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Today was just one of those days. You know the kind. When everything just seems to go right. All to often I forget that these days exist. So refreshing. The weather was fantastic. We ate lunch with Chiggie, played on the playground, went for a bike ride, and had some very weather appropriate ice cream. It was so nice in fact that I put the sprinkler under the trampoline for the girls. The pictures don't do their happiness justice.

There's no such thing as perfect, but I have to say, today came pretty close.

Homecoming

I've had some big news for a while now. The kind of news that makes you want to just burst. I couldn't say anything though for fear it would end up in disappointment. Just like it had several times before.

The King has been gone now, working out of town, for nearly a year and a half. Much of that time he has only come home every other Sunday. It hasn't been pleasant. We've done the best we possibly could to keep the girls routine normal. I travelled occasionally to visit, but mostly I just stayed here by myself in our home. Amazingly the girls remained very well adjusted, but they've been sad. It's so hard to explain to such young kids why things are sometimes hard for families. They missed their Dad and there wasn't a whole lot that I could do about that. I was busy myself just trying to keep my head above the laundry and dishes most days.

So, when he told me there was a job opening within his company in town, I was shocked. Shocked and not very optimistic. I'd gotten my hopes up before only to watch them fall. I didn't mention the chance to the girls even when he told me it was a for sure thing. Long story short, he came home on Friday. Home to stay. For a good while at least. I let him tell the girls. He waited until late in the weekend and told them he had an announcement to make. They took if very seriously and sat listening eagerly. He barely got the words out when the whooping and hollering started. I don't think they'd have been nearly as excited if we would have told them we were going to Disney Land.

It really didn't hit me until today. He left for work early so it seemed like any ordinary Monday. I went about my day doing laundry, making beds, planning dinner, etc. The little girls and I rode our bikes to get Chiggie from school. As soon as we got home, around 3:10, the King called to say he was on his way home. That felt weird. The girls stood at the gate waiting and started screaming as soon as they saw his truck. Dinner was a piece of cake with help cooking, serving, and cleaning up. I even made a cake for dessert and then we played games until bed time. Stuff like that was almost impossible there for a while. Happy. That's what I am right now. That's what WE are right now. Our family is whole again.

Camp

Point your kids in the right direction-when they're old they won't be lost. Proverbs 22:6

Instead of Sunday school today we had a guest speaker. The adults and the youth gathered in the sanctuary to hear about the upcoming summer camp programs. The speaker engaged the audience in a few games and got the kids really excited. Afterwards Chiggie could not stop talking about it. We grabbed a brochure on our way out the door. While out to lunch we browsed the brochure and found that the camp offers a special session for kids just her age to come along with a parent. After talking about it we decided it would be a great opportunity for her, and me, for that matter. So at the end of June I'll be taking Chiggie and my two little sisters (7 and 9) to camp. I think I'm as excited as they are. My Mom graciously offered to watch the little girls during the day. The King will of course have them when he's not at work. ( I'll post soon about some major changes in that department) I think Chiggie put it best this afternoon when she said, "we just have so many good things happening in our lives right now!" That we do!

Skillz

Midge wanted everybody to know that she's pretty talented in the gymnastics department as well. I think she has a future in the high jump.

The Anatomy of a Hand Stand

Spunky

Boo's personality has done a complete 180 lately. No more shy little baby. Nope she's bustin' outta that shell and I believe the proper term would now be SPUNKY. What do you think?

More from Tea

I found a few more pictures that were just too funny not to share....

Through the Eyes of Tea

For Christmas Tea got a digital camera. Since then she has taken over 600 pictures. Pictures of the other girls, the dog, the floor, herself, the list goes on and on. I uploaded some for her today and I had to laugh at these two. Its funny to be on the other side of the camera for once.

Weird Dreams

Last night I had a lot of trouble falling asleep. Once I got there, it was not peaceful. In my dream my head was really itchy. I remember going in to the bathroom to try and see what was itching so bad and I could see bugs in the mirror. I had lice. I ran through the house checking the kids hair like crazy and we all had it. Gross! For the record we have, luckily, never been stricken with lice. I have no idea what a dream like this implies. Any ideas?

A Bad Day

I was shocked this morning that I actually woke up on time, got the girls ready, and made it to church. They were even cooperative. That's about where things quit going good. I'd list everything that went wrong, but how tedious and depressing is that? Tomorrow is a new day so I choose to just leave it in the past and move on....

Talent Show

The older girls all participated in our Church's talent show tonight. Chiggie showed off her jump roping skillz which were too quick for the camera. Tea and Midge performed the above duet. They started so quick that I missed the beginning. Oh well....

Clarification

I guess I need to clarify that I only lost half of a back molar. I think I left many of you with the mental image of me without a top front tooth or something. The tooth actually needed a root canal, but I was milking it due to the whole insurance thing. Of course now I'll be going in earlier and probably end up with a partial. It's a bummer but it could be a lot worse. I really did not realize how weak the tooth was and it chipped off very easily. Lesson learned I suppose...

Breaking the Ice

When I first started blogging close to 3 years ago I wasn't really sure what my goal was. I knew that I wanted to keep a record of the girls lives. I also knew that someday I would want something to look back on and really remember what my life was like from day to day. I debated making my page private and decided against it. I figured I might as well keep a journal in the nightstand and put my pictures in photo albums if I really didn't want people to read my thoughts or see the pictures. So I guess what I'm getting at is, feel free to drop me a comment. I love getting them even if I have no idea who you are. Who knows maybe we could even be friends?

Update on the Update and the Tooth Fairy

I went this morning and got my wallet back. It was funny because my old drivers license was inside but they still made me show them my new one. Meaning that even if I would've held out and not gotten a new one I would have needed to go get a new one just to claim the old one. Whatever..

In other news the Tooth Fairy will be making a visit at our house tonight. I'm not sure how much she'll leave but I hope it's good. Maybe even enough to cover the huge dental bill I'm going to have. Yeah that's right, I'm the one that lost the tooth. Only 9 more months and my insurance will be nice enough to cover a portion of the bill. Isn't that sweet of them? Oh well Chiggie made me feel a lot better when she said, "does this mean you're turning into an old lady?" Why yes, I think it might!

Still Working

And I thought I'd post a few pictures to prove it. I'm done with the upstairs and that is a huge relief. The toppers and blinds have all been washed and hung back up, drawers sorted through, and mattresses flipped. Now if I could just afford to have the downstairs hired out.....

Frustration *Updated*

Remember in December when I lost my wallet? Well, I forgot to mention it, but it turns out it wasn't lost at all. About three weeks ago I received a call from the Sheriff's Office informing me that my wallet had been turned in by a county road crew. It was found off of a county road in the mountains quite a while from where I last had it. I was told all that was left inside was my library card and drivers license. No cash and of course no debit card. I was disappointed. Not really so much that the money was gone as the fact that my wallet was actually stolen.

I had convinced myself that I had lost it somewhere and really I'd made peace with that. It bothers me that it was stolen. I had already bought a new wallet, cancelled my bank card, and been through the brutal DMV process so the fact that it had been found brought me no real solace. Long story short I never went and got it. Tonight a Sgt. called me and was unbelievably rude. When I apologized and said that I would come and get it in the morning he acted like that wasn't soon enough. He said he would just bring it to the house around seven. Like even having it at the office another day would be a huge inconvenience. To make matters worse he still hasn't shown up. I'm assuming he had to respond to something higher in priority like say a report of cow tipping or maybe even mud bogging. Sheesh I'm the victim here ....

*He never showed up. He finally called around 10pm and asked how late I was going to be up. I told him not to come that I would be there to pick it up. I'll go this morning and get it out of their way.*

Overdue

With all the work being done to the house I fell behind on the cleaning. Like, waaaaaayyyyy behind. Good thing it's time for spring cleaning anyway right? So I woke up today with a skip in my step ready to take on the world. Well, my corner of it anyway. I went upstairs, cleaning supplies in hand, and started in the upper left corner. The goal of course being to work my way from top to bottom. I took down blinds and scrubbed them. I washed the bed clothes. Of course I had to stop to change a few diapers and make a few meals, but for the most part I stayed on task.

The good news is the work that I have done is great. Sparkling and fresh smelling for sure. The bad news is I've cleaned two rooms. The upstairs bathroom and Chiggie's room. So only 9 more rooms to go. At this rate I'll be done by the time Chiggie goes back to school in the fall. Just in time to head back upstairs and start over again.

Chocolate

You're never too young to appreciate it!

Happy Easter

Easter morning is so powerful. No matter what the stresses in my life are. No matter how redundant things may seem at the the time, I am humbled by what Christ did for me, my entire family, and you for that matter. So with that being the focus of course we celebrate.Decorating eggs last night was interesting. An entire cup of dye was spilled by a child who shall remain nameless (cough, cough, Boo) and I was pretty sure my hand would never return to its natural color. The girls set out the same baskets every year. Chiggie and Tea got theirs years ago as a gift from Grandma Dixie and we bought Midge and Boo their own to match the theme. We were out of carrots, oops, so we convinced the girls that the Easter Bunny really does like apples too.The girls were so excited this morning that they came running out to the family room. Their baskets were filled with candy, gum, books, and movies.

The beautiful dresses were an Easter gift from G'pa and G'mama and the girls looked awesome wearing them. They got plenty of compliments at church!I hope everyone has a blessed day with family and friends. The promise this day brings is worth celebrating!

Might as Well

With the tile nearly finished we made the decision to go ahead and get a new table. The decision was motivated by the fact that we didn't all fit at the old one. Now there's more than enough room. The new table seats more people and takes up less space. We'll still be eating on the kitchen floor for another week though. No sitting at the new table until the grout is sealed. It'll be worth the wait I'm sure.

H-E-L-P

The King has been gone off and on for what seems like so long now that the way things are now have become our new "normal." This is definitely not how I want things to be, but it's the way they are and I've gotten better over time at accepting things. So to have him home today, a school day, was awesome in every way. He had to get up early to help a co-worker out so when it was time he got Chiggie up and went through the morning routine with her. The extra 30 minutes of sleep was incredible. Per her request he drove her to school and then even went and ate lunch with her. I was able to go to the store by MYSELF and even take the older girls to a movie tonight while he was home with Boo. It made me miss the past when this was "normal" but it also made me excited for the future when a day like today isn't so hard to come by.

That Close

Bear with me, we're in the home stretch now. Monday will be spent putting up the remainder of the trim and just finishing the small details. We already made plans elswhere for Easter Sunday and it's a good thing. This is the transition from the bathroom to the dining room. The grout is much lighter as you can tell in the picture above, but it was wet when I took the picture thus giving it the orangey look.

Method to the Madness

It turns out if you take your time and use the proper tools things get done right. Hmmm who would've thought??

I'm probably not that easy to work for. I'm like a little kid on a road trip. There's a lot of "are you done yet?" And "what now?" If it were me I'd probably just lay them side by side and hope for the best. I guess that's why it's not me.

Easter Fun

As an early Easter gift my Mom got the girls this sugar cookie "house" to decorate with candy. I love how closely Boo is watching Tea in this picture. She looks so grown up!

Everyone helped, some more than others. Boo and Midge mostly ate everything that didn't fit on the house.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon and they were so pleased with their finished product.

At Which Point I Bore You to Tears

Okay sing with me now, "this is the remodel that never ends. Yes it goes on and on my friend...."

What I Should be Doing

• More laundry
• Helping the girls clean their rooms
• Cleaning the upstairs bathroom
• Scooping dog doo
• Weeding my flower garden
• Deciding what's for dinner
• Replacing the girls winter clothes with their spring/summer ones

Procrastination is a nasty habit!

Guess Who?

Guess who has an earache tonight? I'll give you a hint, it's not her first. In fact this particular child has been on 3 different antibiotics in the last 7 weeks. If you guessed Tea give yourself a pat on the back you've obviously been paying attention.

She casually mentioned that her right ear was bothering her late this afternoon. She didn't seem to be in a lot of pain so I crossed my fingers it was just a little plugged or something minor. Tonight she is officially complaining. I put the standard two drops in and gave her some pain medication so hopefully she'll get some rest. First thing tomorrow I'll call the doc and see about getting her in. I'm hoping this is just a string of bad luck and not a sign of a more serious ear/s problem. *Sigh*

Buddies

Further

The mortar is down in the dining room and both family room entryways and has been since Friday. Too bad it took a whole 24 hours to dry. This made the family room, laundry area, and new bathroom off limits for a day. The good news is the tile can be set on Monday and grouted on Tuesday. Then maybe we'll take a little break...

Where a Kid....

Today the kids had their church youth group party at Chuck E. Cheese. Aside from the weather being crummy (snowy) and having a bit of a drive, it went really well. I think the pictures speak for themselves...