Survival Mode

I'm in it. It's not going well.

If it's not nailed down I'm eating it. I'm bursting into tears with no warning whatsoever. My mind is racing. My eye is twitching. I'm cussing (mostly under my breath or in my head. Mostly.). I tried on seven different outfits yesterday and flung discarded articles of clothing all over the place. I'm making no-bake cookies just to eat the hot goo out of the pot with a spoon. Think post-pardum.

I missed the deadline to enroll Bode in kindergarten.

I took 15 grad hours this semester. It was all fun and games until this week. Now I have finals to take and classes to wrap up. And on Saturday I have 25 minutes to defend seven empirical questions and then my fate is left up to my professors. 

Thankfully, the wise words of a good friend keep ringing in my ears and they are so, so true: Stupider people than me have done all of this and they made it just fine.

If heaven has a canteen, Mia will totally run that place someday.

If heaven is a place where we will all use our spiritual gifts to their fullest potential, then Mia will get to micro-managing everyone there and have that place whipped into shape in no time.

Sunday was the Walk for Hope, and our sweet small group kids decided to have a bake sale and donate the profits. Mia's goal was to raise $5. We like to encourage our kids to set the bar as low as possible.

Before we got there Andy and I talked to Mia about how things were probably not going to go exactly how she expected them to and to think about ways she could handle her frustrations that did not involve her crying in a corner for 3/4 of the evening.

And low and behold she did it! She had to take a few deep breaths and had to reign in the furry a couple of times, but for the most part she was able to pull off one of her elaborate schemes while still enjoying herself (for the most part). I was equally thrilled and relieved.

And given the fact that we kind of forgot to show them how to make change and they couldn't always tell the difference between a nickel and a quarter, these little rug-rats made almost $90!

I am so thankful for my small group. They are not only my personal life-line, but the small group experience has become just as precious to my kids. 

And here's another thing: When your communication skills fail miserably and you accidentally leave your kids at church, there is always someone that will assume responsibility for them until you realize they're gone. 

If you feel like something is missing in your faith journey, or if you just need some extra support as you try to figure out how to raise your family in this crazy world, then find a small group and do life with them. 

I don't know a parent who couldn't use a back up or two. 

Never mind the children, we're saving the basketball goal.

I came home to find this classy contraption in my driveway this afternoon. Apparently this is how my husband plans to save the beloved basketball goal from the Oklahoma weather. 

I never said he was a genius.

Eclectic.

No word describes my daughter better (except, perhaps, genius ;) and her room is certainly no exception. 

This was our compromise to her asking for purple and turquoise stripes with a white ceiling.

 I let her pick out some fun pillows and a rug from Ikea and a new duvet from The Company Store.

And by "pick out" I mean I let her pick between a couple of different options that I deemed acceptable.

This is the first room in the new house that I have painted, and I have to say it's kind of nice to have a room that isn't "Osama Bin Laden's Bunker Brown."

 At least I'm pretty sure that's the name of it.

Mia learned an importnat lesson during her room redecorating project and that lesson is this: When Mommy promises to do something for you, what she really means is wait 6 1/2 months and she might get around to it.

I don't hate myself enough to eat quinoa.

I am willing to do all kinds of trendy things in the name of health. I eat greek yogurt, put spinach and kale in my smoothies, and meet friends for lunch at Cool Greens.

I'm all about jumping on the latest bandwagons. Once, I made kale chips and dipped them in hummus, for goodness sake.

So the other day I was in Sam's alone. That was my first mistake. And somehow I ended up leaving the store with quite a few pounds of quinoa. It's gluten free, it's organic. It's so hipster trendy that it's now ethically controversial. Once again, I was high-fiving myself for being the most amazing mom ever. "My kids are so going to thank me for this," I thought.

And then I made it.

Do not be fooled by the artsy pictures on Pinterest. 

 

In real life it mostly resembles my dog's vomit.

It tastes like sand with little pieces of sea shells mixed in it. Bode literally cried when he put it in his mouth. Even the dog wouldn't eat it. He would rather eat his own vomit. I'm not kidding, he has actually eaten his own vomit and would not eat this.

I'll leave the quinoa for the morally questionable vegan hipsters who do not care about the poor children in Peru.

I'm just trying to save lives, ya'll.

We have now officially entered the awkward smile stage.

This is all I have to show for Easter:

Yep, we've hit the awkward years.

And I realize I'm biased but these are the two most adorable awkward children on the planet.