Sitting around being Lazy

A conversation with Audrey:

Audrey: Mom, do you want the house spic and span today?
Me: I want the house spic and span every day!
Audrey: Do you want it that way for Dad?
Me: Yes, of course
Audrey: And also, in case people come over, they don't call you a lazy housewife?

I just love my family so much!

I don't think I have actually talked about my family much these days, but I'm sitting here in a hotel room surrounded by all five of my favorite people and I'm overtaken by my love for them. I love all their quirks and silliness and all their individual traits that make them each unique.

We are on our first FULL FAMILY vacation of the summer. Only two days, to Muskegon, so we can go to the amusement park tomorrow and maybe a park on Sunday. Today we went swimming in the indoor pool, after going to lunch and telling stories that made us all laugh so hard we were crying. I don't know what the other customers thought of all our hysterics, but it was priceless for me. Wesley, lately, gets so tickled by certain things that he nearly chokes himself laughing once he gets going. Andy gave everyone nicknames a couple of weeks ago at breakfast, and Wesley became Guardian of the Bacon (he's a little bit of a control freak when it comes to bacon), Audrey was "Little Miss Greedy Pants," Ashton was "Pooper Scooper", and Cole was "Booger." Wesley kept repeating everyone's names and in the third or so recitation, he was laughing so hard he was nearly purple. I love that he is getting to that age when he really enjoys moments and activities - he doesn't just participate in them. He is relishing life, and I am so blessed by his enthusiasm.

Audrey is such a free spirit, and a lover and a cuddler. She is suddenly into brushing her hair 30 times a day and wanting to wear nail polish and lip gloss. Ashton is hilarious. Everything is something to be discovered or a process to figure out. He is currently obsessed with the pole in my basement "where all the pee and poop goes". Today he was yelling to Dad through the filter in the pool. Cole is such a crazy mix of completely nuts and super-affectionate. One of the stories Andy told today was about an incident earlier this week, when, one by one, the three older kids came upstairs from the basement grasping some part of their bodies and crying. Then up comes Cole, sucking away on his pacifier, happily swinging away with a set of drumsticks. Amazing that my one-year-old can singlehandedly beat up all his siblings and still coming away looking cute and baby-like. He has been singing parts of a song we learned in VBS...funny, the only lines he knows are "We won't be quiet" and "No, No, No, No, No." It's like his theme song.

My wonderful husband and I had a long-awaited 10-year anniversary trip in Chicago, and it was reviving and glorious...as much as we missed the kids, it was nice be adults for a few days. I wasn't quite used to using the restroom without two or three kids standing over me, or getting out of a car without unstrapping carseats and hauling out strollers and screaming like a maniac for everyone to NOT MOVE or else they will surely get killed in the parking lot. It was also just nice to reconnect with my long-lost lover, to spend time with the guy I love and not just the father of my kids.

So, this weekend it is just us. And, while the hotel room looks like a major storm blew through and we've only been here four hours, I'm going to relish every moment and thank God for this wonderful crazy bunch of people.

Shopping!!!

My friend Diane has a gift for "personal shopping." She has taken several of my friends out to shop and helped them pick out flattering and up-to-date clothing and accessories, so we can stop walking around all frumpy and "letting ourselves go." Of course, we know that beauty is from within, not from outward adornment, but there is a time when one has "let herself go" too much. I was at that place. Being in business for myself and trying to manage a household with four young children is, um, time consuming. So, the first thing to go is almost always my appearance. I don't want to launch into a skin-care regimen at night (when all I want to do is fall into my bed), I don't want to take the extra 10 minutes to apply makeup, I don't even know WHAT to do with my hair, so it's inevitably back in a ponytail. Ashton begs me to leave my hair down every day, and when it is down (on those rare occasions) I get showered with compliments from my four-year-old and my husband. Why not take some pride in your appearance? Your body is a temple, right? And having no regard for it whatsoever is no more glorifying to God than vanity would be. Plus, when you have a husband who is blessed by a wife who isn't ponytailed, makeupless, wearing sweats and covered in paint splatters and grumbling about how stressed she is...that's a good thing.

So, anyway, Diane took me shopping last night. We worked on the basics, mostly, since I've needed some good jeans and black pants that fit properly. It was GREAT. I can't believe how much better I feel just buying the bigger size. When I can pull up a pair of pants and slide into them, easily fastening the button, I feel about 20 times better about myself than if I try to squeeze into something smaller and watch my middle bulge out and spill over the top. When I wear something that was cut for my body type, I feel so much better and more confident. Makes me actually WANT to wear my hair down and put on some makeup! And maybe, just maybe, make it to the gym more than once a month.

What's best is that we prayed before we shopped. What a good reminder that everything can and should be prayed over!

Little Indulgences

So...I'm making a confession and I'm wondering if I'm the only one out there who does this.

When I was a teenager, and even when I was in college, a childhood friend and I used to go to the local library and stock up on a pile of tween novels, and then we'd have a sleepover and stay up all night reading them. We always felt rather sheepish doing it, but oh, how we loved it. Something about the frivolity of it all or something.

Yesterday I woke up with a whopper of a cold and I feel totally awful. I really didn't feel like doing artwork (still don't and still feel awful, btw), but what should appear in the mail but my all-time FAVORTITE tween indulgence - Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood by Ellen Conford. Perfect timing! Though I don't have the luxury of a few uninterrupted hours, I was able to steal enough to snuggle up in my bed (or in the bath) and read that book for the first time in several years. Just as great as always!

So, what do you do that you're a little afraid to admit?

Nothing, Really

I don't have anything to say, just didn't want to desert my five readers for too long! And my new blog-reading buddy, C, is encouraging me to write more often, so here I am! And I have really fascinating things to share, like:

We're going to the dentist in an hour!

I have six shirts to iron!

I need printer ink and sticky tack!

I'm making tuna casserole for dinner!

Told you I was fascinating.

Seriously, though, it's sort of nice not to have 50,000 things to share. I thought about posting last week asking where those "dog days of summer" were, but since I'm in between letter shipments, I've been able to take my kids swimming three times this week, and to a sprinkler park at a mall. I've even got sunburn to show for it. And all of this while I was not checking the time or fretting.

And I'm always happy to report that Cole is still alive. It seems it is my #1 quest these days to prevent the kid from killing himself, as he has put himself in grave danger more times than I can count (or want to admit) in the last few weeks.