There's a 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to .....

If you know the end of that song then you have endured some Nick over past summers, and probably despite all your summer plans of fun activities, you will hear it many more times this summer.

We have kicked off this summer with the purchase of a big ol TV, now joining the rest of America in our obsession to be able to see the t.v from all areas of the living space.  Our previous t.v., as many of you have experienced, was about the size of a couch pillow.  The purchase happened in a most unexpected way.  You see I had held to the fact that we don't watch very much t.v so we don't need a larger one and if we had one we might read less, so why get one? However, we have the problem of me not knowing how to decorate and a large t.v over our mantel would really help out a lot.
So, last week I ask Kirb to pick up something like Motrin from Wal-Mart on his way home from work and he came home with a 40incher.  I pretended to hardly care while the kids jumped around and said we were finally a Normal Family.
Skip to the next day, kids at school, Kirb at work and me and the Food Channel.  Oh My. I can now see and the T.V from the kitchen!  A whole new world is before me.  I spent the day with Rachel Ray, Barefoot Contesta and Giada.  Let me tell you a screen makes a difference. Now I know why when we had company and ask if they wanted to watch a movie they would took one look at our t.v and pass.  The up side being we have had a ton more actual conversation and outside time.  Not sure I can ever go back to how I was. The naive girl who had no idea that a larger screen actually makes you want to watch more and how then you don't think your own thoughts as much, and for a girl who thinks waaay to much this has been absolutely glorious.  Me+T.V=LOVE   especially since I figured out how to block everything yuck with a pass code.

So the first 3 days of summer of have consisted of the kids watching a lot of Disney, me watching the Food Channel and then running out to the store to buy ingredients and special gadgets I now can't live without and Kirby mowing and cutting trees. Yeah, he hasn't succumbed , he is still thriving on fresh air and birds singing.  I'm sure he will come around the first time he sees The Walking Dead on the big screen, however he will have to know the pass code for that.

This madness can't last the whole summer, surely school will come along Just To End It.


The latest funny Race sayings:

" So since Dad hasn't hooked up Netflix on the T.V, we can ONLY watch t.v on our T.V ( said with a huge frown) Poor Poor child.

" Can you ever put your head inside a bubble and then be able to get it out?"  ( too much sponge bob )

While watching the last scene of Grease, Race and his friend walk in and watch with mouths agape.  When "Your the One That I Want" is over he says ,  " Mom did you get the pass code to this inappropriate show?"

Clothes and Cooking

So done with this 7 clothes business.  I would love to have a wonderful experience to write about , involving this months' focus on clothes.  I got nothin.
Well, I do have a grey tee shirt that USED to be my favorite, that I never want to see again after this month,
dirty jeans and a strong desire to go shopping.  Fourteen more days to go.  Maybe something spectacular will happen.  Or maybe not.  Is that point? A month of looking plain and simple and nothing fantastic happening because of it.  I'll let that sink in.

What has been fantastic is my  desire to cook.  I am working my way through the Pioneer Woman Cook book and reading the Joy of Cooking like it's a romance novel.  Something inside me clicked and I can't stop, I love it love it.  I have no idea if the clothes deal and the cooking desire are related.

Fried Chicken is on the menu tonight, it's soaking in buttermilk as I write this.

My Gwen

Lovin on my Gwen today.  Being a Fifth grader is hard.  You are READY to GET OUT of Elementary school, but a little nervous about how middle school might change your life.  When you are so dog gone pretty,  boys have crushes on you, and  no matter how pretty your Mama says you are , she is still your Mama and so there are days when legs feel hairy, hair feels flat and you really want contacts.

Gwen and I bonded over sitting side by side yesterday for over an hour, her on Instagram and Wanelo and me on Facebook.  Not the Mother/Daughter kind of quality time I might dream up but it happened naturally and when I realized what was happening , instead of saying " get off your phone, we've both been wasting time!" I stayed a bit longer and sunk down into the couch and listened more intently as she described pictures she liked and styles that were hot.  It felt nice to just sit with her. No agenda , just taking her in.  

Her gorgeous shiny straight blond hair, her long legs, her big smile, her perfect hands.  Those blue eyes.  Her shorts that are bit too short for my liking but not as short as the ones I said No Way to. Her Mocking Jay earrings.  I love her so, I don't think she can fathom how much, especially since I am learning Parenting on her and my over controlling not so gentle personality tends to seep out more than I would like.  I really hope she knows how much I adore her.

I spend so much time telling Gwen what to do.  

Clean your room. Get off the phone until your room is clean. Are you sure you don't have homework? Wipe down the bathroom please. Tell me where your going. Does that friend have brothers?  I don't like you hanging out with older brothers? Be careful on the trampoline. Only one at time remember?   Study for that Test. I know you studied on the bus, you have to study here too.  Don't say that to your sister! Do you know how much she looks up to you?  Yes, she does care what you think.  Get in the car, Yes you have to go to your brothers game. Don't take your phone.... you can talk to people around you, esp today Grandma is going to be there. Do Not be on your phone when Grandma is talking to you!  Close your window. Has your window been open all day?  The A/C is on for heavens sake!  Well if your room stinks, Clean it!  Have you flossed this week?  I really don't want to pay for more fillings. How many marshmallows did you just put in your mouth? Right before bed!  Rinse out your mouth and brush your teeth again.  Hurry up, it's bed time. No more phone, get to bed. Turn your light out by 10 please. 

I love you , Good night,  I love you too.  

Anyway, after our couch time, she actually agreed to help me make the blackberry cobbler we were having for dessert.  At first reluctant, but then she realized it was fairly easy and how much I still wanted to be with her even though I had to cook dinner.  So phone time together =

baking time together , and we both got what we wanted, a little more of each other.  I hope I can make more of this kind of time with my emerging tween and less time for the above nagging.  

Did I say I adore her?  

Day 5 in Clothes Month -Cute Shirt Day

So this is my only cute shirt on my list of 7 clothes.  I saved it to wear to church today.  I forgot to wash my jeans until this morning so I  had a cute shirt but damp rear.

This Sunday has fed my soul in several ways.  First we had worship and the message today was our Pastor celebrating all that our church is able to do in Austin.  Still being fairly new this info only affirmed what I had felt God saying, " Stay here, this is the church for you." Many local ministries coming along side the hurting, the homeless, the at risk and much more.  Also globally we are starting 600 churches in a area of India. I cannot tell you how this blows my mind.  For the price of how much a parking lot would cost our church we can plant 600 churches in India.

Second, my girls and I served with Mobile Loaves and Fishes ( a ministry that helps feed and clothe the homeless and working poor)  After three times serving we each finally found our niche today.  Gwen loves making outfit bags and Claire was the ultimate toiletry bag stuffer.  My heart swelled as they were working, talking about how to make each bag great and wondering what person would get them.

Third , we ate lunch at P. Terry's, the best burgers in town then went to our local Farmers Market where I bought eggs and Kale.  The eggs are for my future bunt cakes I plan on making and the Kale is for Claire. She wants to make kale chips. I know you want her but she is all MINE!

Last, we made a Good Will run where I found a hard cover Steinbeck novel and Gwen found a Straightener. They even said she could bring it back if it didn't work!  Four dollars is Four dollars.

 Back to Clothes Month.  I am learning a few things.  One is I really am a simpleton at heart.  I really dig NOT having other options.  I kinda miss my earrings , but really that's it.  Because I'm still new where I live, I'm always meeting new people.  So this month I best be smiling a lot and be real nice, cuz my clothes will not be selling me as anything but casual,comfy girl who only wears flip flops or tennis shoes and the same pair of jeans ALL THE TIME.  My need to pray isn't as heightened as it was during food month but I feel like God is WITH me.

This month was kicked off by me finding out my 11 year old said yes to "going out" with a boy.  As I was kinda freaking out, she made clear "going out" in 5th grade is fake dating. You don't really do anything together and you might talk occasionally , but not directly to one another , mostly through friends.
Still.  I have been tossing and turning the last 4 nights, begging God for wisdom. I don't want to make too big a deal of this but I don't want to make too little a deal either.  I mean her Instagram account says "taken." What?!  The only people who can take this first born daughter of mine is her Daddy and me.  She can't belong to any boy.... not now, not.....

Oh my gosh, so I've been praying about being a wise parent and I kinda feel like God is laughing a good belly laugh as I toss and turn and rub my temples over having to think about BOYS.

This has gone too long, but I wanted to catch my mind up on all that has gone on.  In case you haven't read earlier 7 is based on a book about restricting certain areas of your life to rid your life of excess and in the process make more of Jesus.  Should any one want to jump in learn more about 7 at www.jenhatmaker.com.  Just know, she will kinda shake you up.

Food Month Completed.... On to Clothes

I completed my month of 7 foods last Sunday.  My day back to real food wasn't what I  expected.  The food made me sick and then I couldn't shake the guilt about all the cheese and grease I put into my body.  The next day I went shopping and felt weak and scared, trying to pick foods for the following week , but not really wanting to veer from my 7.  I could not have predicted this feeling.
First of all, I lost 10 lbs and would like to keep it off through swim suit season. Therefore, I'm panicked about adding cheese and peanut butter back in to my diet.  I'm quite sure these past food staples of mine are where the heavy calories came in for me.  I feel pretty good about mostly leaving dairy behind, because the place it liked to live was in my behind.  Thus I think our family is gonna spend a substantial amount of money on honey crisp apples and avocados. And bananas! Oh I missed you bananas.

So on to month two where we simplify through wearing or having less options in the clothing dept.  I have chosen these 7 articles;
 a pair of black shorts,
 a pair of jeans,
black work out pants
my UT tee,
my Padre Island Tee ,
my Green and white checkered tank/blouse ( church worthy)
 My flip flops and tennis shoes (shoes count as one article).
 No diamond studs, no changing out bracelets.  In protest of this I  bought a kickin red stain lip gloss, so I have some awesome lips while I wear mostly the same thing every day.

I'm already missing the empty feeling that led me to Jesus in the first month, so I"m really hoping the clothes thing will also bring my mind to what is really important again.  I really don't think that many people will notice I"m wearing the same things over and over.  I go to lots of places only once a week and my neighbors and close friends know all about 7.  I have no idea what it will teach my kids. As of now, Gwen pretty much thinks it sounds like the worst experiment ever.  " A weird way to be close to God," she said. I kinda agree, but I'm doing it.

Day 26 Coffee drinking freak

Because coffee is pretty much the only indulgence I have allowed myself during 7, and it's not even sugared or with cream, I am drinking A LOT of it.  So consequently I'm shaky, a tad irritable, and full of big ideas which end up in very looong text to friends and family.  Sorry friends and family.  I am just hoping that all of you will put all my text together and publish a book for me. I'll give you all the credit when Ellen has me on her show.
Today I have not wanted to cheat as bad. I made Claire hide the cookies ( cupcake cookies from HEB..yummm) so I couldn't see them, but somehow they got left out and well, you get the idea.  So basically I can't wait for 7 to be over so I don't have to eat with so much guilt.  Not the point, I know.

Tonight is family night.  I have turned off the T.V. since yesterday and the kids are doing that thing where they play creatively outside, gasp! That happens every time I band T.V.  So tonight we are playing glow in the dark Bocci, eating made at home subway sandwiches ( not me of course) and ending with some Uno.
I'm all caffeinated up and ready to go.  I love that they all still love Family Night. I know this will not last forever.  And certainly won't last another week if I bust out with my Jazzercise moves again. Cold Hearted Snake anyone?

Anywho, here's to another night of the beans Kirby made me ( he's so sweet and he even bought me a red cast iron dutch oven )

and a big O fat wheat roll and my kids and hubby and Jesus,  of course.

Day 23 FRAGILE

Yesterday I was extremely hungry a lot of the day. I was getting the house ready for Monday, doing some gardening, and could not seem to think straight. A foggy head kept telling me, " you need sugar!" I may have and I did eat an apple which made me feel better for about 3 minutes. During this phase of the day I told God, " I've very aware of you right now, if you want to tell me anything." The first hour or so there was silence.

 I decided to take my daughter for a walk after dinner and the fogginess cleared a bit as I concentrated on listening to her talk. She is the middle child and rarely unloads all her feelings. This evening however she was feeling honest and chatty and I listened intently. She went on for awhile about how she wanted her own room, and how much better everything would be if she had it. This is quite impossible at the time, as we have a 3 bedroom house and she has an 11 yr old sister and 6 yr old brother. I cannot justify sticking a preteen with a 6 yr old boy unless we move to a third world country and are all sleeping on cots in one room.

 Next, she lamented moving to Austin altogether and longed for her tiny yard with a fence she could climb.  Ironically, our new house has more trees than she could climb and no fence which we thought would please her most. Humph.  Claire spent the last half of our walk telling me how she was mad that we had to live in a neighborhood that didn't allow chickens or livestock of any kind. Once home she stood in the kitchen and said, "Basically I just want three things; . 1. A room of my own, 2. A shower of my own and 3. A baby of my own." A What!? This is not a little girl who ever even played with dolls.
 " So basically you want to be a grownup" I said.
 "Yes, I do, grownups get every single thing they want. Look at you Mom, you have all three of those!"
 Well not a baby right now, but that sure heightens my interest in foster/adoption, I think to myself. I tried not to laugh and to tell her thank you for sharing her feelings and to enjoy her childhood for goodness sake. I still can't quite figure out her wanting a baby except that she said she really wanted to push it down the street in a buggy, so I'm thinking she would find purpose in caring for something, which makes me smile inside and affirms my job as Mother as still very legit. 2 ligit 2 quit.

  After the walk God spoke to me. I was re potting some veggie plants, (which I started from seed!), and noticed how fragile these little guys were. I had to be so gentle I was forced to take off my gloves and get my hands all dirty to handle them with enough care.
 Now, before you think I am seamlessly transitioning into a devotion or story for Chicken Soup for the Soul, please note I am not a fan of cheese. However, because this is my story it is more raw like crunchy celery to me. I digress,...  as I forced myself to be extra gentle less I kill my baby plants He said, " These plants have no idea how much they need a bigger place to grow and better soil. All they know is where they have been and how good it was there. Just like Claire. Your children's roots are very fragile and your job is to gently nourish them so they can flourish during this transplant."

 My children like the plants, don't know what is best for them. I do, most of the time. Sometimes this means not giving them all the comforts they think they want or entertaining how the grass is greener somewhere else. I think God wants me to do my best to place them in sun (His light) and give them water (take care of their basic needs) and they will flourish before my eyes and when they do they will forget how hard the transplant was and they won't even know to say thank you for the re potting. This is okay because my joy comes from watching the process and being there ready to take my gloves off and get dirty when I need to. Thank you God for saying something to this hungry girl!
Seven more days of 7!

Day 19

I am amazingly used to my 7 foods and even crave the breakfast ones I have learned to love so much. Two pieces whole wheat toast with apple butter ( made only with apples and apple cider ) and half a sweet potato with salt and a drop of honey, topped off with 2 cups black coffee. Lunch and dinner are much the same including the rest of the foods; Chicken, spinach, avocado,and apples all piled up in different ways. Night snack is either almond milk and an apple or almond milk and a whole wheat roll. So essentially I am eating 7 foods but have added black coffee, and almond milk to what I drink. Essentially no processed foods at all, has to be the reason I feel really great. I have tons of energy during Jazzercise and I attribute that to the half sweet potato which I will keep as a staple in my life when this is over. I love you sweet potato. I have learned several things about myself through this. One being that feeling empty has brought me to appreciate the life that God can breathe into me anytime I ask. I have prayed A WHOLE LOT more. My sin seems very apparent quickly, but this is good because instead of guilt and self loathing it is dealt with because Jesus is right there and I feel His grace more quickly. Mentally I am much more clear headed and can really see what is going on around me and respond better. I am only mad at the experiment everyday around 3pm, when I am dying for a snack. Twice I tried to eat a chip that was either a sweet potato "chip" or a bean "chip." Both times I felt gross, knowing they were not whole foods and defeating the purpose of leaning into Jesus when I want something. I wasn't that hungry just snacky. Kirby has been super supportive, grilling me chicken lots of nights and making me beans. I've tried not to draw a lot of attention to my experiment, hoping I can focus on God and not make this all about me. Next month is clothes and two of my kids are saying they want to do it with me. Race is especially excited to pick 7 pieces of clothes and make sure none are jeans or have a collar.

1 week on 7

This concludes the 8th day of my 7 experience. I will not for a second have anyone thinking I have done this perfectly. I have cheated, willfully, 5 times. 3 in one day and the other two were because of baked goods I stupidly made at home for the kids. To try to survive I bought a bunch of stuff I normally don't from the grocery store today so as not to torture myself. I don't like prepackaged snacks, lunches or desserts, so I loaded up on them and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven when they got home from school. Today I had the hunch that the only way I was going to get through 7 is to lighten up on stuff that doesn't matter in the big picture. Buying my kids a bunch of premade snacks would usually fit in the category of Big Picture but this week, it's just a means to help me out. I don't think I will cheat on 7 again for awhile, and if I do I hope it's a mistake or I have a valid reason. I realized that the reason I keep cheating is because it's hard for me to break the cycle of feeling guilty about what I eat. Not eating any bad foods, left me feeling good, but there was a void because of my constant cycle of eat bad stuff, feel bad, tell God I will eat better, recognize I don't have the kind of self control I give the impression that I do, and back to eating bad stuff after my penance ( usually the first and second parts of the day) wears off. So THAT was a huge AHA moment I wasn't expecting.

Rainy Days make you want to EAT

It's drizzling, I was in the car for over 3 hours and I didn't exercise today.  All of these factors I now know draw me to food.  I took a nap under the covers ( I never get under the covers for a nap, as that would look like I was sleeping in the middle of the day and therefore must be a lazy mom) on returning home from a day trip with Kirb.  It was one hour before the kids got home from school and I didn't know what to do with myself because I so wanted a snack and coffee with cream.  Surprisingly upon awakening my head was clear and I was good to get on with the day.  I've spent the last hour and a half making a chicken dinner with veggies that are not on my list. I will have to add some spinach to the mix and disregard the crispy peppers and carrots.  For a quick snack for my kids I pulled out the frozen oatmeal cookie dough.  Oh, the power of smell. Why oh why would a person who is doing 7 pull out homemade cookie dough, when there are perfectly good Oreos that I hate in the pantry to give my after school snack monsters.  To make it a bit worse, they wanted the Oreos, NOT the homemade delicious Pioneer Woman Oatmeal Crisps. I stared them down and stuffed all the cookies in a zip lock and made my son take them to the neighbors who unfortunately are not home, so the cookies are still staring at me. I had to stare at them while I made dinner and finally I grabbed one and took a bite. Not worth it. Being it's only day 3 the guilt set in quick, my stomach did a flip and I knew Mariah had done no such thing this early on.  My lack of self control is embarrassing.  God quickly reminded me this experiment is about me and Him and that he forgives me and to just drink my black coffee and get over it. Yes, I'm still drinking coffee. Black coffee.
On a very positive note, I am learning to love the small grumblings going on in my tummy. I know I have eaten enough and it has been good for me, my tummy however is talking back.  It's kinda fun to know I've done something different and my body knows it.

7

I'm reading Jen Hatmaker's new book 7.  I'm doing the 7 experiment  and I'm on day 2.  In short, for 7 months I will try to eliminate excess in my life, and the first month focuses on food.  I have picked 7 foods and will try my dangest to only eat these 7 for the next four weeks. My partner in this insanity is Mariah and we are both blogging about it.  My foods are 1. Chicken 2. Apples 3. Sweet Potatoes 4. Spinach 5. whole wheat Bread 6. Avocado 7. Beans.
I realized early today that I had totally forgot to really pray about how God wanted me to to do this. I felt He was clear that I am not Jen Hatmaker and my experiment will and should look different. Therefore, I'm not feeling bad for putting all natural apple butter on my toast because what I really want on it is butter and I ordered a Chipoltle Chicken sandwich at Panera and took off the cheese and tomatoes but still kinda tasted them and it made me very happy.  I have purposely kept dairy and nuts from my 7 foods in anticipation of the effect on my waist line.  
You can read more about Hatmaker's book at www.jenhatmaker.com, I'd love to know your thoughts!  

Getting ready for company...kinda

Every time we have company coming my body goes limp the day before.  Every time! Even though I love hosting and know God made me to do it, I still get this weird lazy feeling that overpowers all of me the day right before company arrives.  Tomorrow however I will jump out of bed and be Mama on a Mission until the second the company arrives.  When they pull up I will walk outside and greet my friends and act as though I've been lounging around all day because my house was already perfectly clean of course and that wonderful smell from the kitchen... well I just popped that in the oven while watching the news...........
Today however, I am well,... doing this instead of cleaning the bathrooms. I spent the morning having coffee with some new friends, then two hours in Barnes Noble and another hour looking for Easter Basket stuff for my kids.  I was trying not to get candy, so picked out books, then realized what their faces would look like when they just got books so got books and candy.
Now the kids are home and 5pm is no hour to go grocery shopping.  So I add grocery shopping to the laundry list of things to do before our friends get here tomorrow.
Right now Gwen is reading " The Lightening Thief"
Claire and Race are on the neighbors trampoline and I really hope the neighbor kids are also still out there because it is embarrassing when I realize the neighbors are eating dinner watching my kids jump on their trampoline.
Kirby is still at work and I would really like some cold ice tea right now which I think I will go make instead of clean bathrooms.
Tomorrow our good friends come and there will be lots of laughing and I will forget how tired I am from all my procrastination and consequently 3 hour cleaning/cooking/shopping frenzy.