Is God Scratchy???

I homeschool my kids, which is all fine and dandy...I don't mind doing it and for US, it is the right decision- at least for right now.  I am glad and thankful I get to spend so much time with them. But sometimes, they ask me a zillion questions, one right after another, and it just makes my brain hurt.

I just got back from taking them to the post office. Most of the way there and back, they decided to ask me questions about two of their favorite topics: God and Heaven. Here is a sample of what I had to deal with in rapid fire succession.....

Where is Heaven? Is the sun there? Are there snakes there? Will they bite? Will the bites make us sick? What about mosquitos? Will they suck our blood there? How 'bout spiders? Will they bite? Do they have mouths in Heaven? Will we have mouths in Heaven? What will we eat? Will we have legs? Can we walk? Can we run? Can we breathe under water? God can breathe under water? Can we sit down there, bc all the walking will make us tired? Why won't we get tired? You mean no more naps? YAY! Can I take my stuffed monkey with me? Why not? Why won't I miss him? Does God have really cool toys there? Can God really see us everywhere? Even in the dark? Even under water? Even when we're taking a bath?! Can He hear my thinking? What if I just move my mouth...will He still know what I am saying? Will I get in trouble in Heaven? Will God put me in time out? Hey, in Heaven, Hadley won't pinch, and if she DOES, God will wack her with the spanking spoon, right, Mommy? Is God really REALLY everywhere? Is God scratchy? Hey, in Heaven, we won't have to pee, will we, Mommy? That will be the BEST part.

Really? Really?? The BEST part of heaven is never having to stop to go to the bathroom?! I think the best part will be RESTING MY POOR BRAIN......if I have any left by then, that is. ;-)

NF....and it doesn't stand for "Not Fair"

When I took Super H in for her 2 year well check this June (which I know was 7 mos late, but track with me), our totally awesome doctor suspected that she might have neurofibromatosis. At that point she recommended blood work that has to be done by a genetics doctor. There is a 5 mo waiting period just to make the appointment, and then there is a several week wait to get the results.

We are still waiting for our appt to even get into the doctor. I have had a couple of people ask me lately what was going on, so I thought I'd blog the update. We're waiting to wait, lol. Meantime I'm trying NOT to think about the 2 people featured on TLC's "My New Face" who had horrible forms of this disease. I got sucked into the show before I knew what they had. Then I walked away from it.

Here is a good link on neurofibromatosis if you want to know more......http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/nf.html

Caution: will BRAKE for doughnuts

Yesterday, I had a long time to think about will power. Usually, I just have the passing thought, "I need more will power." Or even, "Tomorrow I will have more will power and I will do better at (fill in the blank)." Mostly, it's about eating. And what kicked it off yesterday was I had done pretty well all day at cutting out most carbs, and then Gabe "someone" came home from work with a dozen Krispie Kreme doughnuts.

Let me just say right here that I freaking LOVE Krispie Kreme doughnuts. It's genetic, and I blame my dad for that. (Once we stopped in Knoxville, TN at a KK shop that had the HOT DOUGHNUT sign lit. Which was fine except we were trying to get back to our hotel driving thru pouring rain and a tornado warning. Yes, warning. As in, there IS a tornado, get somewhere safe. I guess Dad thought if he was going to go, he was going to leave with a belly full of sugary goodness.) And even if my dad hated them, I am a carb-a-holic, so I would love them on my own.

Most of the time they are not a real problem. I don't live near one of their stores, so unless someone brings them into my house, I'm safe. I have been known to eat 4 at a sitting and lick the sugar out of the box when no one was watching. So the fact that I 'only' ate 2 yesterday was kind of a miracle.

Then the guilt for being a pig sank in, and I went on a brisk walk around the neighborhood for a while and then came in and did crunches. While I was walking, I had actual quiet to think. And I mostly thought about will power.

What is "will power" exactly? Why can I have the will power to spend my whole afternoon wanting a Coke, and drinking sugar free grape Kool Aid instead. Or to NOT put a bun on my hamburger, and then turn around and eat 2 raspberry jelly filled white sugar coated doughnuts?! Why will power for one and not the other? Why can I work out every day for months at a time, but I can't make my self stop watching Hoarders long enough to go to bed at a decent time? It's like WP only sticks to certain things. And not always the things I WANT them to stick to.

The doughnuts are still in my house. I didn't eat one today. Today, I have will power. Tomorrow I may be licking the inside of the box while the kids are watching TV and then chasing it with a can of Coke.

Is will power a myth? Is it real? How do you get more? Is it another name for strength or determination? Or do they all overlap each other somewhat? And where do prayer and God come in the picture?

I found myself wishing there was a store where I could stock up on it. Or at least a vitamin supplement.

So as you can see, I got nowhere with my thinking. Maybe if I had more will power, I could figure something out...... 

OMGOSH PANTS!

I have a daughter who has issues with pants. Well, waist bands in general. And she's not a big fan of long sleeved shirts. But those are less of a fight than pants. And forget about a 3/4 sleeve shirt. It will make her insane. That I understand.

So back to pants.....

I have no idea what her standard for pants are. Last winter it seemed to be that as long as it didn't zip or button, we were fine. Then suddenly, the rules changed, but no one told me. I was just left with a 4 year old who would scream about her pants not fitting, and then would throw out random words like tight and loose, but about the same pair. I don't think she knew what she was saying, only hoping in her hysteria that those words would some how get me to agree to nakedness from the waist down. It didn't. (BTW, her undies are never an issue. I'm not sure why, but I am grateful.)

So last March and April she mostly wore a pair of 'yoga' pants. Then summer came, and we had the same problem with shorts. I was at least able to get a few pairs of shorts that she liked and didn't have a problem with, and then since it was summer, we had the whole sundress option.

Now we are back to fall, and heaven help me. There are no jeans she likes. I have 2 pairs of capris that she seems OK with. But pretty soon it's going to be cold, and she will have to suck it up and wear the jeans. Or maybe, the heavens will open and there will appear in my home a pair of pants...pants that she likes and meet whatever random criteria she has for pants. I can only hope. Meantime, I dread picking out her clothes with her (or for her) because I know there will be an issue if one of the Magic Pants aren't clean.

Oh, and the kicker on the pants is that this fall, she HATES the yoga pants. What. The. Heck. Seriously? Am I on Candid Camera or what ever the equivalent is now?!?!?

The need for Magic Pants also extends to pajama bottoms. She can only sleep in the shirt part. The pants end up on the floor. This is not a battle I am willing to fight. It's night and hopefully she will stay under the covers. Night gowns are good. I got 2 at a rummage sale JUST in the nick of time. Footie pajamas are hit or miss. As in, one night the pink ones will be OK and the next night the pink ones are "wicked". (In her words "wicked" is the worst thing a person or thing can be called. Today I got a triple (!) wicked after not letting her eat M&Ms before lunch.)

I guess all I can do is pray WalMart puts out their children's collection of sweatsuits. Soon. And that the weather cools off. Soon. And then pray that spring doesn't arrive until my daughter is 20 and on her own and can buy her own pairs of Magic Pants to wear in her Magic House where she can eat M&Ms before lunch if she wants to! Because by then I will be either in a loony bin or on a beach somewhere and I won't care.

But then, Wicked Mommies always care.......

Maybe 'one day' is here

So last night we had a couple over for dinner and a bonfire. As I was cleaning the house and cursing every hair clip and silly band  picked up off the floor, a thought hit me. Other than family, no one as been to our house for a meal in about 4 years.

When we first started going to the church we are members of now, we met a couple that had kids almost the exact same age as the two we had at the time. Our girls we 18 mos apart, and I was lonely and constantly stressed out. This other couple was so nice, and their kids were both girls, too. So we had them over. It went well. The kids played, we talked.

Then I found out I was preggers again.

Then I had girl #3.

Then I spent the last 2.5 years surviving.

Not that I don't love my kids, but for me anyway, it was a lot to handle. It was all I could do to occasionally have people over for a playdate, forget about having people over for a meal. Every so often, we would have our families over for dinner, and it would go OK, but I still wouldn't even think about having friends over. The thought would come and go, and I would think, "one day it will be nice, but not now" and move on.

Last night we broke a four year trend. We had friends over. Friends and their super cute little girl. And it went great. And I can't wait to do it again.

Even though I will still probably curse every hairclip and silly band I have to pick up off the floor....