Peer Pressure Prevails

For the past 2 years I have held on to my faithful maroon little basic cell phone, and I have resisted the temptation to "upgrade." Despite the fact that I had no internet access, no GPS system, no ability to really see the pictures my friends sent me throughout the day, I continued in my steadfast stubborn resolve. I said, "Iphones are over-rated, we all lived perfectly happy lives without iphones, why do I have to get one now? Iphones, bah humbug, they're so everywhere, they're so in your face, they're so trendy, I refuse to assimilate to the culture....."

So what if all of my 7th graders have nicer cell phones than mine? I don't care, I don't need Angry Birds to make me happy. I don't need phones that play music and allow me to actually hear what the person on the other end of the line is saying. I refuse to be high maintenance, another so-Cal drone who carts around a purse that's bigger than my first car, who wears leggings with boots, who.....well okay, I do those last two things, but still, you get my drift, I'm a rebel at heart.

But here's what happened, my contract was up, I went in, they offered me a deal, I defiantly told them I REFUSE to pay a lot of money for one of thoooose iphones, and then the girl told me I had a credit for getting through my contract, and that if I got the 4 instead of the 4S or whatever, it wouldn't be very much at all, and the next thing I knew..... I had an iphone in my over-sized purse.

And here's the thing I hate. I sort of really LOVE it.

There's this word game called Iassociate2 that I'm obsessed with, and now when I'm watching a movie on TV, and I wonder who is that guy, where have I seen him? I just pick up my IMDB app and the answer appears magically before me, and I started taking pictures of my ridiculously cute children again, and my mom says that when I call her, she can actually hear me now, and there's a flashlight app, and a to do list app, and even a quote of the day by Charles Spurgeon.

It kind of makes me teary just thinking about it, and when I brought it to my class for the first time, one of the kids, shouted, "Mrs. Leaman, got a new phone.... it's an iphone!" Then the whole class stood up and cheered. I'm NOT kidding. I got a standing ovation. It was a moment, it was as if they welcomed me out of the 90's and into the new era. Next thing you know, I'll be taking Pilates classes, buying organic milk, and for fun I'll hang out at the Apple store. Or maybe not.

Turns Out, I'm a wimp.... a very grateful wimp

I have always been told that mothers are supposed to remain calm when their children are hurt. I thought I was pretty good at this. When the girls were toddlers they would topple off the couch, trip over the porch steps, bump their heads on the table corners, and each time I would cheerfully respond, "you're okay," because I didn't want to alarm them or over react.

But here's the deal, when blood is involved and hysterical screaming, I'm no longer the picture of serenity, and here's how I know that. Yesterday, Noelle smashed her finger in the door. My kids have all smashed their fingers in van doors, sliding doors, playhouse doors, etc. But this time Noelle screamed, rather than cried, she SCREAMED, 3 ear piercing, horrible help me type of screams. And still I was a little slow to respond because I thought maybe her sister had slammed the door on her by accident and she was just angry. But then as I walked toward her and she held her hand out, and it looked like either the tip of her finger was going to fall off or a bone or nail or I don't know what was jutting out and blood was oozing everywhere, I did not stay calm! I started crying, like a little whimpering, help me, what the heck do I do right now cry. I'm the mom, I'm supposed to be able to handle every situation, but no, I totally freaked out.

Here's the good news. Dan had just left the house (he had come home from lunch), so I called him, and he turned around, and was home within probably 3 minutes, and Kat, my faithful neighbor grabbed my other girls, and Dan, and Noelle, and I headed to Urgent Care. Here's a list of things I'm thankful for in the midst of a mini-crisis:

1. Prayer: Kat was praying with the girls, I texted my sister who happened to be with my mom, and they were praying.

2. Husbands that truly do remain calm when their wives and daughters are crying and freaking out.

3. Urgent care: Instead of waiting 3 hours in the ER waiting room, we were ushered right in and taken care of in an hour's time.

4. Fractured fingertips and missing fingernails are an amazing blessing in comparison to broken legs or head injuries or chronic illnesses.

5. Modern medicine: Once the doctor could give her a numbing block, the pain was gone, and we all calmed down.

6. Nurses who, unlike me, can look at mangled fingers and not even bat an eyelash. Noelle and I couldn't even look. She wouldn't look until she was fully bandaged and in her splint, and even then, she was hesitant.

So really, despite the fact that I realized I should be on the world's top 10 wimpiest moms list, yesterday's incident ultimately reminded me to be thankful for the goodness of God. Because if all I have to complain about is grading papers and my kids giving me gray hair because of fingers smashed in the door, then really I should be on my knees giving thanks all of the time.

Picky Eater

It was inevitable that with four kids, at least one would be a little bit fussy about food. Since birth, Maylin has been that child. So almost every night we exert various efforts to coax, threaten, bribe, demand she tries whatever we have cooked for dinner. Last night was no exception. As the rest of us dined on soup and bread rolls, she made her "I'm so disgusted" face, and stared stubbornly at her plate.

Dan began lecturing..... "blah, blah, typical parent stuff... and you should be thankful.... there are kids all over the world that have nothing to eat!"

Maylin scrunched up her face, "Why should I be thankful other people don't have anything to eat?"

Ahh, yeah, didn't mean it that way exactly. Just eat your food.

Sun, Sand, & Snow?

The beauty of our surroundings often goes unappreciated especially by pre-occupied moms like me! But how can I not be grateful that one Saturday we were at the beach watching the sunset and the next Saturday, we were playing in the snow. Our amazing friends Sandhya & her fam invited us to spend the weekend with them last weekend and let the kids try skiing. I have never attempted skiing before for obvious reasons(it's cold, it requires coordination, and it tests your patience and endurance levels). But Dan has gone, and he took Lorelei and Noelle on some bunny hills. They loved it. The kids got to experience snow, I got to catch up with my college bff, and enjoy her adorable kids, and we all got a little break from reality for a few days. What more could one ask for?

Are You Hip to the Jive?

They say we never stop learning, and in my case, I never stop learning useless information.

Here are 3 new terms I learned this week, how up on pop culture current events are you?

1. Shippers - the word shippers comes from "relationships" and it refers to people that become extremely interested/obsessed with a fictional relationship on TV. They become such fans of the relationship and it's psychology, they actually blog about, create websites devoted to it, and even create fictional scenarios that they act out on you tube. Allow me to use the word in a sentence for you: When I obsessively watched The Gilmore Girls and began dreaming about whether or not Luke and Lorelai Gilmore would get married, I was officially a shipper, and I didn't even know it.

2. Linsanity - Usually, I don't give a fig about sports/athletes/athletic events or the like. However, everyone loves the tale of an under dog that comes out of nowhere. All week I've been hearing murmurings of the Asian-American NBA player, Jeremy Lin. Turns out this kid came out of nowhere and is blowing everyone away with his talent. But here's what makes his story even more exciting to me..... He's a believer, seems to be the real deal, and he is exceptionally humble and gracious. Time to put a poster up of Jeremy Lin right next to the one of Tebow. (What, like you don't have posters in your bedroom anymore?)

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/all-spheres-of-life-even-pro-basketball

3. Preppers - This is my new favorite term. Last night I stumbled upon a show on the National Geographic channel about "preppers." Preppers are people that believe the end of the world is upon us and they must "prepare" for it. I've heard of storing extra water in your garage for emergencies, but these guys take it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. They have bunkers, gas masks, they time they're families each week in practice evacuation drills, and they make their own gasoline. I found myself staring with my mouth open at the TV for one entire hour. After watching that show, I may just go out and finally buy myself that flashlight I've been wanting.

Now don't you feel educated? Be sure to use these 3 new words in a sentence today, it'll make you feel smart.

It Goes So Fast

There was a time that going to the grocery store required a lot of strategizing. I wore one baby in the Bjorn, set one in a car seat in the front section of the cart, one in the big section of the cart, and I forced Lorelei to hold on to the back end of the cart, so I wouldn't lose her.

I thought that that stage was really hard.

But this week, one of my girls came home crying because of caddy girl drama at school. The other one asked that I not put her hair in a pony tail because she didn't like her ears (that one really shocked me by the way), and another one had a meltdown at gymnastics class.

In the midst of school and homework and lessons and trying to impart little bits of wisdom into their sometimes foolish hearts, a younger woman at church called me and invited my whole family of 6 to her house for dinner tonight. She currently has 1 child and is expecting another. And I heard myself saying to her.... "It goes so fast.... really enjoy it, enjoy it."

And I almost couldn't believe my own words. But they were true. The baby problems are so small, just like them. They require rash ointment, and sometimes that you switch formulas because they're allergic, and you think that diapers are expensive, but wait till you pay for private schooling and guitar lessons.

So enjoy those babies while you got 'em, they won't be babies for long!

Bedtime Brute

I know, I know no parent is perfect, we all have have our flaws, but what I'm about to confess to you all puts me up there with pageant moms. I hate bedtime. In every family movie that's ever been filmed, there's a token shot of two serene and smiling actors sitting at the foot of their child's bed reading them a bedtime story. The child usually slowly closes their eyes, and the mom and dad look at each other and nod at one another knowingly. The bedroom is tidy and well decorated, both parents are wearing robes over their color-coordinated pajamas, and basically everyone is happy.

When I first had Lorelei, my beloved first born, I envisioned that our nights would be like those nights. I don't really remember my parents "tucking me in" much, but I was going to be different, I was going to set up a nightly routine, that involved lavender scented bubble baths, reviewing memory verses, reading literary classics, and I'd close it all out with prayer. All of these seemed like good things, fun things, the right things a "good" parent would do.

8 and a half years have passed since that first child of mine came in to the world, and during those 8 and a half years, I've acquired 3 more children, 5 English classes to teach, and a much larger grocery bill. By the time dinner is done, homework is done, the dishes are cleaned, all I can think about is sitting very, very still in front of the warming light of a television set. The thought of reading a book, or tucking someone in sounds like it requires so much energy. I can't fathom it.

Fortunately, my dear, patient, loving husband usually does this job. But he's taken up running. In fact he's running right now, and my kids are shuffling around in the hallway, calling to me,

"Mom, I'm cold," (It was 75 degrees today).

"Mom, I'm thirsty," (Cups of water sat on the table all day long, untouched).

"Mom, the tag on my pajamas is itching me," (not making that up, folks she just said it).

"Mom, can you read me a story..... no can you make up a story for me?" (Um, no, please don't make me).

And so I told them to just go to bed, don't get up, don't go back to start, just go to bed.

And now I'm hiding in my room behind a computer screen, hoping.... praying, that they all do just that.... go to bed.