The Evil Weatherman And How He Corrupts

We had a nice Christmas. A real, nice, Christmas. All the family was home too. Though not for long.

We are petitioning the general public to actively pursue the opportunity to sue the Weatherman. Yes, the evil, lying, deceiving Weatherman. HE wrecked what could've been a perfect Christmas. He corrupted our celebration. Our family time. He left a dark shadow on what was supposed to be a perfect evening.

See, we had certain family members that had to travel the day after Christmas. The Weatherman (like the devil) wanted to interfere in our goodness in life and in the blessing of family and in the close togetherness that Christmas is intended to produce. He was like Santa Clause -- you know how Santa distracts from the real meaning of Christmas? Well, the Weatherman did that as well.

He slammed the weather site that certain family members visited with an evil scary looking weather alert. Snow, ice, rain, cold, etc. Pretty much everything but a tornado. Although, had it been summertime he probably would've used a tornado warning instead.

So, he alerts the area with a Winter Storm Advisory all the way from our house to the front door of the home the certain family members needed to get to, 3 1/2 hours away. As if that wasn't a sign right there. I mean, how often does weather effect the ENTIRE width of one state? Not often. Unless the Weatherman is up to his evil deeds in twisting his tactics into a close family's Christmas.

Instead of saying goodbye the day after Christmas, we said goodbye to the certain family members the day OF Christmas. How sad. Christmas is not the time to say goodbyes. Especially not to one family member we won't see until after his tour to Iraq for a whole year. We bid them a Merry Christmas and watched a few flakes of snow fall from the sky.

The Weatherman was happy. He had deceived us thoroughly. But, the snow and ice and rain and cold only lasted long enough until right after they left. evil Weatherman.

Anyway, not to complain after having such a sweet Christmas but seriously, if it's not the devil, it's the Weatherman. The evil, conspiring, jealous Weatherman.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas (unless you're the evil Weatherman) and are looking forward to a New Year ahead. Oh and in case you're wondering, we're not just dreaming about a white Christmas; we are walking in a winter wonderland around here.

On Jogging Babies, A Pregnant Cat and Christmastime

I really should not be blogging. My kids are sleeping, the house is quiet, the phone is not ringing and the sun is shining. This is a bad time for blogging: I really should be doing laundry. Or cleaning. Or packing. Or something productive.

But, since the Christmas season is heavily upon us (though our home has been decluttered of Christmas decor as of last Saturday), I assumed I should do my best to create a festive ado to the old year and prepare with diligence for the new year. At least on my blog.

Christmas season is over at our house because 1) we celebrated it twice already here and 2) we will be gone the entire Christmas week while celebrating with family else where. So, not to give myself more to get done in the New Year, I put all our stuff away already. It seems strange to plan for Christmas but yet already have the stockings taken down, the candles put away and the trees undecorated.

We are in the midst of the FUN part of our basement remodel. Janae's room has been heavily decorated with flowers, butterflies and clouds and has caused a spirit of covetousness in her older brother's heart. He really wants pink and purple and yellow flowers and butterflies in his room. If he only knew what was in store for his new room, he'd not waste time on frivolous matters of dreaming of butterflies. (hint: it involves a train.)

Alex has evolved into a creature of insanity and impulsive, irreparable cranial discoveries unbelievable climbing performance. If it's above the floor, out of his reach and right where he wants to go, he'll get there. No matter how high. He has sustained a goodly amount of cuts, bumps and bruises and even some possible spine misalignment. But, all that to say that his favorite place to go for a jog is around and around the top of the dining room table. While I make supper.

I am secretly coveting cultures where the family sits on the floor while they eat -- a table is unheard of. Oh, and the people that eat with their fingers... my kids would feel right at home. Just think of the ease life would be. That whole dining-room-table-less-culture means I could seriously cook supper without rescuing my baby off the top of the table 5 times while I attempt to put whipped topping on the dessert. (not that it's ever happened or anything...)

Janae is doing well. She is convinced the real name for Christmas is "April 5th" since that is her birthday. This gift giving and celebration with family and friends is all too confusing and synonymous with her birthday. We have told the Christmas story several times to the kids and never took time to mention that Jesus was probably born in April or March, according to history. Nonetheless, Janae calls it April 5th and maybe someday she'll realize that Christmas and Birthdays are two very different holidays, even though her and Jesus just might share the same birthday. The bundle of energy, giggles and tears that Janae is continues to prove over and over that she is definitely all girl.

Landon. He's a boy. He shovels snow. And shovels snow. And shovels snow. Then, he comes inside with his new shovel and washes it in the sink to get all the dirty snow and mud off. Every time too. Weird kid. I wish he was as particular about his room. The Christmas story has him perplexed: "Why did that lady have her baby in a barn?" Makes me realize that the "Christmas story" really was more than just a story; it was reality for that lonely baby and his rejected mother. Do we really understand the Christmas story the way a child can???

Toby is well. All the teeth left in his head from the last dentist assignment appointment are also well. When it rains it pours so we are happily supporting the financial fund for our dentist. A pocket of infection left Toby looking like half a chipmunk on his face but he endured it happily and painted the kids' new rooms while healing from the ordeal his teeth gave him for 3 days. Since then, he's been enjoying life at home since our subzero weather has shut most construction workers up for awhile. Bookwork and remodeling keep him busy and when he gets ornery, he'll just come upstairs and shoot rubber bands at his wife or make fun of the way she complains about her sore knee.

Rasputia (our cat) is about to give birth at pretty much any given moment. We are hoping she waits until after Christmas so we can be home to enjoy the new kittens and watch with amazement at the wonderment of our house becoming infested with cats.

We built a redneck-looking-hay-igloo outside for the dog. Any of you wondering about how she's fairing in this subzero weather, don't worry. The only thing she lacks is a kerosene heater and Christmas lights around her "house." But we thought that would be more dangerous than helpful so she just gets food and water everyday.

Oh and the guinea pig is still out on her foreign exchange student trip. She is residing for part of the school year at a local grade 6-12 school house. We are enjoying not having guinea pig poop to sweep up but think when she comes home, she'll like the basement better than when she left. The added cats to our home will also help in making her feel comfortable here as well.

As for me, I'm really supposed to be doing laundry, packing and getting ready for the trip. I'm trying to size down the number of items we bring take (properly expressed grammer) but since Wisconsin has so much more cold and so much more snow and so much more ice than we do, it's hard to eliminate layers when you really should be adding more. Not to mention all the gifts and items that we usually haul up there.

While I get back to my day here and make a better mess of the pile of laundry and junk waiting to be packed, I hope you all have a very, Merry Christmas!

When Life Dictates Your Blog

So I haven't posted in a week and a half. I know. You try raising 3 kids during the Christmas season and keeping up on laundry while you remodel your basement at the same time and then let me know how much time you have for blogging.

Seriously though, in all factual honesty, the basement has little to do with my life right now. Except for the pile of paint samples sitting in the van I mean hanging in a Menards bag actually they're now stacked on the piano bench oh, I guess they're on the table. (My kids keep moving them around, in case you couldn't tell.)

The phase of work we're on right now with our basement has been hired out to a professional. Judging by the "technique" my husband, Mr. Roofer, naturally has for mudding and taping, our drywall would've ended up looking like something between stucco and a earth quake survival test. So, we changed our budget to accommodate a more professional wall finish and skipped the kitchen remodel altogether. For now.

And that's fine with me actually because the kitchen was supposed to be remodeled a year ago so if I can wait all this time and still be content, who cares if it's another 10 years before the kitchen gets a little extra counter space? If we can have a basement finished in the meantime, I'll take that offer gladly, Mr. Roofer. Anything is better than nothing.

Oh, and not to expound on all the exciting details of my life, Mr. Drywall-guy guarantees that he'll have the mudding and taping and sanding done in four days. That's FOUR literal, 24 hour days. I seriously can NOT believe that.

Mr. Drywall assured me he was not that impressive. He said that if he tried roofing his house, it would take a whole year. I know a Mr. Roofer who could probably get it done in a day. So yeah. Mr. Drywall really isn't as good as I thought in the first place... or so I say in order to not become delusional into thinking that he must work magic in order to complete a drywall job in 4 days.

Honestly folks, do you know how long Mr. Roofer would've ended up taking drywalling our basement because his method is so much more lengthy? Yeah. We won't even go there right now.

Not to change topics or anything but since a mighty eighteen-month-old is playing catch with me and seeming to soundly hit my computer with everything he tosses at me, I'm going to have to rapidly move on to other topics in order to actually finish this post tonight before my computer screen becomes punctured by flying objects being hurled in the air by a fat baby and then my computer will have to go back to Best Buy where the Geek Squad will take 3 months in order to finally write on our repair list that the screen on this computer was punctured but is now fixed.

They say honesty is the best policy so I'm shooting for the best policy right now and going to be blunt and straight to the point: I have not felt like blogging. at. all. How's that for an excuse?

Let's just say that nothing in my life or brain have been conducive for a mentally sound blog post. I am not a mental person at least I don't want you to think I am and I know that's hard to believe but I do know when and how to keep my mouth shut. Seriously, I do. Just look at the history of posts on this blog in the last week.

And if I had blogged, it would've been chaotic too. Kinda like the football that keeps hitting my arm as I type right now. (It's that eighteen-month-old harassing me again.)

So, as I focus on the Christmas season and the reality that my offspring have woken up to the wonders this season brings, I am reminded at the brevity of life. (And a small plastic plate is hurled up at the computer while I try to re-live the Christmas spirit. I love that eighteen-month old.)

To think that for only a few more short years, my kids will understand Christmas the way they do now. The wonder of a baby born in a barn. The irony that angels came to earth. The mystery of the wise men riding "wumps" to see the baby Jesus. (Thank you Dr. Suess for permanently altering my child's ability to recognize a camel.)

As I hurl the football into the other room in order to give me a few lines of peace and quiet while that eighteen-month-old runs for the ball, I am gathering my thoughts quickly in order to remember where my train of thought was originally headed.

Bummer. The football wasn't as interesting as the foam dry eraser he has now decided to entertain my life with. The bad thing about that is no matter how hard I throw this little piece of foam, it doesn't go nearly as far as that football did. So basically, he picks it up and throws it back and pants and squeals in anticipation for me to throw it back to him.

Before I put my arm out of socket from wildly swinging futilely throwing a small foam object 27" from my foot, I should just say that with all due respect, I am not dead, dying, sick or gone. I am just not in a blogging mood. Actually, I was sick and even went to the doctor but that probably has something to do with the fact that when I merely enter the bathroom, my children's small world falls apart. Literally, I shut the door and it seems like the Gestapo is beating down the door demanding to enter the premises in order to search for illegal documents in the bathroom. And all I'm doing is trying to... oh, never mind.

So, I avoid that tiny cubicle like the plague since it tends to cause my children to re-in act Gestapo raids catastrophe where civilization inhabits. Did you know that not going to the bathroom when you need to, you know, go will actually make your UTI worse? Yeah, it's a proven fact. But, some people seem to forget that.

Maybe I am mental?

Random Trip Update

It's that day-after-trip-day. Everything is in limbo.

The kids are napping off schedule which is never fun. The baby got up just before the older kids laid down. The baby was fussy so went back to bed when the older kids laid down. The oldest kid is now singing in his bed. The middle kid is sleeping (I think) and the youngest kid is playing (I think) or else sleeping. Oops, now he's crying.

Grandma is in town for 10 days.

Suitcases sit in a stack in the dining room but hey, at least they're empty.

Supper needs to be made.

Everyone is tired.

Daddy is working in the frigid cold.

But, we had a wonderful time in Colorado and enjoyed every minute. Being with friends, mountains and food all at the same time was an experience beyond what Nebraska has -- I mean, those mountains really make the experience monumental. Just kidding.

Seriously, I was reminded again that having a good time is not contingent on surroundings or familiarity; it's on God's love being shared mutually by friends. And we definitely had that. It was a very encouraging trip and the fun and blessings we had couldn't have been any greater.

It was fun to be at the place where "it" all began. And by "it" I mean our relationship. A lot of things have changed in 6 years and "it" definitely has changed since then. Adding 3 kids and lots of love is a sure way to change "it" in 6 years time. Instead of saying, "It sure was nice to meet you," as Toby walked away from the table that fateful sweet day, he sits at the table that I serve everyday now. We both think that's nice.

The front step of the Church also has sweet memories. That was the place I made the decision to follow Christ. The place I made the first stake in my walk with God. I was glad to see that with all that's changed in 8 years, that step hasn't changed at all. It was a stark reminder to me that just like my heart has stayed in close communion with God, that step still sits rooted, and grounded into the entrance of the Church. For some reason I found the similarity profound.

Our traveling was uneventful, which we were thankful for. We heard of several friends and family members traveling yesterday that were stranded in motels because of weather. We were fortunate to travel safely and quickly... except for all the tumbleweeds that hit our van. Thankfully, they don't do much damage except make your vehicle look like you drove through a dried flower factory.

We were glad to come home and know our dear Grandma was coming into town on a brief visit. The kids were sad to leave Colorado but when we told them Grandma would be in Nebraska, they readily got in the van. I'm sure we'll have several fun days ahead until she heads back to her home in a couple weeks.

Now to get back into the swing of things, enjoy some family time, gear up for our Wisconsin Christmas Trip in a few weeks and settle into December weather.