A Quiet Voice in the Night

Its 3:17AM. I am sound asleep. And then it happens...I am jolted from sleep by a quiet little voice. And its not the kind of gradual waking up we have all experience after a long, restful night's sleep. Its that immediate wake up. And there is Timothy with his face directly in front of mine. His nose so close to mine it is almost touching mine. And he asks the question again that woke me up, "Can you fix my pillow?" "Sure," I say and off we go to his room to fix his pillow, tuck him back into bed and send him back off to sleep. Then I will attempt to do the same for myself. Its kind of funny because I don't seem to mind the opportunity to tuck him back in at night even at the expense of my own sleep. As I was recalling this event the following day I noted that it has been a very long time since I have slept all night...........

Hey Mom??

Andrew, my 8 year old, has a love of knowledge. At the end of the day I find myself answering what is possibly my millionth question. Sometimes I have to swallow hard and say, "Yes, dear?" Other times I am laughing about the continuous flow of querries. Tonight I was flabergasted when out of no where came the question, "What is the smallest, non standard, unit of measure?" Like so many other times I have to chuckle and ask HIM for the answer. I remember that as a child I talked a lot. Well it seems to have been hereditary because Andrew can talk forever. And you know what, I love it!!

Did you use soap?

I am going to share a tidbit about one of my children, who shall remain nameless. My kids are at an age where they can handle bathing or showering themselves but still need some reminders about using soap and hitting all the really important spots. One day not too long ago a still wet but already pj'd boy appeared after his shower. He had finished too quickly so I gave the inquisition...did you wash your hair? yep. with shampoo? yep. did you wash here and there? yep. yep. yep. did you wash your butt? yep. did you use soap? nope.
Hmm......

SNOW

I just finished blowing away the snow...it was fun and the second time I have cleared the drive today!! This morning I used the shovel but this afternoon so much more had fallen I had to use the snow blower. I enjoy using the snowblower which I attribute to both my being my father's daughter and my husband's wife. Besides then Sandor doesn't have to do it in the dark when he gets home. (Tonight he may have to since it is still falling...) Then I proceeded to make a snowman. Eszti did not join me because she is afraid of the snowblower and sat on the porch the whole time. But eventually I coaxed her out into the snow and she too had a blast. Why on earth should I enjoy all this snow?? I am going to blame it mostly on living in Minnesota for a few years. And also that sometimes my life is so weighty (does that make sense?) that sometimes I just need to be a kid again and play. I was so snowy when I came in. But my kiddos will be thrilled to see Mr. Snowman waiting for them when they come home from school. Let it snow, let it snow...

Breakfast

Perhaps you've experienced it yourself--the frenzy of breakfast in a house with several kids trying to get off to school. Or maybe you can at least imagine it? If not I will try to help you create a mental image of this event at my house. The bus comes at 8:30, so we have a deadline to meet, so to speak. I've been requested to scramble eggs--which I am doing. And then it begins, the bombardment, which oddly enough, I enjoy. Today it was Andrew who started it. Wanting to know what happens if a mom has germs in her body and passes them on to her baby when its being born? Will the baby get sick? Interesting breakfast conversation. Where does he get these questions?? And while I am explaining, before I even finish another question and then another and another, from different kids, about different topics...help me! I can't keep up! But I try. And I try not to get to frenzied as I watch the clock creaping ever closer towards that deadline...coffee brew faster!!!...and yet I am glad they ask lots of questions and that I am the one who gets to try to give the correct answers. Once that deadline comes its hugs, kisses, and don't forget that quick prayer for them as they rush out the door. It will be over too soon...won't it??

I am victorious!

In the search for my kids’ Christmas gifts I claim a victory. It seems that each year one of them asks for a difficult to find item. You would expect this to be because they want the “hot” toy of the year. It is usually quite the contrary. They are asking for something that has been out for a long time and so it is hard to find because most stores are out of it and are not getting more. Well first it was Timothy and he goes straight to Santa asking for a Thomas figure. I sought long and hard--how could the old elf disappoint--and finally find it at an online store. Then, Jacob asks for some Star Wars figures that have been out for ages. I think I have been to Target every day this week, different ones mind you, in search of his gift. Even online searches have been unproductive. So finally I resort to ebay knowing I am going to pay way more than I would have had I been able to purchase these retail. Then on a fluke I clicked on a “compare prices” link from my last ditch search and guess what?? I found them at WalMart.com. Yippee! They had everything I needed to get! And so I claim a victory. Sarah and Andrew were so easy this year. Kids are done!