A Woman With Priorities

To Do List:

1. Beg mom to sew costumes for kids for upcoming Halloween.

2. Catch up on the multiple shows I've been recording via my DVR.

3. Figure out where I can get store bought goods that look baked for bible study tomorrow.

4. Teach my kids how to grade high school essays. (Just mark with red every 4 or 5 lines, you may get lucky).

5. Find time to go grocery shopping since the pantry currently only holds refried beans and

some expired chicken broth.

6. Consider that the holidays are steadily approaching, and take a few minutes to feel overwhelmed.

7. Seriously, catch up on those TV shows, this is Oprah's last season.

8. Take pictures so that the next time you blog, you have evidence you have children.

9. Bring the grass back to life again, so that the neighbors don't resent us.

10. And lastly, come up with something to blog about that's more interesting than your life, which currently consists of driving kids places, grading papers, heating up frozen pizza, and not watching enough television.

The Latest

In case you feel like you live really far away, and you don't get to know the kids as well as you'd like to, let me give you the latest on the four girls.

First of all we have our oldest, our little first grader. Lorelei recently asked, "Do you have to practice drawing a lot to be the President?"

Ummm, what do you mean exactly?

Because they have to be really good artists, right?

Ummm, not necessarily, why would they need to be good artists?

You know, so they can draw all the dollars for us.

So apparently those are her thoughts on Obama.... I'm guessing they haven't really covered U.S. History yet this year.

Then there's Noelle. Her favorite thing to do these days is complain about the temperature in the van and see how long it takes before mom gives in and adjusts the air for her. I'd like to tell you this is a charming habit, I really would.

As for Maylin, she likes to insist we play the same CD in the car at all times, preferably at full volume. I don't know much about birth order, but I'm wondering if middle children are more demanding than the others.

Then there's Morgan, she had her first "share" day today in preschool. She had to share something red. She took Elmo. I'm guessing it went well, but I guess I'll never really know, since I wasn't there and all. I've also started to notice that she talks to herself frequently throughout the day. Today as she was spreading some processed cheese onto a cracker while Lorelei took her gymnastics class, she was saying quietly, "spread, spread, spread, spread...."

Then there's Dan & I. We went to a bible study tonight that's showing a DVD series on parenting by Tedd Tripp. We figured since the kids are talking to themselves, making constant demands in the car, and our oldest daughter thinks that drawing is the most important skill a politician should possess, maybe we ought to re-evaluate how things are going.

We'll keep you posted.

Shout Out

Our friends from church started an awesome company that sells hair products, including colorful gel that the kids can put into their hair and then wash out that same day. Check out zachswax.com to learn more, and wait.... who are those cute models they put on their home page? Could it be two of my very own daughters? Okay, so I'm biased, and I'm going to support their products forever now. Check it out!

School! School! School!

Lorelei's 1st day in Mrs. Bowen's class
The twins line up for their teacher Mrs. Lewis
And Morgan gets cuddly with Mrs. Paladino on her 1st day!

So it's here at last... September: the mad rush for back to school supplies, the blaring alarm clocks, the stocking up of snack foods for lunch boxes, and lots and lots of VAN time as I maneuver my way across town for drop offs and pick ups and later pick ups.

With it all brings mixed emotions. I am somewhat of a creature of habit, so I welcome the idea of a predictable routine, but I'm surprised at how tiring it to get back in to. I'm amazed that Lorelei is in "big kid" 1st grade now, and has homework, and is acting like she's soooo old now. She said the other day, "I saw the kindergartners pass by mom, and they were sooo cute," as if she's so much older than them.

Meanwhile, I'm thrilled for my younger three as they are still in preschool basically, pre-k for the twins and a younger class of 3 year olds for Morgan. Their teachers are so nurturing and "huggy," I'm amazed at their willingness to love on and embrace all these little guys. I mean it's one thing to think your own kiddos are cute, but these ladies actually like all these kids. They are their own unique breed of people, and they should all get extra jewels on their crown someday!

As for me, I'll stick to teaching junior high and high school. You think three year olds are cute? There's nothing cuter than 4 foot tall 12 year old boys sitting next to 12 year old girls that are 5 foot 7 and look 5 years older than them. I love the awkwardness of adolescents, they're all right on the brink of beautiful, but they've still got a few things they need to figure out, and they're still not too cool to laugh at my jokes. What could be better?

Bye, Bye Summer... You were Good To Me

To celebrate summer's final days, we spent a few days together exploring the aquarium in Long Beach, swimming at a hotel pool (to my kids, this is the equivalent of a winning the lottery), and then we headed to Lake Arrowhead with Sandhya's amazing family (my TMC bff).... ahhh Summer days, so sweet, so necessary.... the rest I needed to prepare me for the working days ahead! We came, we saw, we suntanned....we got a little cranky with our husbands for not taking the freeway exits we suggested, but overall.... we loved every minute of our beautiful state! We couldn't help but marvel at the fact that here we could be enjoying the beach in one city and then within just a few hours drive, enjoying the hills and lakes of the San Bernadino mountains! It was a great send off to summer.... now perhaps, I'd better stop blogging, and start thinking about that new class I'm teaching... you know that one that starts Monday?

Twinsies Turn 5!

The day the doctor looked at my ultrasound, and said, "Now you know there are two in there, right?" was a day that I truly will never forget. I started to cry, and my sweet or crazy husband (it depends on how you view life I suppose) exclaimed, "TWINS?.... AWESOME!" I looked up at the doctor and tried to explain that I wasn't crying because I was disappointed, I was just so utterly caught off guard. As I endured a truly unbearable last few weeks of the pregnancy, and then survived the blur of their births and the year and a half that followed, I kept thinking to myself, someday they'll be five, and this will be easier....

Well, that day has come folks, and is it easier? Certainly in ways, no more days of hand washing (I had no dishwasher then) 16 bottles a day, no more days of buying diapers in bulk, and no more aching muscles from hoisting two car seats into my shopping cart (and then wondering where in the world am I going to put the groceries). The twins are indeed 5 now. Saturday was their birthday and after a weekend previous of celebrating with my parents (and visiting Build-A-Bear) we celebrated again with cupcakes made by Sandhya at a lovely cabin by Lake Arrowhead.

So now they walk, they talk, they're potty-trained and are ready to begin five day a week "transitional Kindergarten," so I guess in some ways I'm in the clear. I mean two beautiful twin girls with 14, maybe 18 years of school ahead of them, could it be any harder than the 5 years now behind me? Let me consider the possibilities....... on second thought, forget that idea. I'm going to try and just enjoy this moment.

Happy Birthday to You, Miss Noelle, you always keep me guessing, and I have a feeling you'll have the ability to charm diplomats and blue collar workers alike. Charisma is a gift, and I hope you use yours wisely. And Happy Birthday to You, Miss Maylin, you may be quiet, but I know that mind of yours is always thinking, contemplating, creating new pretty pictures and outfits for your bears. Someday, you can decorate my house, but I have to warn you it may be difficult to find pink upholstery in most stores. In gist, I love you both very much!

Uncle D Got Married!

Yesterday was the big day, Uncle D married the lovely Andrea Carnahan, Dan was a handsome groomsman, Ava gave a charming speech, and I, well, I got to buy a new dress, and enjoy a dinner out in Malibu celebrating the occasion with my friends. God is so good!