My hamper floweth over

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I think I was in junior high 10 years ago? Nope, that can't be right! Geez! I'm old! 10 years ago I was an overbearing, overly worried mother of a one year old. I was probably reading some how to parenting book and taking notes. Seriously, I was a little wacko. I made a fruit juice sweetened birthday cake for her first birthday and sprinkled wheat germ in her food. She didn't have a french fry until she was over two.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
One year ago I was drowning in depression, that very unfair disease that steals away time that you can never recapture...

Five snacks you enjoy
peanut butter and bananas
chips and salsa
natural cheetos
key lime pie yogurt
seasoned triscuits (if you haven't tried them, they are amazing!)

Five songs you know all the words to
Proper cup of Coffee- Trout Fishing in America
Closer to Fine- Indigo Girls
Annie's Song-John Denver
Popular -Wicked
Under Pressure- Queen

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire
Okay, I've thought about this too much, don't laugh. If we won the big lottery, we would keep 25%, and give the rest away. Seriously. I would let each kid research and choose charities (except Max, who would give it all to Thomas or the Doodlebops), and thoroughly enjoy choosing some of my own. I would also like to help some of my friends/family. I know it sounds like I am trying to convince God to let me win, but it's true. We have lived with so little that owning our own home mortgage free and having enough money to not have to worry about money would be enough for us. Plus, I would worry about our kids being too materialistic if we kept it all. That's not really an answer to the question, is it?

Five bad habits
--I bite my lips and the inside of my cheeks - totally gross (I'm really not copying, Pam, I swear! I would post one of the many candid pictures that have been taken, but I have thrown them all away in disgust and embarrassment..)
--I have a habit of giving irrelevant responses to rhetorical questions. Like when guy at the snack counter says "Enjoy your movie." And I say "Yeah. You too!"
--I will be late getting somewhere because I can't leave the house without making the beds and picking up the house first. I like to call it "cleaning for the burglars". Because if someone broke into our house it would be an embarrassment if the beds weren't made.
--Staring at people. But not really. I'm just zoning out. But it looks like I'm staring.
--Biting my nails. I know. Ridiculous.

Five things I like doing
reading
going to the grocery store with one child
cleaning the house when I am all alone (and listening to music only I like, oooh ABBA)
watching movies with my hubby
playing board games with the kids

Five things you would never wear again
A bikini
bodysuits
stirrup pants
high heel shoes
tapered jeans (I don't care how in style they become)


Five favorite toys
jigsaw puzzles
logic puzzles
Nancy Drew computer games
Skip-Bo
Legos (still love em)



That was fun! Thanks, Pam! I'll tag:


Heather
Laughter Thoughts

The girls and I went to see Wicked the Musical tonight. It was an amazing show! We went with a fun group of people. After the show, the girls waited for autographs, and had their pictures taken with Galinda and Elphaba, who also complimented them on their homemade Wicked t-shirts. Definitely one of the highlights of the summer! Just think, Wicked and the final Harry Potter book in the same summer? Life just doesn't get better than that!

Tonight was our first t-ball game. Pierce and Lillian both did great, Pierce played first base and did amazing! Lillian made it home twice!

I could mention how a ridiculously rude man sat in front of us, sighing and shaking his head in annoyance that my two year old son would not sit still and quiet at an 8:00 t-ball game, and that he actually insulted me as a parent, and told a three year old child through clenched teeth not to touch him when he accidentally brushed against his shoe, and that my husband didn't defend my honor, but I won't.

Instead, i will leave you with a picture of snack time at the pool. Do you remember how good snacks tasted after an afternoon of swimming? Ahhh, hot fries and Laffy Taffy, good times!


T

I love how the directions on the bottle of flea shampoo says "wet fur, massage in shampoo, starting with the head, and let sit five minutes." but doesn't say "good luck with that! Ha! Ha!" or "caution: wear a scratch proof suit."

Last summer was horrid. The worst bout of depression I will hopefully ever know took over my life. It came unexpectedly, a year after giving birth instead of days after.

Last summer I found that those I considered to be great friends were much more the fair weather type.

Last summer I was in a very dark place, and wasn't honest with myself about just how dark.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to be able to put a past tense to all these things. To definitively differentiate between then and now, how I felt and how I feel.

Have you seen those commercials for Claritin? Where they pull back the film to reveal a much clearer picture? That is the best way to describe the difference. I walked, I talked, I went through with the daily motions of life, but without actually feeling alive.

Although it hasn't happened overnight, I have awakened, and I feel great. Life not only seems more than just bearable, but more than just manageable as well. Life is fun. Life is good.

This summer, I have a wonderful family.

This summer, I have genuine friends.

This summer, I have a fantastic job!

This summer, I have myself back. I couldn't ask for more.

These last two weeks have been crazy. End of the year everything, this week the girls have had rehearsals for they play (opening night is tonight!) almost every night, work days for me at work, crazy. I am only surviving all of it because of last week's hiatus.

reasons why I love Family camp:

duck duck goose. My older kids try to act as if they are only playing it for the sake of the younger ones, but they love it. Seriously, they could play for hours! But only at family camp, they would be too grown up for it anywhere else.

I don't have to cook, I eat yummy yummy food, and I don't have to do dishes.

This year, Pierce and I woke up before everyone else and walked around the road to camp. We watched a hawk (making lazy circles in the sky) and then spent a good twenty minutes just watching and listening to a hummingbird. All three of the girls took turns helping me do jigsaw puzzles. I had forgotten how much I like jigsaw puzzles (I stayed up with a group until 2:30 a.m. finishing one) Lately, our lives have had little jigsaw puzzle time, too much soccerhomeworkactingchoirschool time, and it was such a nice change of pace.

Max participated in the talent show this year! He sat on the host's lap, and would sing "Down by the Bay", whenever the microphone was placed in front of him. It became a ventriloquist act. Ridiculously cute!

We didn't get in the van. Not once, for an entire weekend. I want to plan a weekend like that soon. The park, our church, City Bites, are all within walking distance from our house. I think it will be fun to do a van free weekend in the city.

My absolute favorite thing about family camp is the people. I can see the appeal of communal living, waking up every day to see so many friendly faces, the extended family feeling, it all sounds like fun. (minus any poison kool-aid or anything like that, of course)

Okay, I am off to watch Pierce perform the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language at the end of the year awards assembly, Jordan's last in grade school, sniff, sniff. I would possibly post a video, if the video camera hadn't been introduced to the creek this weekend. Not by my clumsy self, either. I won't say who did it, just that he is an adult in our family.

Have a great weekend!