Monday was Jeff's birthday. He turned 33 but I'm going to stay 29 this year...for the 4th year in a row.
He's well loved around here and well loved at work. This is no secret. He's blessed to work with some amazing Jesus-loving people who not only put up with adore him, but encourage him in many ways as well.
My man has many nicknames - I call him "Jefe" (which is 'boss' in Spanish) - and I thought it was hilarious when I found out that a ton of people at work call him that, too. Another nickname they've given him there (from over a year ago when he was almost 50 pounds heavier) is, "The Fridge" because he reminded them of the football player nicknamed that as well.
Anyway, this year for his birthday one of the ladies at his work, Renee, (who has a cake-making business as a side job) made him this:
I couldn't believe how amazing it looked! She even has him holding his favorite coffee cup!
Anyway, Happy Birthday to my amazing husband, Fridge.
I'm not above admitting that I'm the Mom who decides to grocery shop at Winco pretty much because it's so much cheaper! there's a separate room where they keep the alcohol. There's a big sign outside the swinging door that says no one under the age of 21 can come in, so I leave my kids right outside the door and stand in the kidless nice and cold room for a minute and pretend I'm on vacation (don't freak out, I can still sort of see them).
Yes.
That actually happens.
I might also end up grabbing a Mike's Hard Lemonade Lite (or six) to pretend I'm on vacation during the 15 minutes between the time the kids go to bed and the time Jeff and I go to bed.
I live life big, you guys. Real big.
{NOTE: I'm under no illusion about how very blessed I am in this life and when I write posts like this it's mostly a joke. I don't know exactly why I felt the need to clarify that, but I did. I have four of the best kids in the world and I know it, but I still get tired and drink alcohol sometimes, ya know ? So to clarify again: I love my husband/kids/Jesus in a BIG way and I wouldn't change a thing - this is an adventure we're on and it's crazy scary ours. I'm happy with that. Okay. That's all.}
Conversation last night over dinner:
Carter: "Wow Mom, this is so good! Who did you get the recipe from?"
Me: "I just sort of made it up - I didn't get it from anyone."
Carter: "No seriously, this is GOOD - you didn't make it up, right? "
Me: "Buddy, I just threw stuff together."
Jack: "Well that's just shocking! I didn't know you knew how to do that!"
{I love that I can take whole wheat noodles, chopped up grilled chicken, pesto, and a little Parmesan cheese and toss it all together and my kids think I'm the greatest chef ever. Obviously I set the bar super high on a daily basis for them to come to this conclusion about a pasta dish.}
One of my sons (who will remain unnamed) was being naughty and playing with my earrings while he was using the toilet and my favorite pair ended up in the toilet.
Guess what they landed on?
Yup.
So, I started my day disinfecting earrings (however you're supposed to do that) and then all but burning my hands off trying to get them clean but honestly, no matter how clean your hands are after that there's no way to un-see yourself reaching in a toilet to grab something you plan on wearing again.
Hand sanitizer is going to be my best friend for a while.
Also?
Raising boys is not for the faint of heart (or for the germaphobic).
Just sayin'.
We're in it full swing now....this Summer thing.
And honestly? I'm LOVING it (finally in that *good* place again).
Yesterday we got to have "church" at our friends' place with a bunch of the families I love the most. We all met at their house and had a great missionary speaker (through whom God just blew me away!) followed by a delicious potluck and then the kids all played on a huge homemade slip-n-slide, a couple big trampolines, a play structure, and sprinklers while us adults had amazing discussions and fellowship. It was so much fun! Can't wait to do it again next month!
Today is chill day. Natalie and I got up early and made banana muffins for breakfast and the boys are out splitting and stacking some wood with my Dad before it gets freakishly hot (it's supposed to be mid-90s today). I'm going to get my workout in (as soon as Fischer finally goes to sleep) and then right after lunch we'll head to the lake (BLISS).
Tomorrow is up early to go blueberry picking (one of my favorite days of the year - I LOVE blueberries!) with my sister Jeremi, followed by Bible Study at the lake on Wednesday.
Thursday (which is the fourth of July, in case you're living under a rock) Jeff and I have a hot (literally) date going to a friend's wedding and I'm excited to get dressed up and get to hang out with my HOTTIE husband for an evening (and be around people who don't call me "Mom").
Jeff gets Thursday-Monday off of work and I'm so excited for all that time with him I can barely stand it. Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am by my husband? He is all kinds of amazing and even though we had a few (really) rough years towards the beginning of our marriage (maybe sometime I'll write more about it - but let's just say that I was *not* a communicator and that can do major damage - FAST), anyway, he's pretty great and I'm looking forward to some family time camping, fishing, barbequing with friends, and just enjoying the blessings that the Lord has given to our family!
I will (hopefully!) remember to document all this breaking-news events and share next week. Have a great week, you guys!
Summer flew in like an Idon'tknowwhat and it hasn't slowed down once.
The kids are attending Vacation Bible School each morning this week which really throws a wrench in my workout schedule, but I'm being a big girl about it and they're loving it. Jack is excited because since he's entering Kindergarten in the fall {someone hold me} he gets to participate as well.
We have to leave the house by 8:15am in the mornings though. This is rough for Mama, let me tell ya. Getting up earlier during the summer than I do during the school year (for 5 days in a row) is just wrong - but it's definitely worth the extra work, so we're managing smiles. :)
When we get home in the afternoons I quickly make lunch (that looks a lot like yogurt for each kid and then a big plate of cheese slices, apples, and carrots for them to all share) and then I have them sit on their beds for an hour and read (the 5 year old usually falls asleep). We've also implemented an hour of chores each day and it has been so nice! The structure is wonderful and the kids knowing that it happens every day keeps the, "What!? But Mom!" comments at bay. I just make a list for each child that will take them about a half hour (their barn chores take a half hour, so we just add that in) and they are expected to have it done before they get their pajamas on at night. {This idea of an hour of reading and an hour of chores each day was brought to me by my mother in law who is a genius.}
We've managed a few afternoons at the lake, but it's been pretty rainy the past week and a half (sun to come soon though!) so we're all ready for some more outdoor weather to be here. We're really looking forward to fishing and swimming and playing in sand!
Fischer is officially crawling all over the place. He's got 4 teeth (well, 3 and one that keeps going in and out, but since it's "out" today, we'll count it). He's got his bottom front teeth and his two top canine teeth - it's pretty hysterical looking and we may or may not call him snaggle-tooth....
Let's see...what else? We've got weddings coming up (Jeff's good friend from work the beginning of July and his brother is getting married the end of July) and lots of business surrounding that that we're looking forward to. Jack is going to be "ring security" for Uncle Johns' wedding and he can hardly wait. Carter saw the shirt and tie Jack will be wearing (which is to die for!) and decided that he wanted to one-up his brother and wear a tux to the wedding for fun. I kindly told him that would not be happening.
Oh, in a conversation with Natalie earlier this week in the car, she asked me about how you pick the person you want to marry. By the end of the conversation she goes, "so pretty much as long as they love Jesus more than anything else, you'd be good with them?" I said, "pretty much." Carter pipes up from the backseat, "Your top priority for your partner can be them loving Jesus - my top priority for mine is that they love the OSU Beavers." NICE.
So anyway, that's our bi-monthly wrap-up. Hope you guys have a great rest-of-the-week!
Already?
Really?
This is what I posted on Facebook this morning:
"Even
though my kids would love for it to be super hot outside and for us to
be heading to the lake (which will come soon enough), the first morning
of summer break finds us (me) sitting on the couch sipping coffee in
front of the fire while listening to the rain outside. I have to admit
that all this makes me happy happy happy."
Then real life happened.
Kids started fighting; worn out from the busy first couple of days at school this week, they are short on sleep and loooooong on overdone activities.
It was time. Even on the very first day of summer break, I just knew it.
Time to pull out my get-out-of-jail-free card.
I piled all the kids in the car and after a 25 minute drive through pouring rain we made it to civilization "town" where we had lunch at Dairy Queen and rented Red Box movies - both of which are a HUGE (and rare) treat in this house.
Right now the three older kids are laying on blankets in the living room zoning out watching a movie. Fischer is sleeping soundly in his bed. The house is quiet. It's still raining outside and, once again, I am happy happy happy.
Here's to everyone living through summer break!
