Where have I been?

So, you may have noticed that, aside from some content I had front-loaded onto the blog, I haven't been around lately.

To say things have been a little crazy around here would be an understatement.

On Friday, June 5, I ran/walked my first 5K! I've been training since February and have lost 35 pounds, and was very excited. To be honest, I didn't think I could do bit. I spent the last mile praying hail Mary's.
But I did it, and I'm very proud of myself! Here I am crossing the finish line.
And here is my place-- 187! But there were over 300 participants, so I guess it's not too bad.
And here I am looking sweaty and awful with my wonderful children.
What made it even more special is that the day I ran the 5K, I also found out we were expecting our fifth baby!

So, between the nausea, the dizziness, and the exhaustion, I just haven't been up to blogging. Throw in Michael's homeschool evaluation, a couple of homeschool picnics, swim team getting started, and general summer mayhem, as well as me completely rewriting Summer Seasons of Joy, and you can see why I haven't been around. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up a bit this weekend.

Rejoice! What was lost is now found!

Now I know how the woman with the missing coin felt. Chip found the missing camera! I updated the art pictures here, and I thought I'd add a picture Katie Grace drew of Jack Frost
That's an icicle hanging off his nose!

And one last picture of Daniel before he got his little baby mullet trimmed.

Sigh.

My camera is missing.

Again.

This happens every year or so, and it really really upsets me.

It also makes it hard to blog.

Poop.

The horrible terrible no-good very bad week

Oh, man, it was bad, bad, bad.

Chip was gone on retreat all week in Chicago. He's back now. I don't really like to let people know when he's out of town because I get a little freaked out thinking people know I am home alone with 4 kids.

I was sick most of the week, ending with a resounding hacking cough.

Apparently, no one from church knew he was out of town, because I kept getting phone calls.

Michael didn't get the part in the play he auditioned for. :(

School was slow and painful. It took Micheal 3 hours to do 18 math problems today! We really just didn't get all that much done.

We ate a lot of processed crap and fast food.

I discovered that I accidentally donated all my winter clothes.

And for reasons I don't quite comprehend, I decided to completely rearrange the dining room/school room/play room on Thursday. All I can come up with is that it was the fever's fault.

I'm just glad it's over and we can move on.

Whoo hoo!!! Vice Presidential debate tomorrow!!!!

I've been really excited about the VP debate on Thursday night. I couldn't quite figure out why. Then it hit me-- my brain has totally melded Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, leading me to have expectations of snark and hilarity that probably won't come true.

Ah well. Maybe there will be some unintentional funniness. A girl can dream.

Top Ten Signs You Listen to a Lot of Musicals in Your Home

1. You sing "Into the seat you go again, you have to every now and then!" when putting your baby in the mini-van.

2. When one child gets sent to time out, the other starts singing "No one mourns the wicked."

3. When Daddy goes to work, everyone breaks into an impromptu rendition of the Goodbye chorus from 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

4. You can't bake cookies without listening to "Eating Cookies" from A Year with Frog and Toad.

5. You celebrate Stephen Sondheim's birthday as a family.

6. Ditto Rogers. Ditto Hammerstein.

7. Your kids saw their first musical before they saw their first movie.

8. When your toddler says "No!" he follows it up by singing "And that's my new philosophy!"

9. You catch your kids singing "We could light the candle" while messing around with the Advent wreath. Later they're on the table singing "La vie boheme!"

10. You're pretty sure baby number four was the direct result of scoring front row tickets to Wicked.

Five Reasons to Be Happy on a Sunday Afternoon

1. The three big kids and Daddy are at the Little League World Series Championships.

2. The baby is taking a loooooong nap.

3. I am drinking some fresh brewed iced Tazo black chai tea.

4. There's a loaf of fresh bread being kneaded in the bread machine and

5. I survived another Sunday in church alone in a pew with a surly nine-year-old, a bouncy seven-year-old, an insane four-year-old and a baby who likes to bounce toys off the heads of the people in front of us while spitting. And I even sang a solo today!

A Return to Normalcy

So, tomorrow we return to a rhythm. We're supposed to start school tomorrow--don't tell the kids, but it's going to be a reeeeaaally easy week!--and I should really be in bed. I feel like all our routines have gotten away from us--mornings, evenings, chores, cleaning, menus,everything! And I'm really looking forward to reigning everything back under control.

The blog is crazy. I keep trying new things and can't settle on a layout. Or I try a new layout and it turns out there's something that won't work. So I'll keep working on that this week as well.

So, say a prayer for us. Tomorrow is a day of new beginnings.

East, West, Home's Best!

Oh my goodness, it is sooooooo glad to be home!

We started out on July 27. Every year we get together with a group of college friends for the weekend. They started out as five guys singing together, and grew into a group of 24 with wives and babies and children! We had a wonderful weekend (mostly-- details forthcoming about how a weekend of barbershop and gospel led to a new car.)

From there, we went on vacation. We stayed with Chip's parents and went on a series of day trips. We visited a working Amish farm, the historic sites in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Zoo, and more.
We were home for less than 48 hours when Daniel and I hopped on a plane to Santa Fe to spend a week with Peggy O' Mara and the Mothering moderation team. It was absolutely awesome!

But now I'm home, reading posts and catching up on laundry. And I definitely keep catching myself singing in my heart "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!"

No feasts... No festivals... No plans... No projects

Why? Because someone moved my date book. *weeps*

Seriously, I can't live without my date book.

I know all three older children have music camp every morning this week.

I know on Monday and Tuesday, Nick has early intervention "Stay and Play" in the early afternoon.

I know on Thursday, they have a picnic and are performing at a nursing home and on Friday they have a concert.

I'm reasonably certain they have a swim meet tomorrow, but the details elude me.

St Anthony, pray for me! I need that book...

Calling all pastor's wives...

To the person who clicked into my blog after googling "exhuasted pastor's wife," bless your heart. Feel free to comment or drop me a line if you need someone to talk to.

Going... going... gone!

On Monday, I had my first haircut since I was pregnant with Nicholas. For those keeping score, he will be five at the end of September.

Not only was a getting a haircut, but I was leaving Daniel (and the other three!) with my good friend from down the street who really made this whole thing possible. She even made my appointment!

I don't take great pictures, but here are some of my new 'do. She took 13 inches (give or take) off my head! It's not as poofy as when she cut it. I don't usually blow-dry my hair, which I guess I need to do if I want height, and I need to get a bigger curling iron.

Now I want new glasses!

Reason Number 537 Why We Homeschool

Because this town has some serious spelling issues.




(In case you can't read it, the second business is "Committed to preserving heritatge".

Huh. I completely lost two days.

Seriously. I spent the day thinking it was Tuesday. That is, until I got a phone call from my friend Donna asking what about the LLL yard sale we're supposed to be having tomorrow. And then Emily beeped in on that phone call to ask about the LLL yard sale we're supposed to be having tomorrow at her house. And during that phone call, Amber beeped in to ask about the LLL yard sale we're supposed to be having tomorrow.

So... um... yeah, I guess we're having a LLL yard sale tomorrow. And it's not Tuesday. Whoops.

In my defense, the pediatric ophthalmologist was able to get Michael in three months early, and I think that hour-and-a-half each way trip threw me off.

Five things that made me smile today

After yesterday's crabby post, I thought I'd put my energy into something happy.

1. Katie Grace spent an hour in the attic helping me sort through clothes. At the end of it she sighed and said, "Mama, I love spending time with you... even when we're working."

2. This twirly skirt tutorial that I swear I'm going to make for my twirly girl.

3. Green Mom Find's linking to this eco-conscious online consignment shop, The Conscious Child.

4. Chip finally made my copies for the MOMYS preschool activity swap I'm doing. I think they were due three days ago though.

5. Michael's recounting this conversation with the strings director:
Mr. R: Michael, I didn't know your parents were both music majors.
Michael: Yeah, but I think they sort of overshot. Dad's a pastor and Mom just stays home.

Me and Rick Moranis]

Thank you!

I've been remiss in my thankfulness lately, and wanted to give three shout-outs. I, who rarely win things, have won three gievaways in the past month!

First of all, I won two Preserve recycled toothbrushes over at Gruppie Girl. My daughter claimed the kid one and I'm loving the grown-up one. Thank you!

Love2Learn had all sorts of giveaways and I was blessed enough to win a copy of Secret Angels Four from Bethlehem Books. That's getting tucked away for Michael on a rainy day! I am very excited about this company, and am thinking of ordering the Happy Little Family books for a read aloud. Thank you!

Finally, I won a Zadyball from Alayna's Creations! This was part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. If I can wait, I'm giving it to Daniel for his birthday. Or maybe I'll give it to him tomorrow. I can't decide. Thank you!

I'm a lemming.

I'm succombing to internet peer pressure,

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE ? St. Anne

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I don't remember, but I'm sure it's been in the last week.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Mostly. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and it gets messy.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Corned beef.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Four of them (so far!)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Um, yeah, just a bit.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love cocoa krispies when I need a sugar fix, but for actual breakfast I like chex.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically? Not terribly. But I'm an emotional Atlas.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate chip cookie dough.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? My temper.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My step-mother who was killed by a drunk driver when I was in college.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I don't wear pants. I'm wearing a khaki skirt and blue Maggie's socks.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Beef lo mein. On LLL days, I bribe my children with lunch out in exchange for being gracious hosts and hostesses.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A really annoying song on Noggin. "Everywhere I go..."

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Fuschia.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Vanilla. Maybe lavender.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My hubby.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Blech.

25. HAIR COLOR? Brown

26. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. I used to, but it always feels like I am sticking a piece of plastic in my eyes.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Coconut chicken. Yum.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Because of Winn Dixie.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Blue.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs with a side of backrub.

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pretzel salad.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Home Education by Charlotte Mason (among others)

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Clouds.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Law and Order and Project Runway.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Baby giggles.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Florida.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Singing, I suppose.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Columbia, PA.

Is there anything nicer than

A half-naked baby who falls asleep on your lap after nursing? I don't think so. *happy sigh*

New year, new camera

We finally ordered one. I bet I find the old one as soon as the new one arrives. If so, I can post a picture of it!