"Big Church" and kids

So Chloe is officially too old for Children's Church. Actually, she has been for a year, but since no one stopped her from going, she just kept the status quo. Well, the children's programming director sent word that any child over 2nd grade should stay upstairs. Totally understandable and totally ok by me.

Here's the predicament. She learns more in Children's Church than she does in "big church". We have a new minister who has lengthened our service a half hour. There is a lot of "high church" pomp now that is difficult for even the adults to sit through for an hour and a half. And his sermons, while beautiful and very educational, are very grown up. Not much for an 8 year old to be interested in. And everyone knows what happens when you get an 8 year old bored.... T-R-O-U-B-L-E!! She ends up squirming, whining, begging to go to the bathroom 3 times, wanting to lay down in the pew, wanting to sit with her friends....which ends in many, many confiscated Webkinz.

So, what to do?? It has been suggested that we allow books to be brought in to read. But I really would rather her pay attention to the service. At the same time, I'm not sure if she's capable of "getting it" yet. I remember playing tic tac toe as a child in church. So I suppose if the preacher's kid was allowed to goof off some during the service, it's not all bad.

I'll take any and all suggestions, friends and family.

Mommy Time

So, because of my parents' love and kindness, I had only one of the three children to care for all weekend. Chloe and Cooper spent their time with Grandmama and Poppa, being properly spoiled and exhausted.
Yesterday, I found myself with a quiet afternoon. Older kids were still out of town, Brody was down for his nap, and Michael Jon was planning on taking a nap himself. I decided instead of using that time productively, I would waste it by being a "lady of leisure". I went to the pool. By myself. With a book. A cheap, tawdry novel, to be exact.
I can't explain what a thrill it was to get into the vehicle without first having to strap it a car seat and two boosters. My heart was pounding! The windows were down...my hair was flapping in my face. (OK that's not true. My windows stay up! It's July in the South, people. Unless it's after midnight, the AC is required). My iPod was blasting all the music that I can't listen to with the kids in the car...that's right....I was listening to Prince! (Or is it still "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince"??? And is all that supposed to be capitalized?)
So I arrived at the pool and found that there was only one family there. Nice and quiet. Heaven! I settled in to a lounge chair and started arranging the iPod, the book, my towel, my beverage, my cell phone (in case the kids need me) and start relaxing. But my earbuds weren't right. So I adjust and readjust them for about 5 minutes. Then I start to read the book, and just as I'm getting to a good part, my phone rings. Kids are checking in. Everyone's good. Going fishing. Eating out. Went to Chucky Cheese. Yikes. 30 minutes later, I have lost almost an hour of my two hour reprieve.
About the time I hung the phone up, I hear the sound of laughter and joy. Ah, yes. Kids. One of my best friends and her family, three kids and husband in tow, to be exact. "Miss Rachel! Miss Rachel!! I got $174 for my birthday!" "Miss Rachel! Will you swim with me?" Miss Rachel! Can I have a drink?"
And so my afternoon of quiet bliss was done. But I have to admit, I had much more fun talking on the phone with my babies. I miss them when they're not around, little heathens that they are. And playing with our friends was much more enjoyable than the plans that I originally had.
All's well that ends well.

A Name Change...

So, after much nagging, complaining, and general unpleasantness from friends that have NO IDEA how difficult it is to keep a blog up (because they won't step up to the plate and do one themselves...hint hint hint), I have decided to not only add a post tonight (although a fast and boring one), but also to rename my lil' Blog to something more appropriate. Since daily blogs are really too much to ask of any one human being, much less a stay at home mom with a busy summer schedule, Semi-annual Rachel seems much more achievable.

Therefor, I present a new blog with new, much lower expectations. Ta Da!

In Awe

So, I've given birth three times now. Without delving into "TMI" land, I will say that I had all basic birth scenarios. First birth was a long, 18 hour, pitocin dripped nightmare that ended with a c-section. My second birth was a "marathon labor" that started 3 weeks before I actually went into hard labor, and it still took 12 hours of that before I was able to give birth with the help of an epidural. The third and final labor came close to being a "blurb" about a woman giving birth in the McDonalds drive thru. Once my water broke, I had little Brody 47 minutes later. No drugs!!! A real, natural birth. The doctor almost didn't make it in the room.
Now, I dealt with labor the way that most women on those reality birth shows do....lots of moaning, crying, rocking, walking, screaming. I remember certain points where I was hearing myself making noises that I didn't know was me. I was a vocal one for sure. But after finding this on Youtube, I feel quite inept. No warnings needed. There's no anatomy on the video. No worries.



I sing. I sing all the time. I sing to relieve my stress. I sing while I clean, while I cook, while I drive. I sing to my kids. I sing to my pets. I just sing. But I never, ever would have thought to sing during labor. And this lady's beautiful voice and the song choice just gets me all weepy. And now I almost ALMOST wish that I could experience birth once more just to try her theory. Singing through the contractions. It's a concept that I would love to try. But I'm not going to. My birthin' babies days are done.

A New Frontier

So, I've always been somewhat notorious for my...er....lack of concern about diet and exercise. I have a good friend who used to love to hassle me about my eating choices. "Rach, you gonna put butter on that burger and fry it or just go for the straight lard? What about the fries? Should I grab the cream cheese for a dip?" It just amazed her that I could eat complete crap and never gain an ounce. I am a much more rounded cook these days. We eat salad on a regular basis and I rarely fry anything anymore. But at that time, I rarely ate veggies at all..unless they were smothered in butter and boiled with bacon to a point that they would melt when the fork touched them. I started off our marriage as a "kill it, skin it, fry it, eat it" cook. We ate fried foods almost constantly and never even thought about doing anything more active than walking around the grocery, shopping for dessert. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed a good game of volleyball or a nice walk. I enjoyed being active...dancing around the house with the kids....or back in the day, at a dance club or party with my friends. (I don't care if you snicker, the way I danced completely counted as exercise!) But I've never been the type to worry about how many calories I've burned or what my heart rate was. I've been known to utter the words, "I don't jog. I only run if someone is chasing me with a blunt object." But I've never been one to worry about weight, unless it was to feel self-conscious about being too skinny. I know, people hate girls who say that, but it's true. Being too skinny is actually something that girls can be worried about as well.
Of course, that was all pre-baby # 3. I don't know if it was the HUGE amount of weight gained...I told them not to tell me how much once I hit 60 pounds, "Don't ask, Don't tell" is a popular policy where my weight is concerned ...but the last 15 pounds of it has hung on waaaaaaaay past the time that it took me to lose the baby weight with #1 and #2. Maybe it's because I'm no longer in the "18-32 demographic". Once again, don't ask don't tell. So, I did a a 2 month period last summer when I worked out daily at home. Stability ball, light weights, cardio. It was not my favorite way to spend my time. After all, when you have 3 kids plus extra kid friends and kid family always around, it's hard to really concentrate on whether or not you're working the right muscle group. And to add insult to injury, after working out DAILY for an HOUR for 2 MONTHS, I actually GAINED weight. I know, I know. Don't say it. I gained muscle tone. But by golly, when a girl works out that dadburned much, she ought to at least lost a few freakin' pounds!! Grrrr.... So with that ultimate let down, I stopped working out. Plus the holidays were coming on and life was way to busy to take that time away from the kids.
Then a friend of mine asked me to join her at the local all women's gym. I really didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. I had visions of me spending money that would go to waste because I would be too busy to go. But I am proud to say that I have been going and have loved it! It's a great outlet for my stress and even though I am still not losing weight (am I forever stuck??), I don't mind as much because I am enjoying it. Michael Jon has been wonderful about handling the home front as I slip away for an hour or two every few days. So I don't have the kids toddling around as I try to balance on a stability ball, that's a huge plus! And I get some wonderful "girl" time with my friends, something that I have been missing the last few years.
And here's the kicker! I've started a running program! I actually LIKE running! Who knew? In elementary and middle school field days, I was always a sprinter. Quick and fast. But never long distance. And I never entertained the thought of track in high school. So to find myself running on the treadmill, listening to my "workout playlist" on the iPod and loving it, is surreal to say the least. I doubt seriously if you'll ever catch me running down the road in a headband, sports bra, and Lycra, but still, I am RUNNING! What a scream!

The End of the Bunny...Correction....ALMOST The End of the Bunny

So, this is edited for a correction...Read all of it and then I'll update down below....

Sigh. It was bound to happen at some point, I know. But it's really struck me a blow. Chloe, at the ripe old age of 8, has busted the bunny. She found the loot hidden away in the closet. Of course, she said nothing to daddy or me. No, instead she tells her cousin, and most trusted confidant, Cade, with the news that she intends to see what the bunny brings and if it's the same stuff that's in the closet, they'll know for sure if there's an Easter Bunny or not! Cade, in turn waits until Easter morning to tell their mom Beth, who then calls Michael Jon, who then sits me down for the let down of the year. Sigh indeed.
So, all the reporting happened Sunday morning as we are getting ready for church. So as I brush and curl Chloe's hair, I ask her if there's anything she'd like to ask me...because I'm cryptic like that. "Uh, nooooo.....I don't think so...." was her reply. So I try again..."You don't have any questions about anything this morning???" And she of course said, "Momma, no." So finally I just had to come right out and ask if she'd found anything besides eggs this week. "Oh, yeah, I...uh....I think I found some bags....uh....well, I was looking for a shoe box to make a craft with and....uh...I saw some Easter stuff...." So I neither confirm or deny. I just tell her that she shouldn't have told Cade that there's no Easter bunny. She says that she didn't say that, just that she was going to wait and see what the bunny brought. So I just tell her that she shouldn't say that to anyone since it upsets people.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. She's growing up so fast! I remember when she was tiny and would get so upset on those holiday mornings when she would see the stuff sitting out because it wasn't her regular routine. I'll take this as my opportunity to teach her more in depth what the holiday is really about. It's always been part of her understanding, but we can go deeper now. That's a good thing.

Correction and update....

OK. So Chloe came to me earlier this afternoon asking me when she could open the "Easter surprises from the closet". MMMMmmm....well...."what surprises??" I asked. Apparently, in her rushed sneakiness and curiosity, she only saw a few things in the bags, and none of them were actually "bunny loot". So she walked away from the little bunny test thinking that she actually proved the existence of the long-eared one. It seems that my laziness has payed off well in that I had left her "big" basket thing (a new Webkinz and Webkinz Tote) in the back of the mom-mobile. Since the only other stuff she saw was candy that I also used in various school/church parties, she is assuming with wide-eyed magic that the Bunny is the real deal. Whew. I just tucked her into bed and told her that from now on she shouldn't sneak, just ask momma or daddy when she has a question about that kind of thing. I asked her what her little experiment had made her think and she said that she still believes, but that she still wonders how one Bunny or person can make it all across the world in one night. I told her that as long as she wants to believe, then she should. I'm sure that left the door open for doubt in her mind. But I think that was the healthiest way to handle it. I don't want to outright lie to her about it either. Yikes! This parenting thing is tricky.

So, on to happier things....pictures of the kiddies all dressed up in their Easter best!

Long Time, No Post

O.K. Yes, I do see the irony in the name of my blog and the amount of time spent away from it. It's been awhile, I know. No excuses, just life in general. Kids, illness, busy days and nights. But I'll try to do a "2008...thus far" blog now.

So, first things first, the kids....

Chloe has been playing basketball for the first time this year! She loves it! The season ends this weekend, and I really think that she'll miss the practices and games once it's over. She won many team stars over the season for making baskets and defense. In fact, because she did so well in her first game as a defense player, she didn't even try to shoot the first 3 games. Finally, on the fourth, as she came over to us during a break, one of the other players dads told her to "not be scared to shoot if you have a shot". She went out in the next quarter and scored 6 points in a row! Her team is The Mountaineers. Here's a rather grainy, dark picture of her with a few of the girls on the team, but I'll try to post a new one once we have the team pic back this weekend.
She also won "Most Christ Like Behavior" on her team on awards night last week, which yielded her a big, tall trophy! Yay!! She was extra proud of that award!
Chloe has also been doing well in school, making it to the 5th grade reading level this year. She's had many sleepovers with her friends and trips to the movies with mom! She's really growing up quickly! (Complete with teenage-ish attitude at times...eeeeek!)

Jon Cooper is enjoying preschool! He loves learning to write his name and singing all the songs! He's no longer the only boy in his class, and he's happy to have some boys to play with too! His personality gets bigger everyday! He's quite sure of himself and even (dare I say it??) cocky at times. But with all that attitude comes quite a charming kid. It's hard not to smile as he gets punished and looks at me saying, "Momma, I'm gonna make you live somewhere else if you're not nice to me." Just so matter of fact! He recently had his first dentist appointment. He did so well! He smiled the whole way through without a single tear!















On to little Brody Carter. He's a bigger handful every day! I can't tell you the times that I hear from church nursery workers, friends and family, grocery employees, bank tellers, post office attendants, strangers on the street....that he's a busy, busy boy! He's just one of those kids that has two speeds..."Off and Overdrive"! He has recently found the joys of running and playing outside! And he is speaking his "native tongue" of jibber jabber fluently. No one else really understands him, but BOY OH BOY, does he have something important to say!! It mostly consists of "Ahhh gabagabagabagaba....Ohhhhh ticaticaticatica......" With the occasional "Momma" or "Dada" thrown in just to keep us on our toes. If I can get him to stay still and relax for a minute or two, his relaxation method consists of watching Little Bear while pulling my hair and sucking his thumb.


Now on to Michael Jon and me...We're doing well! Michael Jon had a bout with a bad tooth awhile back that had us worried with an incorrect diagnosis, but he's much better now! He has some stuff on his "honey do" list for the spring as a storm knocked down the kids' swingset last month. Of course, those 12 hour shift at the plant keep him busy still.
I have been staying busy with the regular stuff. I have also started at a local women's gym and try to go 3 times a week. It's been a lot of fun, really! I have a good friend that is my workout partner, so we get some girl talk in while we are on the treadmill and the weight machines.

I guess that's it for right now. I'll try to keep up with stuff better in the future, but I won't promise. ;-)