Thursday, August 17, 2006

Schedule, What Schedule?

OK, I know this title was on the list I put out a few posts ago, but this is a completely different topic than I had in mind then. The title just seemed to fit so I'm using it.

It's been an interesting week sind my children came home from there week long vacation with my folks. Viv and I got used to the slow pace we kept while the "big kids" were away. I'm a little tired from the return of full-on parenting of three. I did, however, do something that has made life eaiser.

While the kids were off playing and having fun I made a schedule. Now, I know there are some out there that would say this was way to anal-retentive of me. Anyone who knows me should know that my AR tendencies are random and have diminished since giving birth to my firstborn. The schedule is one of the few things I've done in the recent past that would even fall into that category. It does indeed start at 6:00 am and end at 11:00 pm, broken into half hour increments. Some things that made the schedule are times for food (meals and snacks), times for sleep, times when TV is allowed or not, crafting time, family time, bath time, etc... There is even a list under the schedule of "Mommy's Chores" that sort of splits things up into a managable system for keeping up with the cleaning and laundry. It's a great backbone for my days. It has even helped with Paris' whining issues because now I can say "Let's look at the schedule and see. No, it's not TV time you'll have to wait."

So, how has the week gone since they got back? Monday - great! Tuesday - started great. Tuesday afternoon Paris spiked a 103 fever. She does this on occasion so I wasn't to worried, but an hour after Motrin it had gone up, not down. We still managed to keep some semblance of routine/schedule that day. Vivian also decided that she was not really interested in eating a decent amount - I was a little concerned since it was the second day she was only "snacking" but I figured she was maybe just tired. And then Wednesday came....

Paris starts the day at 103 with a little cough. I call and get her an appointment at 1:20. I take the little ones to my friend Stephanie so I can go see my OB/GYN. It is SO pleasant to go to the lady doctor with a feverish four year old. Vivie was still not eating well, hadn't pooped in a week, and seemed to be messing with an ear a lot so I called and got her in at the same time as Paris' appointment. Had lunch at my friends and waited around there until it was time to take them in. Take all three children into Scott & White (Tripp was just along for the ride). The doc says everything looks OK. Paris most likely just has a virus and is doing that Mystery Fever thing she does and Vivie might have a touch of a tummy bug making her not hungry, but nothing he could find was actually wrong. We come and put everyone down for rest and feed the baby. Vivie ate like a champ and filled her diaper with poop. She now owes me $30 for the wasted co-pay. By the time Easy got home it was just nuts around here. I didn't even start dinner until he got home. No chores got done and I thought to myself, "Schedule, what schedule?"

God - thank you so much for teaching me that just because I have a schedule doesn't meant I HAVE to stick to it. Thank you for growing in me a tolerance for chaos, patience for sick kids, and the ability to laugh at my AR tendencies. Help me today to play "catch up" around my house and to maintain my desire to stop and have crafting time with my kids. It really is fun.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

A New Test

First, let me apologize to those of you who cast a vote a few posts back. I will soon post the Life with Teenager topic for you. The rest of the subjects on the list have sort of faded from my mind so if you voted for another you'll have to just use your imagination.

Today's topic is related to one of those options I listed though! Send the Mortgage to the Arachnids was on the list but got only one vote. For those of you who know me very well at all you know I have issues with spiders. Truth be told I am a full fledged arachniphobe. In reaction to seeing spiders in the past I have screamed, run, thrown up, had uncontrollable shivers and goosebumps, had my hands go numb, and of course simply been frozen in fear. I acknowledge that these reactions are irrational. They have been in my experience also uncontrollable.

Well, our new house is a bit out in the country. We have an acre lot so there is room to breathe between us and our potential neighbors. It's beuatiful out here. Except for the spiders. We have Garden Spiders. Garden Spiders get BIG. The also weave beautiful webs. During the final weeks of construction my efforts to come out and get some painting done by myself were thwarted by Garden Spiders that seriously seemed to be garding every entrance to my house. It took me 45 minutes to get in the house that night.

So, God and I had a little chat. He's come through in a big way since then. We had our bug guy, the fabulous Don Hancock, come spray the week before we moved in. We haven't had much trouble with the larger spiders (larger to me being anything larger than a quarter) since then. However, after living in the house about three weeks we seemed to be overrun by smaller solid black spiders. Every night they would start running around not long after we put the kids to bed. One evening we saw and/or killed over ten of the little suckers. They ranged in size from pea to penny and I had no irrational reactions. As a matter of fact, God as given quite a dose of courage to me. Since moving in I've gone from irrational reactions to being able to kill them without flinching. I've even killed a few with a bare hand or foot. I've been quite proud. After today I'm guessing I was a little too proud because I got a new test.

I'm headed to the utility room to get Easy's whites out and I see it on the top of the door frame. A large spider you ask? No, no. It was much worse. It was an arachnid with an exoskeleton. Yep, that's right. A scorpion was in my house. How did I react? Frozen in fear with waves of goosepimples washing over my skin. I know enough about scorpions to know you don't want one stinging you. Once my initial panic subsided I had to come up with a plan. I got one of Easy's shoes and began the stalking. I'm not dumb enough to take a swing at it when it's over my head. Seriously, who wants a not quite dead scorpion landing on them? So I waited and watched. The creepy little thing ran up and down the door frame and all over the baby gate. Every time it vanished to the other side of the baby gate and then came back a new wave of goosepimples washed over my skin. The way it moves is almost pretty. I mean if it wasn't a creepy arachnid that can cause intense pain you could almost see the beauty of the way it seems to glide around as it waves its pedipalps (those are the pincher things at the front) around and sticks his tail up like a flag. To me though, it was just plain creepy. It was tough. It took about an hour, but I finally got it. A few smacks with one of Easy's big shoes would hurt anybody and it dfefinitely did the job on the scorpion.

So, tomorrow I will call the fabulous Don Hancock again and have him come spray for every pest imaginable. And tonight I am reminded that no matter how good I get at smacking spiders, there will always be things in the world that scare me. I am thankful that I will always have God to give me strength and courage and comfort. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the big kids are at my folks' house for the week so no one had to witness the crazy lady stalking a scorpion.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

I'm tired off.....

dead fish, dirty dishes, not having drawers, 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00 am pacifier runs, taking the dog out with no fence, spiders, boxes, headaches, dust, laundry, gibberish, and weeds.

But I'm thankful for a daughter that loves her fish tank and doesn't mind flushing her dead fish down the toilet, my dishwasher, a kitchen big enough that utensils can sit on the counter and I still have room to cook, a healthy, happy baby girl, a sweet dog and an enormous yard for him to play in, the stuff that's still in boxes, Tylenol, the stuff that dust settles on, a son that communicates well even though he doesn't speak english yet, having flower beds, and the 4 million other blessings I see in my life every day. Thank you Lord for filling my life with so many wonderful things. And forgive me for not having a positive flip side for spiders - I really am just tired of them.