I've been quite overweight for a long time. That's not a secret.
At some point, i decided it was o.k. because i was not gaining. I wore the same size, weighed the same weight, i thought i had reasonable physical ability, and i definitely didn't want to do the lose weight - gain weight - lose weight - gain weight thing, so i just kept doing things the way i was doing them.
Recently, i noticed that i am now gaining weight - rapidly. And suddenly, i had new light. Also, since i have been blessed with the privilege of not working outside the home, i really have no excuse in the exercise department.
So, i'm instituting some resolute habit changes....exercise - calorie restriction - and so forth.
Also - another peek into the mind of me - in the past i have had a hard time focusing on my body without losing focus spiritually. That's another reason i haven't done anything about my weight: i would rather be an overweight Christian than a skinny sinner.
So this time, the two go hand in hand. Both should be good for the other, after all, so i'm working to develop healthy routines in both areas that will lead to health and life in both areas.
Oh, and this is not a new year's resolution. I started yesterday, well before the new year. And i did that on purpose. It's change that starts now and is not defined by the beginning or end of a year.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I Think I'm Starting To Enjoy Christmas Now
There's something about the aroma of cloves and ginger and cinnamon that makes me feel a little more Christmas-y, even if it is 65 degrees outside the day before Christmas Eve.
I've been baking adventurously, meaning i'm baking things i've never baked before or things that i haven't baked in so long that i may as well have never baked them.
I had to work up to it for a few days, but i decided to try making my own pepparkakor. I had to work up to it because i already know that it is not the kind of recipe that anyone is likely to really get right on the first try. I don't remember ever seeing my mom mess it up, but she has had a lot more practice, and she can speak Swedish to the cookies. I think that helps.
The part where you actually mix the dough isn't too hard. One of the ingredients is the "peel and juice of half an orange." Thank God my mom wrote in that that means about 2 tablespoons. It took me a whole orange to get that much juice. Another ingredient is "one small egg," and i only had large eggs, and i couldn't decide whether i should do without some yolk or some white, so i just put the whole thing in, hoping it wouldn't matter. But i think it did.
After you make the dough, you have to chill it hard. This is because you have to roll it out cold, and if you let it get too warm, it gets too soft, and doesn't keep its form. Then when you roll it out, you have to get it very thin. I was afraid i was getting it too thin, so i rolled out the next section a little thicker. Shouldn't have done that either. Thick and soft is not right. I got some of them the right thickness, but the texture's not right. I think it's the large egg. I think i'll wait for mom to let me know what i might've done wrong.
They taste good too, and i'll certainly enjoy eating them, but i won't be bringing them to any Christmas celebrations. When i share pepparkakor with the local americans, i want to represent the cookies correctly.
Well anyway, i also made caramel corn and ate most of it, and i made pumpkin pie. I'm a little worried about it because i'm really not sure it got done. I'm starting to wonder about my oven. I need to buy an oven so i can check it out.
Tomorrow is our second Christmas celebration with family. I'll be bringing my pumpkin pie, done or not, and James plans to make a decadent green bean casserole with his special additions. (bacon)
I'm looking forward to it.
Happy Christmas everyone!
I've been baking adventurously, meaning i'm baking things i've never baked before or things that i haven't baked in so long that i may as well have never baked them.
I had to work up to it for a few days, but i decided to try making my own pepparkakor. I had to work up to it because i already know that it is not the kind of recipe that anyone is likely to really get right on the first try. I don't remember ever seeing my mom mess it up, but she has had a lot more practice, and she can speak Swedish to the cookies. I think that helps.
The part where you actually mix the dough isn't too hard. One of the ingredients is the "peel and juice of half an orange." Thank God my mom wrote in that that means about 2 tablespoons. It took me a whole orange to get that much juice. Another ingredient is "one small egg," and i only had large eggs, and i couldn't decide whether i should do without some yolk or some white, so i just put the whole thing in, hoping it wouldn't matter. But i think it did.
After you make the dough, you have to chill it hard. This is because you have to roll it out cold, and if you let it get too warm, it gets too soft, and doesn't keep its form. Then when you roll it out, you have to get it very thin. I was afraid i was getting it too thin, so i rolled out the next section a little thicker. Shouldn't have done that either. Thick and soft is not right. I got some of them the right thickness, but the texture's not right. I think it's the large egg. I think i'll wait for mom to let me know what i might've done wrong.
They taste good too, and i'll certainly enjoy eating them, but i won't be bringing them to any Christmas celebrations. When i share pepparkakor with the local americans, i want to represent the cookies correctly.
Well anyway, i also made caramel corn and ate most of it, and i made pumpkin pie. I'm a little worried about it because i'm really not sure it got done. I'm starting to wonder about my oven. I need to buy an oven so i can check it out.
Tomorrow is our second Christmas celebration with family. I'll be bringing my pumpkin pie, done or not, and James plans to make a decadent green bean casserole with his special additions. (bacon)
I'm looking forward to it.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Christmas
Today, my husband and i plan to go Christmas shopping. Yes, i know this is the 20th, but this is when it's getting done. Our plan is to leave at 6 am so we can beat the crowd to Wal-Mart and then hopefully the other crowds to the stores that open later in the morning.
And for whatever reason, i awoke at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. So, here i am.
This morning, i'm remembering Christmases at home when i was a girl. It was very simple, and i liked it. Often, or maybe usually, we didn't have a lot of money. And often my gifts were homemade. And generally there were only a couple or a few. And i can't think of a single time when i was disappointed.
Somehow, by the grace of God, my parents instilled in me the true meaning of Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I really liked the gifts, but i valued the time and intimacy more. Some Christmases were just me and my parents, and i liked that. That's a concept that seems foreign to me now. With James' 3 brothers and 2 sisters and my 2 mothers-in-law, it has been nearly a decade since i've known anything near a small Christmas celebration.
I enjoy the large family gathering. It's very festive, and there are lots of people to talk to. But it doesn't have the simple intimacy and enjoyment of the small happy family gathered in the living room to exchange simple heart-felt gifts, many that will be treasured for years to come, and to give thanks to God for His perfect Gift.
And for whatever reason, i awoke at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. So, here i am.
This morning, i'm remembering Christmases at home when i was a girl. It was very simple, and i liked it. Often, or maybe usually, we didn't have a lot of money. And often my gifts were homemade. And generally there were only a couple or a few. And i can't think of a single time when i was disappointed.
Somehow, by the grace of God, my parents instilled in me the true meaning of Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I really liked the gifts, but i valued the time and intimacy more. Some Christmases were just me and my parents, and i liked that. That's a concept that seems foreign to me now. With James' 3 brothers and 2 sisters and my 2 mothers-in-law, it has been nearly a decade since i've known anything near a small Christmas celebration.
I enjoy the large family gathering. It's very festive, and there are lots of people to talk to. But it doesn't have the simple intimacy and enjoyment of the small happy family gathered in the living room to exchange simple heart-felt gifts, many that will be treasured for years to come, and to give thanks to God for His perfect Gift.
Friday, December 12, 2008
blessings
last July, when James and i went to michigan for a family reunion, my grandmother was making an afghan. she's always making an afghan, but this one was a particular color of green that my husband admired. he told mormor that that was his favorite color. then about a month ago, that finished afghan arrived in the mail from my mother. she said it was a house-warming gift. james immediately claimed the afghan as his own. forget that it was for "us." it became his. i told my mom about it, and she asked what colors i would like in an afghan.
this afternoon, a most devastatingly beautiful afghan arrived in the mail for me from my mom. it was made just for me. that makes me feel special.
every Christmas, when i was a kid, my mom made pepparkakor. i think kakor is the swedish word for cookies. so i think pepparkakor means spice cookies. basically we're talking about very thin gingerbread cookies with a much milder flavor than say ginger snaps or american gingerbread. anyway, mom always makes a batch around Christmas time, and she cuts them into little hearts and stars. i LOVE pepparkakor.
in the box with my beautiful afghan was a cookie tin. upon opening and beneath bubble wrap, i found pepparkakor hearts and stars, wrapped in pairs in saran wrap so they wouldn't break on the trip.
each little package is like another Christmas present. i just hope i can make them last. i've already finished two packages. i cried when i bit into the first one. it tastes so good. love wrapped in saran wrap and an afghan made just for me.
i am so blessed!
i think i'll take my afghan and go get another package of cookies now.
this afternoon, a most devastatingly beautiful afghan arrived in the mail for me from my mom. it was made just for me. that makes me feel special.
every Christmas, when i was a kid, my mom made pepparkakor. i think kakor is the swedish word for cookies. so i think pepparkakor means spice cookies. basically we're talking about very thin gingerbread cookies with a much milder flavor than say ginger snaps or american gingerbread. anyway, mom always makes a batch around Christmas time, and she cuts them into little hearts and stars. i LOVE pepparkakor.
in the box with my beautiful afghan was a cookie tin. upon opening and beneath bubble wrap, i found pepparkakor hearts and stars, wrapped in pairs in saran wrap so they wouldn't break on the trip.
each little package is like another Christmas present. i just hope i can make them last. i've already finished two packages. i cried when i bit into the first one. it tastes so good. love wrapped in saran wrap and an afghan made just for me.
i am so blessed!
i think i'll take my afghan and go get another package of cookies now.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Auto Bailout - a regular american logical viewpoint
There's something very suspicious about all this car company bailout business that's going on right now.
I'll put aside, for the moment, whether i think that the government should ever have their hand in corporate business to begin with. Does it make sense to anyone out there that car businesses are going under? Do you have a lot of friends who have decided to stop buying cars? Is anyone turning, for environmental reasons, back to the horse and buggy method? No, of course they're not.
Here's my concern. Ford, GM, and Chrysler are not going out of business because they can't sell cars. Ford, GM, and Chrysler are going out of business because the unions are out of control. I understand that the labor unions were very important in the early 1900s. At first, unions represented the common blue collar worker's right to earn a living and to be paid his worth. I commend the American spirit that birthed that movement, and I'm proud of it. But now the labor unions, specifically those associated with the auto industry are doing just the opposite.
The problem with the auto makers is not that they can't figure out how to continue their business in modern times. It isn't that they don't know how to make adjustments in order to survive the current economy. The auto makers would know just what to do if they didn't have to battle it out with the union leaders every time they wanted to try to survive. Entire auto plants in Michigan have been completely shut down simply because the union leaders refused to agree to any compromise solution the corporations suggested in order to keep the plant open and the employees working. I have a feeling that sensible workers, eager to support their families, would have accepted some compromises if it meant that they could continue to work for a living. The problem, it seems to me, must be that the union leaders are getting a take. And they don't like the take they'd get if the auto makers made some sensible decisions in order to get through the current turbulent times. And they don't have to worry about the every day, in your face, consequences that the average Joe has to worry about.
Here's what I say: don't bail out the auto makers. Just limit the power of the unions. Let the workers make their own decisions for a change, and see if the auto makers can do what business people do and come to a solution that actually works without taking our tax money and putting it into a private corporation.
I don't want my fellow-Americans in Michigan to suffer any more than anyone else, but I'm pretty sure that the solution here will not be found in billions of tax dollars loaned to the auto makers unless we first muzzle the union leaders.
I'll put aside, for the moment, whether i think that the government should ever have their hand in corporate business to begin with. Does it make sense to anyone out there that car businesses are going under? Do you have a lot of friends who have decided to stop buying cars? Is anyone turning, for environmental reasons, back to the horse and buggy method? No, of course they're not.
Here's my concern. Ford, GM, and Chrysler are not going out of business because they can't sell cars. Ford, GM, and Chrysler are going out of business because the unions are out of control. I understand that the labor unions were very important in the early 1900s. At first, unions represented the common blue collar worker's right to earn a living and to be paid his worth. I commend the American spirit that birthed that movement, and I'm proud of it. But now the labor unions, specifically those associated with the auto industry are doing just the opposite.
The problem with the auto makers is not that they can't figure out how to continue their business in modern times. It isn't that they don't know how to make adjustments in order to survive the current economy. The auto makers would know just what to do if they didn't have to battle it out with the union leaders every time they wanted to try to survive. Entire auto plants in Michigan have been completely shut down simply because the union leaders refused to agree to any compromise solution the corporations suggested in order to keep the plant open and the employees working. I have a feeling that sensible workers, eager to support their families, would have accepted some compromises if it meant that they could continue to work for a living. The problem, it seems to me, must be that the union leaders are getting a take. And they don't like the take they'd get if the auto makers made some sensible decisions in order to get through the current turbulent times. And they don't have to worry about the every day, in your face, consequences that the average Joe has to worry about.
Here's what I say: don't bail out the auto makers. Just limit the power of the unions. Let the workers make their own decisions for a change, and see if the auto makers can do what business people do and come to a solution that actually works without taking our tax money and putting it into a private corporation.
I don't want my fellow-Americans in Michigan to suffer any more than anyone else, but I'm pretty sure that the solution here will not be found in billions of tax dollars loaned to the auto makers unless we first muzzle the union leaders.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
hum
today is my second day home. yesterday, i couldn't keep myself inside the house. even though it was a mess and desperately needed my attention, i just couldn't ignore the beautiful out of doors. so my house is still a mess.
today, the very insistent rain storm has persuaded me to stay indoors. sadly, i don't feel very well, so i'm having a hard time making much headway.
i started to go visit meme yesterday, but when i peaked through the woods, i saw david heading over there and decided to stay home. probably won't make it over today since i don't think i want to wade through all the cats and dogs falling from the sky.
i'm a little bored and just a little bit lost because i haven't gotten into my routine yet. i would like to get everything cleaned up and start decorating for Christmas. i got my first Christmas card in the mail yesterday, so i'm inspired. also, i'm determined to get my own Christmas cards mailed out this week, and i'm way behind because of the babysitting.
lots to do. must find inspiration.
today, the very insistent rain storm has persuaded me to stay indoors. sadly, i don't feel very well, so i'm having a hard time making much headway.
i started to go visit meme yesterday, but when i peaked through the woods, i saw david heading over there and decided to stay home. probably won't make it over today since i don't think i want to wade through all the cats and dogs falling from the sky.
i'm a little bored and just a little bit lost because i haven't gotten into my routine yet. i would like to get everything cleaned up and start decorating for Christmas. i got my first Christmas card in the mail yesterday, so i'm inspired. also, i'm determined to get my own Christmas cards mailed out this week, and i'm way behind because of the babysitting.
lots to do. must find inspiration.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
I Have a New Joke
I love the development of sense of humor in children. When they're really little, any unusual noise is funny. When they get a little older, anything that sounds like someone might've passed gas is hilarious! At some point in early grade school, they start telling jokes that go something like,
to which you have to laugh just because they're so tickled about nothing. As time goes on, they're jokes get a little funnier, and knock knock jokes get ever more popular. But i just love watching the progression of their understanding of what is funny.
In my recent opportunity to babysit my neighbor's three year old twins, i have developed a new joke in regard to childrens' humor development. Up until now, i haven't been able to share it with anyone. I am going to share it with you so that you can think it's funny too.
While babysitting, i watched a LOT of children's movies, and took note of how the parts the children think are funny are not the same parts that i think are funny. The people who write those cartoons are geniuses in that they can make the same material equally funny to adults and small children - but in completely different ways.
The funny part begins when you, as the adult amongst small children, allow yourself to laugh out loud at the parts that are funny to you but not to them. After all, it's probably helpful for them to start learning what actually is funny, right?Inevitably, the small, ever-learning mind of the 3-year old will turn and ask, "what happened?" Then you answer them. Then you get to laugh again, but this time more quietly so they don't get a complex.
I was able to practice my new joke most successfully the other day when i watched Monsters, Inc. with my young friends. If you haven't seen it, Monsters, Inc. is a Pixar animation from 2001. The story is about an imaginary city where many sorts of monsters live. The main characters work for a company whose job is to send monsters through human childrens' closet doors in order to produce screams. These screams produce energy on which the monsters' city runs. Accidentally one of the monsters accidentally brings a child (who thinks he's just a giant kitty) back with him. Thus the plot of the story progresses. I won't spoil it for you.
At the end of the movie, however, after all the credits, at the very end, in small print that i'm sure the producers thought no one would read, are the words, "No monsters were harmed in the making of the motion picture."
Well, that made me laugh, and i laughed out loud.
Of course, Jack, a curious 3-year old boy, turned to me and said, "what was it?" He wanted to know what made me laugh.
So i said, "it said, 'no monsters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.'"
Since he was a little too far away, Jack wasn't sure he heard me right, and he came closer and said, "what?"
Again, i said, "it said, 'no monsters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.'"
To which Jack stared at me blankly, smiled really really big like he got it, and laughed.
Then i got the best laugh of all. But i had to do it silently.
That still makes me laugh right now.
Hey, why did the chicken cross the road? Because it had dirt on it! Hahahahahahahaha!
to which you have to laugh just because they're so tickled about nothing. As time goes on, they're jokes get a little funnier, and knock knock jokes get ever more popular. But i just love watching the progression of their understanding of what is funny.
In my recent opportunity to babysit my neighbor's three year old twins, i have developed a new joke in regard to childrens' humor development. Up until now, i haven't been able to share it with anyone. I am going to share it with you so that you can think it's funny too.
While babysitting, i watched a LOT of children's movies, and took note of how the parts the children think are funny are not the same parts that i think are funny. The people who write those cartoons are geniuses in that they can make the same material equally funny to adults and small children - but in completely different ways.
The funny part begins when you, as the adult amongst small children, allow yourself to laugh out loud at the parts that are funny to you but not to them. After all, it's probably helpful for them to start learning what actually is funny, right?Inevitably, the small, ever-learning mind of the 3-year old will turn and ask, "what happened?" Then you answer them. Then you get to laugh again, but this time more quietly so they don't get a complex.
I was able to practice my new joke most successfully the other day when i watched Monsters, Inc. with my young friends. If you haven't seen it, Monsters, Inc. is a Pixar animation from 2001. The story is about an imaginary city where many sorts of monsters live. The main characters work for a company whose job is to send monsters through human childrens' closet doors in order to produce screams. These screams produce energy on which the monsters' city runs. Accidentally one of the monsters accidentally brings a child (who thinks he's just a giant kitty) back with him. Thus the plot of the story progresses. I won't spoil it for you.
At the end of the movie, however, after all the credits, at the very end, in small print that i'm sure the producers thought no one would read, are the words, "No monsters were harmed in the making of the motion picture."
Well, that made me laugh, and i laughed out loud.
Of course, Jack, a curious 3-year old boy, turned to me and said, "what was it?" He wanted to know what made me laugh.
So i said, "it said, 'no monsters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.'"
Since he was a little too far away, Jack wasn't sure he heard me right, and he came closer and said, "what?"
Again, i said, "it said, 'no monsters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.'"
To which Jack stared at me blankly, smiled really really big like he got it, and laughed.
Then i got the best laugh of all. But i had to do it silently.
That still makes me laugh right now.
exhale
today, at 3 ish in the afternoon, i was relieved of my post...permanently.
146 hours in a row. whew!
the kids' dad finally called this morning around 10 to say he was on his way home. apparently some supplies failed to arrive in time, and he was delayed in beginning his work.
even before we heard from him, however, my loving man had his fill of missing his wife and declared that i should not return to babysit the neighbor children. humbly, i submit.
and now i am kind of sad.
i don't think you get to spend that much time with children and not get attached, not if you're human and contain a warm heart. jillian actually made it through the last couple of days without getting in really big trouble for anything. this is breakthrough!
i don't think the kids understood that i wasn't coming back. i think i'll probably slip over next time james is at work and give them hugs. good for me if not for them. =)
i also got to know meme, and i'll probably visit her several times a week. i already decided.
i'm really happy to finally be home, and i'm sure i'll get used to it, but i might have a hard time going to sleep without a little girl on my lap. jillian is a very difficult little girl to get along with, but every night i was there, she fell asleep in my arms after everyone else was asleep.
i have been told more times than i can count that "you love them as much as you can for as long as you have them." i think i did that.
i'm also really happy about more comments on my blog. thanks! and thanks for the advice and encouraging words.
peace out.
146 hours in a row. whew!
the kids' dad finally called this morning around 10 to say he was on his way home. apparently some supplies failed to arrive in time, and he was delayed in beginning his work.
even before we heard from him, however, my loving man had his fill of missing his wife and declared that i should not return to babysit the neighbor children. humbly, i submit.
and now i am kind of sad.
i don't think you get to spend that much time with children and not get attached, not if you're human and contain a warm heart. jillian actually made it through the last couple of days without getting in really big trouble for anything. this is breakthrough!
i don't think the kids understood that i wasn't coming back. i think i'll probably slip over next time james is at work and give them hugs. good for me if not for them. =)
i also got to know meme, and i'll probably visit her several times a week. i already decided.
i'm really happy to finally be home, and i'm sure i'll get used to it, but i might have a hard time going to sleep without a little girl on my lap. jillian is a very difficult little girl to get along with, but every night i was there, she fell asleep in my arms after everyone else was asleep.
i have been told more times than i can count that "you love them as much as you can for as long as you have them." i think i did that.
i'm also really happy about more comments on my blog. thanks! and thanks for the advice and encouraging words.
peace out.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
eh
o.k. this is thursday.
according to the prescribed plan, i should be writing on my blog today to tell how my 3 1/2 day of day and nights taming the zoo went.
sadly, i cannot tell you because the time has been extended. how long? i don't know.
per the dispatcher for the place where the kids' dad works, weather may be keeping the helicopter from transporting him back to shore. she thinks it'll be friday.
eh
if you think i'm a wimp after only 3 days, o.k. i don't care.
but it must be easier to care for your own children in your own home with your own loving man at your side and your own bedroom to sleep in at night. right? at least a little better? come on!
mostly the kids are pretty sweet; they just happen to be three. the potty training is going o.k. jill has a belligerent streak which translates to potty training also. jack is a whiner but easily persuaded if i put my foot down about something. and he likes to wear underwear and go to the potty. jill, on the other hand, is unimpressed by the cute characters on her panties and will happily play all day with completely urine soaked clothes. ick!
i've been praying for jill because she obviously processes emotion differently, and i know that all of her fits are the result of something going on inside. i try to show them love through hugs and kisses as much as i can.
jack likes to call jill a "bad girl" whenever he's mad at her. jill gets very upset when he does this. i've started scolding jack for calling her that and trying to call her other things like big girl and sweet girl. she responds a little.
i enjoy visits with meme, the children's grandmother, pretty much every day. that is something i will probably continue even after i'm not babysitting the grandkids. she's a Christian woman, and she has some lung problems, so she doesn't get to get out very much. i enjoy visiting with her.
i've resolved to have a shower today even if i have to stay up all night to get it.
the schedule is weird because jill is hard to get to sleep; it's usually about 11pm even though i start at 8; and skyler has to get up at 6:15. i've been going back to sleep after skyler leaves, but i'm still exhausted. the children all sleep together in the living room at night, and i've been sleeping on the couch. the established method is to put them to sleep to their favorite movies. i haven't tried to break that one. i don't think i would be successful. i'm praying for the father, david, that he will be able to do what he needs to do. the children's mother passed away last Christmas, and from what the grandmother says, he's still having a really hard time emotionally (who wouldn't be?). but the children so desperately need structure and foundation. i'm hoping and praying that he will find a different employment situation before the end of the year.
i'm tired and probably rambling by now, so i'm going to stop writing and look for some clean clothes.
also, if you read my blog, i'd really like it if you commented from time to time. it's just nice. i usually assume i'm just talking to my parents, meredith, and lisa. it's always nice to know who's paying attention.
muah!
according to the prescribed plan, i should be writing on my blog today to tell how my 3 1/2 day of day and nights taming the zoo went.
sadly, i cannot tell you because the time has been extended. how long? i don't know.
per the dispatcher for the place where the kids' dad works, weather may be keeping the helicopter from transporting him back to shore. she thinks it'll be friday.
eh
if you think i'm a wimp after only 3 days, o.k. i don't care.
but it must be easier to care for your own children in your own home with your own loving man at your side and your own bedroom to sleep in at night. right? at least a little better? come on!
mostly the kids are pretty sweet; they just happen to be three. the potty training is going o.k. jill has a belligerent streak which translates to potty training also. jack is a whiner but easily persuaded if i put my foot down about something. and he likes to wear underwear and go to the potty. jill, on the other hand, is unimpressed by the cute characters on her panties and will happily play all day with completely urine soaked clothes. ick!
i've been praying for jill because she obviously processes emotion differently, and i know that all of her fits are the result of something going on inside. i try to show them love through hugs and kisses as much as i can.
jack likes to call jill a "bad girl" whenever he's mad at her. jill gets very upset when he does this. i've started scolding jack for calling her that and trying to call her other things like big girl and sweet girl. she responds a little.
i enjoy visits with meme, the children's grandmother, pretty much every day. that is something i will probably continue even after i'm not babysitting the grandkids. she's a Christian woman, and she has some lung problems, so she doesn't get to get out very much. i enjoy visiting with her.
i've resolved to have a shower today even if i have to stay up all night to get it.
the schedule is weird because jill is hard to get to sleep; it's usually about 11pm even though i start at 8; and skyler has to get up at 6:15. i've been going back to sleep after skyler leaves, but i'm still exhausted. the children all sleep together in the living room at night, and i've been sleeping on the couch. the established method is to put them to sleep to their favorite movies. i haven't tried to break that one. i don't think i would be successful. i'm praying for the father, david, that he will be able to do what he needs to do. the children's mother passed away last Christmas, and from what the grandmother says, he's still having a really hard time emotionally (who wouldn't be?). but the children so desperately need structure and foundation. i'm hoping and praying that he will find a different employment situation before the end of the year.
i'm tired and probably rambling by now, so i'm going to stop writing and look for some clean clothes.
also, if you read my blog, i'd really like it if you commented from time to time. it's just nice. i usually assume i'm just talking to my parents, meredith, and lisa. it's always nice to know who's paying attention.
muah!
Monday, December 1, 2008
cookies?
well, my suspicions were correct.
absence of the older child makes everything easier.
the twins let me sleep until ten o'clock this morning (the grace of God i think), and are now quietly playing in my living room while i attempt to pay bills and clean house for my loving man.
i had a really hard time going to sleep at their house last night - and an even harder time staying asleep. i woke up at 3 am and jack (the boy twin) heard me, woke up, and asked for cookies. =) some things never leave the mind. i got up to get the 7 year old, skyler, off to school and then went back to sleep. about 7, jack saw my eyes slit open slightly and again asked for cookies. i told him i wanted them to sleep for a few more minutes and then i would give them cookies. (i'm really a very bad babysitter). somewhere close to 10 a.m. i noticed the rustling of little bodies near by. when i finally dared to eyeball them, they were both sitting up in bed staring silently at me with expectant grins on their faces. "are you guys waiting for me to get up?" i asked.
"yes!" they giggled. "can we have cookies?"
true to my word, i fed them cookies and milk for breakfast. and before you judge me, just know that the other option was honeycombs cereal, and i challenge you to prove that honeycombs would've been healthier. =) also i fed them very wholesome peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.
well, back to my dishes.
absence of the older child makes everything easier.
the twins let me sleep until ten o'clock this morning (the grace of God i think), and are now quietly playing in my living room while i attempt to pay bills and clean house for my loving man.
i had a really hard time going to sleep at their house last night - and an even harder time staying asleep. i woke up at 3 am and jack (the boy twin) heard me, woke up, and asked for cookies. =) some things never leave the mind. i got up to get the 7 year old, skyler, off to school and then went back to sleep. about 7, jack saw my eyes slit open slightly and again asked for cookies. i told him i wanted them to sleep for a few more minutes and then i would give them cookies. (i'm really a very bad babysitter). somewhere close to 10 a.m. i noticed the rustling of little bodies near by. when i finally dared to eyeball them, they were both sitting up in bed staring silently at me with expectant grins on their faces. "are you guys waiting for me to get up?" i asked.
"yes!" they giggled. "can we have cookies?"
true to my word, i fed them cookies and milk for breakfast. and before you judge me, just know that the other option was honeycombs cereal, and i challenge you to prove that honeycombs would've been healthier. =) also i fed them very wholesome peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.
well, back to my dishes.
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