Thoughts In My Head

I was asked the question this week, "What would you like to learn in a couponing class?" It made me think a lot. I use coupons, but don't go out of my way to acquire them. I like coupons, and often lament the fact that we no longer have a printer to print off coupons. I suppose the printer would pay for itself, but we just haven't gone out to buy one. About yearly someone finds that we don't have one and we get their cast off. It works for a time and then dies. So, I can't get coupons that way. We don't get the papers that have the big coupon sections in them. Sometimes we trade with others. Our grocery store used to have amazingly good coupons in their ads and now it is just soda and snacks. All these thoughts made me think of this quote:

Necessity is the mother of invention. ~ unknown

Many parenting questions have been on my mind as well. For instance, what is the balance of playing with my children and doing my own thing? Doing my own thing meaning not just sewing or fun things but also keeping the house in order and balancing the checkbook and... the many, many other stay-at-home mom tasks. Which reminds me, I just got the bank statement in the mail before naptime... :) One friend told me to get the girls started on something and then go and do what you need/want to and come back every now and then and check. I have been working on that more and more. I think it was hard on them to begin with because I started right after I got back from a vacation without them. They wanted/needed me!! This week has been easier, for which I am very grateful. I can tell when I have lost track of the time and it is time for a snack, meal, or nap. L starts looking for me and Kj will tell me she just wants to take a nap (or eat). Here is a parenting quote I came across, not related to what I was talking about, but good nonetheless:

"You cannot control your children, you say. Then the Lord have mercy on you! It is your business to do it, and you must do it, or else you will soon find they will control you. No one knows what judgment will come from God upon those who allow sin in children to go unrebuked." ~ C.H. Spurgeon

This is L singing, "Ho, ho, ho, hosanna. Ha, ha, hallelujah. He, he, he, he saved me. I've got the joy of the Lord." Something to add a little smile to your day:



I used this song one day after my mom taught it to the girls. We were trying to get ready for bed and there was a lot of whining and squirming and parental frustration! It broke through all that and the rest of the process went much easier!! Thanks, Mom!!

4-4

Four days on; four days off. Hopefully not a trend in my running, but I did run 1.54 miles today.

It was a fresh start Monday for me. L is maybe going to one long nap during the day. Today they both woke up happy, not clingy or dragging, but happy. Kj was handing stuffed animals to L in her crib and L was laughing! Yeah.

Also, had an hour with 3 today...ages: 3, 1, 6m. Tomorrow the 3 will be: 3, 2.9, 1, but just a couple hours there too. It should be great.

Random Thoughts

The first thing I am sure you are anxious to hear about...

Running: Well, I had a four day streak and then now I think it has been four days off. I am planning on running again. Today the times that I wasn't busy, I was sleeping and now Kevin is gone for the evening, so I can't just leave the girls. :)

Our bathroom project: Well, we are making progress, though you wouldn't know it if you looked at it. We had a couple "problem" tiles, that we weren't sure how to get those cut. After a rental attempt, Kevin brought them to the rental place and paid $5 to use the machine at the store. I guess the guy there did most of the work also! Yeah! So, now we just need a chunk of time to get it done!

Sewing: After a short burst of creativity, my sewing room has sat unattended for about two weeks. I asked Kj if the next thing should be for her, me, L or someone else. She said, "Gracie." So, I'll have to make a hat next...when the rest of my motivation comes back!

Leaves: I am having mixed feelings about the leaves right now. They all just came out in the last week. Before that I was enjoying looking at the sky through a many paned window. I took some pictures so that I could remember them all summer long!

Answer: Jesus!

Kj's friend got hurt and we were going to send her a picture. I told Kj that G was playing on the stairs and fell and got hurt. "Why did G get hurt? Why was G playing a game on the stairs and get hurt?" I don't know. But who knows? "Jesus." That's right. "When I get to heaven, I am going to ask Jesus, 'Why was G on the stairs and got hurt?'"

Isn't that great!! I know that Jesus knows everything, and Kj is starting to get that Jesus knows everything, and when I don't know the answer I can ask her, "Who knows all the answers?" She'll have lots of questions for Jesus when she gets there. :)

Just thought I would share a link with all you with small children. I found a group that sets Bible verses to music. They have one of their CDs online to listen to. That and others can be bought for about $12, and you get 2 copies...one for you and one for a friend! Seeds I am quite enjoying them myself. The verses just keep popping into my mind. And Kj is asking, "How do you stand on a rock?" Hehe.

Jesus

Kj: Will Jesus wipe my nose in heaven?
Mama: I don't think He will need to.
Kj: Will we eat in heaven?
Mama: I don't know if we will need to. What kinds of foods do you think there will be?
Kj: M&M snacks, and desserts and stuff.
Kj: And probably macaroni and peas will be in heaven too.

We've been talking about death and heaven a bit recently as one of Kj's "best friends" from school died recently. When we had been visiting school regularly, she would tell people that H. was her best friend. H was a little girl that sat in a wheel chair and didn't respond to a whole lot. She never looked at Kj. She never talked to say "Hi" or anything else. She couldn't wave and didn't respond to much. She was able to use a "pony" to walk a bit during gym class and that would make her smile. Whenever Kj was given a choice of where to sit (and even when she wasn't given the choice) she would always migrate to where H's chair was. she would hold her hand and talk to her. She would sit quietly with her during class. She loved her in her 2-3 year old way. I was on a trip recently and told my friend E about Kj and H and their "relationship" and that I wasn't sure how I was going to tell Kj about H's death. My friend's comment was, "Maybe Kj knew." Maybe she knew that H wasn't going to be around forever and knew that she needed to love her as much as she could right now. What a lovely thought isn't it!? Hmm...

Running mileage for the day: 1.95 miles...something feels weird in my back though...stretching funny? strain from new activity?

Jump Starts

Run #3 - 1.64 miles, but really half of that twice. I ran to a friend's house and visited. Got a call from Kevin, which got me out the door and ran back home. Nice, but hard to get started again. Thankfully the looming darkness and Kevin's call got me jump started.

Got my first load of laundry on the line for the season. It was a load of flannel sheets that hadn't dried all the way in the drier and had stayed there a bit too long. Re-wash was necessary, and I didn't want to waste more electricity on drying that would have taken a couple times through. Another great jump start for the day.

First outdoor lunch with the girls. They were playing nicely after L's first nap and hadn't asked for a snack so I decided to start lunch prep early. Then after we "checked the weather" (opened the front door and stepped out for a moment), I decided to have it outside. Lovely!!

AND Kevin passed another certification test!!! Great job. A day full of goodness!

2

Two days, two runs, two miles. Yes, that is right, my second run was 2 miles. I told Kevin my route and as I was nearing the end, I decided that it was too short...so I ran an extra couple blocks. I am hoping that eventually this running will help me have more endurance to keep up with my toddlers. Hmm... We'll see if it adds to my endurance or wears me out.

Happy Mother's Day to me. :) We went to church, out to eat, bought some flowers, planted the flowers, enjoyed naps, savored the beautiful weather some more, met friends for supper, bought a couple groceries, called Curl Grandma, put the girls to bed, ran, stretched, mapped my run, and recorded it all.

I Went Running!

Just went running today...after thinking about it, imagining it, buying new shoes for it, and almost tasting it all spring...the day finally arrived. We got home from Nana and Bumpa's transferred 2 sleeping girls and while it was still light out, I ran! Mmm...and savored every moment. 1.26 miles--all running no stopping. I think that I may record running distances and such on here...we'll see as we go.