today i...

woke up

read the Bible

cleaned out the insides of some of the kitchen cabinets

fed the kids

changed aniston

fed aniston

made my bed

got school stuff ready

started school

gave aniston more food

continued school

changed aniston's dirty diaper

finished school

gave kids a snack (at 11:30)

cleaned up school

entertained aniston

picked up

got supper going in the crockpot

started a load of laundry

cleaned out the pack 'n' play (a baby stuff catch-all)

dressed aniston in a tutu (cute!) and took pictures for her birthday invites

got lunch ready for the kids

fed aniston lunch

changed aniston

put aniston down for a nap with her bottle

read a book to emmy

put emmy down for her nap

got boys set up for quiet time

did dishes

cleaned the kitchen

made myself a sandwich

checked email and blogs while eating my sandwich

designed aniston's birthday invitations

printed off some homeschool forms

got booted off the computer (i have parental controls set to keep me accountable)

gave kids a snack

cut some (store-bought) garden-fresh green beans

transferred laundry to the dryer

made a fruit salad

realized our dryer had been plugged in for 36 hours which meant our hot water heater was not plugged in which meant we had no hot water due to the fact that i had run the dishwasher twice and taken a shower once (yesterday)

boiled a pot of water on the stove

rescued aniston from her crib

changed aniston's third dirty diaper of the day

dumped boiling water in bath tub and added too much cold water

boiled another pot of water on the stove

picked up the house again (aniston's stuff...the girl is destructive)

dumped boiling water in tub

told the boys to bathe

got clothes ready for the kids

got other stuff ready for errand-running

cooked green beans

got supper plates ready for kids and me

fed the kids and myself

cleaned up the kids' supper mess

loaded the kids in the van

waved at chris when we passed him on the road

dropped the boys off at awana

unloaded the girls from the van

printed aniston's invites at wal-mart

loaded the girls in the van

unloaded the girls from the van

brought our comforter into the laundromat and started the washload

loaded the girls in the van

unloaded the girls from the van

went into the library and got a boat load of books

helped emmy go to the bathroom

loaded the girls in the van

ran into the laundromat and retrieved our comforter

dropped an overdue movie at the video store

picked up the boys from awana

listened to aniston scream the whole way home

unloaded the kids from the van

breathed a sigh of relief that chris was done working on the yard

got aniston a bottle

sent the kids off with daddy so he could put them to bed

checked email and blogs

told chris goodnight and thanks for his work on the lawn

laughed when chris responded "thanks for watching the kids by yourself for the last, like, ten years"


throw in about a dozen episodes of some sort of (usually mild) discipline and there you have it.

notice any important things missing from the day?

like showering myself?

or bathing the girls?

or playing with the kids?

oh well. some days are like that.

and now i'm psyching myself up to fold the nine (yes, nine) loads of laundry i did yesterday (it was "wash bedding day" plus i had about three loads worth of garage sale purchases to wash)

what did you do today? if you showered, you're a step ahead of me. :)

Some people watch TV. I blog.

First of all, is everyone else LOVING the new post editor and the way photos upload and all that? I'm loving it. I hated how my photos would get all mixed up during the upload process. I'd have to move them all around and it took
so

stinkin'

long

I could literally feel myself aging, which isn't actually saying much because I'm pretty sure that I've aged ten years in the last 18 months.

Anyway, I was saying...

What was I saying?

Ah yes. So I'm really loving the new post editor. I also love that when I hit "publish", Blogger or html or whomever it is doesn't insert extra blank lines OR delete blank lines, depending on what mood he/she/it is in. Can techonological "things" get PMS? Because I would swear I've witnessed Blogger go all PMS on me several times.

Anyway, the point is I'm really loving the new post editor. But I think I may have already mentioned that one or twenty times.

Now that that's out of the way and I've successfully wasted precious minutes of your life...

I've been thinking lately. (Since I had my husband put a password on the computer, I've got a lot more time on my hands to do important stuff, like think.) I've been thinking about the whole blogging scene. What is it all about for me? Why do I do it? How much should I blog? Should I blog? I was feeling kind of like this blog needs to go, simply because I felt kind of stupid for even having it.

But then I remembered. It's a hobby. I'm allowed to have a hobby. Sure, my other blog is a very meaningful thing to me because it is a place to record precious memories (memories that would otherwise literally fall right out of my head because my memory is like a sponge, except the opposite). This blog is a place for me to just have a little fun. Or get a little serious.

So that's that. This blog is, quite literally, all about me. (Excuse me while I deflate my ego?)

But seriously, I love hearing from people that they got a good laugh out of one of the misfortunes I shared on my blog, like the time that I peed myself when I fell going down the stairs when I was pregnant. I love having a blog as an outlet because it truly makes all of my misfortunes seem less misfortunate.

Case in point: tonight I was speed cleaning the van while the boys were at Awana and the girls were with Chris, and after who knows how many minutes of bending over/into the van, I stood back up and realized that the wind must have caught my shirt had blown it up in the back. No big deal, except that I’m a bit behind on laundry due to the fact that I don’t have a dryer plugged in, plus it’s been rainy or looking like rain, so I’m low on undies and had to resort to gigantic, post-pregnancy, granny underwear. Oh. My. Word. The fella vacuuming his car next to me probably went home and splashed acid in his eyes or something.

I was horribly, terribly embarrassed, but I immediately laughed at the potential blog content. When I look at life’s misfortunes through the eyes of my three blog readers (that would be you, you, and you), it makes it easier to laugh it all off.

I also love when someone tells me that God used one of my posts to speak to their heart. It makes all those little (and sometimes big) struggles seem more purposeful, knowing that by sharing my struggles in the way that God intended, somebody somewhere might feel encouraged or less alone. It makes me feel humbled and honored to know that God can use me to make a difference outside my little family.

So I’ll be sharing many more pointless stories, embarrassing moments, spiritual struggles, and God things. Because here’s what I figure:

Some people watch TV.

I don’t.

I blog.

Not Me! Monday

I'm adamant that I will only get a professional haircut after I've lost my first 15 pounds. Well, awhile back I was desperate for a haircut, but I did not grab a pair of scissors and start chopping my hair off.

And that is definitely not the fourth time I've given myself a haircut!

***

One day when I was trying to do some research on immunizations, I did not accidentally search for the "department of pubic health".

(Oh, and in case you're curious, there is no such thing as the "Department of Pubic Health". At least not yet.)

***

This weekend, Chris and I were not tapped out mentally and physically. We did not tell our kids, on several occasions, that we just didn't feel like doing anything fun. We did not say, "Let's just watch TV and relax" more times than should be allowed by law.' We're always active, on-the-go parents who are always willing to jump up and do fun stuff with the kids. We never let our emotions and/or physical exhaustion interfere with family fun.

***

Speaking of being tired and lazy...

Our homeschool books, teacher's notes, workbooks, etc. have not been strewn on the table for three full days now.

We have not eaten either standing up, at the counter, or in the living room for three full days.

***

Did I mention that Chris and I were feeling lazy this weekend?

Well, we were.

But no matter what our kids tell you, we were not so lazy that we fed the kids ice cream for supper. We would never do such a thing.

Ever.

APX

I've mentioned before that my brother, Trevor, is in a band. It's called A Past Unknown (or APX for short). Well, as I type this, I am listening to their first CD that was just released! It is an EP (I think?) which means it's not a full CD and has 6 songs instead of the standard 10-12 songs. Pretty cool.

They had a "CD Release Party" last night, and Chris made the 2-1/2 hour drive to be there. He was dog tired and didn't feel like driving, but he's super glad he went. And for a couple hours last night, I was super jealous and super crabby and super depressed that I was stuck at home with the kids. Thankfully, they were all in bed when I was feeling that way, and my self-pity-party didn't last long.

He didn't get home until past 4:00 in the morning because it was foggy on his way home, but he miraculously didn't fall asleep at the wheel. (I almost always drive when we're on the road at night.) He did sleep until 9:30 this morning, then took a 4-hour nap this afternoon, then fell asleep before 10:00 tonight, so hopefully he'll catch up before he has to work on Monday.

Anyway, if you'd like to show your support by getting their new CD, you can head on over to their myspace page and contact them to get hold of a copy!

addiction

I've had a sneaking suspicion for quite some time that I may have an addiction.

Not to alcohol, nor cigarettes, nor drugs, nor food.

To my computer.

"Hello. My name is Danielle. And I'm a computer-holic." Or something like that.

I love my computer.

(Okay, it's our computer, but Chris and I both know it's my computer.)

I love using my computer to relax, to research, to learn, to organize, to organize, to organize. But for the last month, I've tried to seriously limit my computer usage, and I have failed miserably.

First I started off saying that I would leave the computer off until all the kids were abed at night.

That lasted approximately one day.

Then I decided that I would leave the computer off, PERIOD, until the girls went down for their afternoon naps.

That actually lasted about a week or two, and up until this week, I was well-disciplined with that about half the time.

The problem for me is this. I have a very special computer. You see, it talks. That's right. Once it is turned on, it talks to me. It says things like, "Come check your email...it'll only take a minute." and, "Go ahead, see if there are any new blog posts to read. You deserve a break." See? It talks to me.

Or maybe that was Satan.

Yeah, that makes a little more sense than a talking computer.

And Satan had me right where he wanted me. I was wasting precious time on my "precious" computer. Time that I can NEVER get back. Time that could be spent cleaning, playing with my kids, talking to my kids, teaching my kids about how to find God in the little things, or sitting at Jesus' feet.

I would check my email, which would remind me that I wanted to check something on the internet, which would lead me to this other site, and on and on, and before I knew it, a half hour was gone. Wasted. It's truly shameful to me to think about how much time I've wasted looking at a computer monitor.

Essentially I've chosen an inanimate object over some pretty important things: time with my kids, time with my Savior, time with my husband, serving my husband.

"Yeah, Chris, the house is a pit. What's your point?" I would get so defensive most times. Why? Because I knew in the back of my mind that I had chosen to slack on the computer instead of tidy up and make our home into a haven for my husband, who goes out and works all day, even when he's sick, so that I can stay home with my babies. Shameful.

So, I've had to make a drastic (for me) move.

I asked my husband to hold me accountable by changing the password on the computer.

All I can say is, "Sweet Jesus be near".

And let me just say how hard it was for me to admit to him (several months ago) that I had a hard time staying off the computer, and even harder to admit to him this weekend that all of my feeble attempts at limiting my time on my own have failed.

Now, it is NOT an option for me to get on the computer until Chris is home. And seriously? Can I just tell you all how amazing this week has been? I'm less irritable, less distracted, more productive. It's such an eye-opener to me.

I've been feeling like God wants me to do this for quite some time, but Satan kept telling me lies, and I believed them. Here are some of them (perhaps you can relate):

• "What if I need to use the computer for something school-related?" (Reality: hardly ever happens, and if it does, then whatever it is can wait for the next day, after I'm able to print off whatever it is that I need.)
• "I can't wait until the evening to work on my orders! That's terrible customer service!" (Reality: business has been slow, first of all. And second of all, I need to trust that God will send customers my way who are patient and understanding, and are okay with waiting a few extra hours for me to get back to them. Duh.)
• "What if someone emails me with something really important?" (Reality: Um, seriously? If it's SO important, will they not call me on that thing called a telephone? Oh my word, I'm amazed by my own stupidity sometimes.)
• "I just need to be more disciplined." (Reality: I have been trying to be more disciplined, and I am obviously lacking the discipline. Sometimes, even Christians are that way, and that's when having an accountability partner is the key to overcoming addiction. God did not intend for us to bear all of our burdens alone. He gave us the gift of fellowship for a reason.)
• "I can't possibly get my computer-related work done in just an hour a day!" (Reality: it's a little thing called PRIORITIZATION. I keep a list in my master organizer binder of all the things I need/want to do on the computer. And I prioritize the list. Saturdays will be my catch-up day, if necessary.)
• "I won't have enough time to blog. What ever will I do if I can't blog?!?" (Reality: I can still blog, but it may mean that I do a majority of my blogging on the weekends, specifically on Sunday. Sunday, since it is a day of rest, would be a good day for me to spend a few hours enjoying one of my hobbies.)

So really, it's not as bad as I imagined. It'll take some time to get used to it. And it may be awhile before I stop looking longingly at the computer, wishing that it was accessible. Not that I do that. Ahem.
But God is so good that He continues to expose areas of sin in my life. And He doesn't just leave it there. He keeps after me, because He loves me too much to leave it alone.