Tornadoes, Tooth Fairies and Gravity

Just a typical Wednesday at our house in North Texas consists of the following:

Wake up at 6:15 to get ready for work during this ongoing flood we are having thanks to Hermine (which the girls at work and I decided is a perfect name: Her-Mean, 'cuz her really is!). Yes, we are creative.

Try and avoid the drama Belle creates when she realizes her tooth is ready to come out and doesn't want to pull it. And doesn't want me to pull it. Decides she wants Nurse Amy to do it at school (ah-ha...you get to wear a tooth necklace all day).

Convince Scout she is, in fact a bird dog and made for this very type weather and despite what she thinks, she will NOT melt and needs to go outside and 'do her business' so I can get out the door.

Get kids off to school.

Run back home because the dress pants I was wearing to work are now soaked and even muddy. Perfect.

Finally leave for work at 8:00 and arrive at almost 9:00. Usually the drive takes me 20 minutes.

Work on uploading properties, Power Point Presentations, laughing at and with the great people I work with, convincing my boss I need the Adobe Creative Suite 5 to help make my job easier and the company look more professional. Still waiting on that answer....I don't expect the result I want. :::pout::::

Leave to pick up Ben after school in the still sideways and pouring rain. I pass an ark on the way.

Go inside school to let Ben know I will NOT be waiting outside on the blacktop for him and see Nurse Amy and the new wall art she put up that morning thanks to Belle.

Hence the drama this morning.

Grab Ben and take a look at what homework he has to finish tonight. Belle has a play date so I...

Decide to rest on the couch while Ben plays with Legos.

Pick up Belle from her play date just in time to watch all the tornadoes hit around us. I mean literally watch. Every television station sided up to the funnels and filmed them tearing through DFW. Beautiful nature. Sad results.

Make dinner (BBQ Chicken Wings, carrots, mashed potatoes). Continue to hear sirens going off in the distance, but we're safe. Luckily my kids mom is a weather freak and always prepared.

My cell phone starts going off with texts from friends who know I love the weather and asking me what's going on.

Finally get settled and get serious on the rest of their homework. Ben has science, vocabulary and reading. Belle has reading because she completed most of her homework packet last night. We cuddle up to read "Junie B. Jones and the Graduation Girl". She cackles at the phrase "polkie dottie" and then gets the hiccups from laughing so hard at the name of one of the stuffed animals: "Philip Johnny Bob". I'm so proud at how far she's come with her reading. It was always easy for Ben and a little more of a struggle for her.

Help Ben finish his science flash cards.

Make cookies because you should always have cookies after finishing homework. At least in this house.

Feed Scout. Convince her again that she won't melt if she gets wet. YOU'RE A POINTER not a floofy show dog!

Clean the kitchen. Work on some paperwork while the kids play upstairs.


I call "bed time". Once they are in bed, I ask the question I ask every night as I tuck them in: What was the best part of your day? Belle: Coming home. Ben: Poning Lane's team in hand ball...then coming home. I smile. Get my hugs and kisses. Smell them, as usual.

Then I secretly check to make sure the positioning of the tooth under her pillow so I can make sure the Tooth Fairy knows where to find it. Then get asked by Belle, "Mom, you know I know you're the Tooth Fairy, right?" Me: "Ummmm...no I'm not. I don't even have wings or money." Belle: "You don't have money?! I'm not getting anything?!" Me: "Again...I'm not the tooth fairy, but she will for sure have money". Belle: "Well I don't know how she gets in here then and I don't believe in all that shrinking stuff and I *know* it's not Dwayne Johnson for sure (from the movie The Tooth Fairy). Me: "Yeah...that's unfortunate." Belle: "What?". Me: "Nothing...anyway...I'm not the tooth fairy."


Lights out. Crisis averted, at least for now.
The rain hits the window. My two angels tucked safely in bed. The dishwasher hums in the kitchen. Scout snores on the couch next to me. All these sounds tell me my today is winding down.

So I let my tomorrow enter my mind.

Starting with school snacks and lunch options. It's all about them. Everything seems to revolve around them. And that helps keep me grounded.

They are in fact my gravity.

Busy Breeze Didn't Miss a Tree Today

Every morning, I wake the kids up by singing *obnoxiously* some song. It varies. Some mornings it's "Wakey, wakey, wakey eggs and bakey..." to the tune of "Alueta Jante Alueta" or "Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning Ben and Shelby, good morning to you!". You know...just irritating enough to wake them up out of a deep sleep. I know...you wish I were your alarm clock. NOT.

This morning I woke up and I just knew it was going to be a great day. I felt it.

It was gorgeous outside. A steady breeze was blowing. Not to hot. Not to cool. "No temperature" I believe is the term.

So this morning's tune was, "Oh what I beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day. I've got a beautiful feelin', everything's goin my way!".

And everything did. I made sure of it.

We had fun just hanging out around the house. Doing regular stuff, but doing it together and laughing. Folding clothes. Sorting through things to donate. Things that don't fit anymore. Getting ready for our big move.

Then we decided to go for a walk. Or a scooter/bike ride as it ended up being. We wanted to time how far it would be from our new home to school. We were all pleasantly surprised and the inevitable question arose of "Can we walk by ourselves?" I didn't have to answer because...

Once we got to the school, we saw this...

When did the school do this? How cool! There's always been somewhat of a path down to the creek, but now the Environmental Club at the kids school has cleared it out some, put a little mulch down and it's so much easier to get to the creek and explore. Which, of course, we quickly decided we HAD to do. Duh!

They even made a chair out of one of the old tree stumps:

My handsome lil man.

And his beautiful lil sis.

 These two are definitely not shy about getting dirty and really getting into it. Unfortunately, I wasn't expecting we were going to do this and it was getting cool outside. So of course the bugs were coming out and we were all wishing we had bug spray!

But we did get to go down to the creek and agreed we will do more exploring down there tomorrow.

Careful on the mossy rocks!

Let's go find the waterfall!

On the way back home, both kids riding their scooters in front of me on my bike, Ben yells out, "This is the best Sunday ever!". A cool breeze was blowing on us. Pinion wood was in the air. The sun was setting and I found myself breathing deeper than I have in a long time. A very long time.

Now, granted Ben is likely to call virtually any day in which he's doing something fun "the best day ever", but I had to agree with him on this one. So did Belle.

With excited voices and agreement between them I wish happened more often than it does at this age, they talked about how we will be even closer to the creek now and how many new adventures we are sure to have in our new home...the entire way home.

I smiled the entire way home...

It Doesn't Happen Overnight

I remember about six weeks ago I took Duke to the vet with the purpose of letting him go. At the time, neither Duke nor myself were ready. Our sweet vet said, "He's not ready and neither are you. When it's time, you'll know. You won't be able to get him here quick enough and end the pain." At the time, he wasn't in pain. And I really couldn't imagine thinking I couldn't get him there "quick enough". I loved him and couldn't imagine hurrying him away from me.

As it turns out, she was right.

When I called that morning, they gave me the option of coming in at 11am or wait until 5:30pm. I took the earlier time. Partly because I was feeling strong enough and knew that may change if I spent the whole day loving on him. But mainly because I knew. I just knew.

I wanted to do what was right by him.

Looking back on several things in my life I realize this is how I operate. It takes a long time for some things to make sense to me. For them to penetrate my stubborn nature that tells me I can do anything I work hard enough at. Obviously, that's not the case. Some things are out of our control.

But once it does settle into my belief system, there is no turning back. Once I "get it"...I get it. I guess my nature is since I finally get I can't change it, I don't just cope with it but also make the best of it.

The other choice is keep fighting a fight I can't win or curl up in the fetal position and be defeated. Not only are both of those options ridiculous, I obviously always have two little kids on my mind who I'm trying desperately to "teach" how to deal with life. The good and the bad. Yeah, yeah...I've talked about that before.

But this past week, I took the kids to the apartment complex that would be our new home. I had been talking about the possibility of living in an apartment for a little while to plant the seed. They've had enough surprises lately and I didn't want to blindside them. And while I'm a marketer by nature and touched on various benefits, I was careful to actually undersell it a little. I didn't want to be there two weeks and have them go, "Hey...this isn't what you said it would be!"

So how did my team members react? They could have complained about the space. The smaller rooms. The no yard. Instead they embraced it. They understand why we are doing it and are actually excited about helping pack, move, you name it. They were actually impressed I went and got us a new home. "You mean you got it for us? It's a done deal?" Yep. I did that. For us.

And my Belle? Turns out she has more of me in her than I thought. I went upstairs the other night to this...

No looking back.

She packed. Or more accurately, moved all her stuff from her room to the game room. We aren't moving for 2 months. But like her momma...when it makes sense to her, she acts on it. Immediately.

So here we go. Boxes galore in the garage. Who knew "dumpster diving" outside the new town homes I was actually hoping to move us in to (way out of my price range right now) would prove to be an adventure in and of itself? "Score mom! Today must be our lucky day!"

Indeed. Two kids eager to help. Smiles on their faces. Encouraging words. "Wow Mom...you're doing all this by yourself! You're pretty awesome."

:::gulp:::

And while I'm not doing it all by myself since I have the two best kids in the world...Somehow. Some way. I must be doing something right.

212 Degrees

I was talking to KH last night who has gone through a time in her life I am going through now. She and her little girl are now in an apartment vs. the house they used to live in. Me, my two kiddos and the Scout dog are most likely getting ready to do the same thing.

An apartment.

After working so hard to have the "American Dream" of owning a house. After working. And working. And I'm back at square one.

I told her strangely enough, though maybe I should feel like somewhat of a failure (truth be told, I certainly have my moments) I'm not feeling too bad about this downsize. God never said it would be easy...He only said it would be worth it. In other words, I don't feel like I worked for nothing. There's a reason I was brought back to my knees and the starting gate.

With it come some positives. And while I know Ben and Shelby aren't old enough to understand every thing going on now...what brought us here... I hope to use this new adventure as a learning experience for them. When we are able to get a house of our own, they will no doubt appreciate it more.

Until then, we cut back. I work harder. Maybe even a second job has been mentioned. I know this is temporary. I know it doesn't define my life or my kid's life. My love for them and them for me is all that matters.

When I brought up to them the option of leasing a house (and moving schools) or leasing an apartment (and staying in the same school) their answer was immediate. Stay put. "Please don't make us leave our friends." While they obviously won't get many votes in things of this nature (and never have before!), I'm doing my best to keep their boat from rocking too much. Yes, kids are somewhat resilient, but even kids have their limit. It's my job to make sure they don't reach that limit.

If it means I put in more hours working when I'm not with them, then that's what I do. It's a requirement as a parent to be the 'grown-up'. And really, what's wrong with that?! This over-time on my part will be temporary. Them knowing they are loved and that I am being responsible for doing whatever it takes to help them through this adjustment is paramount and could stick with them forever. They will see what it takes when you believe in something and someone. When you love your kids enough to go the extra mile. Or two. Or three. Selfishly, I could move them to even another town where the rent doesn't run so high and I could go out to eat every weekend, get my hair done whenever, purchase a new wardrobe...it's endless. Ultimately those things aren't what will make me happy. THEY make me happy. Knowing I'm doing right by them makes me happy.

I completely recognize everyone's choices are different and I'm sure some people would think leasing a cheap house and moving them to a different school is exactly what I should be doing. But I know my kids. I know how much they can take emotionally. No one on this planet knows that better than I do. So I make this decision with a great deal of thought and love for them.

In my conversation last night, Bimbolina tells me of a video she saw at work that day and quickly referred me to it. It is absolutely perfect in regards to my situation. "You have got to go watch it now!" she said.

Just the extra degree of effort is sometimes all it takes. Just that little bit you thought you couldn't do or were maybe even unwilling to do. It all depends on if the situation/people are worth it and if you really want the particular results. As for me... my two little situations definitely are worth any amount of extra effort I can muster up. Back in April 2000, my world shifted and it was no longer just about me. They bring me happiness I could never find anywhere else. So for both them and myself, I will always go the extra degree.

I hope I instill that in them throughout this time in our lives.