children enjoy.  I want to spend time with my friends scrapbooking.  I want to call my mom on the phone and talk for hours.  I want to send someone a card and have them smile when they see it.  I want people to be happy.  It makes me sad when people aren’t happy.  I want to fix it for them but I also know it’s not my place to do that.  If a friend is in a bad relationship, it’s not my place to go in and tell her what to do to make it better.  If a friend is struggling with a personality conflict with someone else, I can listen but it’s not really my place to advise her.  That’s a tough line to hold.  I want to be that ear but I also want to protect myself and my family from struggles too.  If someone else’s struggles are making life difficult at home, I have to go there first.  My family and children are top priority.  That’s just the way life is.   Ok, here goes my most current struggle in this department.  I have a friend that I’ve known for a few years now.  We’ve had a struggle or two over the years but have somehow worked through it.  Well, I got upset and sent her a note telling her.  She’s stopped talking to me.  Why?  I have no idea.  I sent another email telling her that I certainly didn’t mean to kill a friendship or anything and that I want to talk.  Nothing.  This is so frustrating because I feel like this means our friendship isn’t worth anything.  It feels like she’s blowing me off and really doesn’t want to continue a friendship with me.  That really makes me sad but what can I do?  I want to talk and I’ve told her this but I get no response.  So, I sit here waiting.  My life has to continue and couldn’t slow down for anything.  In the mean time, I miss her and I really wish she’d talk to me.  Why does friendship have to be so hard????!!!!!!  (I’ll post on happier topics soon – I promise!!)  Pray for me, please.