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Preschool Years

April

Homestead Happenin’s

It’s probably not very easy to forget that you are reading the blog of a former English teacher. Do you hate my dorky alliterative titles, or what? Sorry, I love ’em 😉

Just wanted to catch you up to speed on life at the Cawthon ranch. Chris is home from Salt Lake City; wahooooooooooooooooo! We have enjoyed (not so much) an awkward weekend where we are transitioning back into cohabitation. Two weeks is long enough where you kinda develop a new routine without the other person, so we’re reprogramming back into our normal life again. The two weeks actually flew by and God was so good on both sides of the separation, but Chris and I reunited with very different wants and needs. He had been confined to the same hotel room (where somebody came in and cleaned up for him everyday; no, I’m not bitter) and is ready to be home, enjoy the comforts of home, just stay at home. I, on the hand, have seen more than my share of the 972 pineapples on my kitchen wallpaper, thank you very much! If you’ve been to my house, you know what I’m screamin’. He is exhausted from all the required dinners (at exotic, expensive restaurants; still not bitter) and the forced interaction, and I am starved for interaction with people taller than 3 feet. He wants family time, and I could honestly stand a break from meal time, bath time, play time, meltdown time, etc… So we’ve been in the same house since Friday night, but we’ve just arrived on the same page (after a terse discussion or two) on Sunday night. Both of us are elated he is home!!

However, he comes home to a bonus room free of air conditioning. It is literally 85 degrees up there now at 10:19 pm. And that’s where my computer resides. I am downstairs on Chris’s computer, and he is on mine (very, very sweet fella) upstairs with the window open. Our most annoying cat, Samson, did sneak out onto the roof, but has made a safe reentry.

Chris also came home to a mysterious leak somewhere between the girls’ bathroom and Carson’s room. There is a large area of carpet in her room that has been soaked for days. Call me totally distracted, frazzled, and borderline idiotic, but for a few days I thought Campbell spilled a cup of water and then that Carson stood in her room without drying off from her bath, etc… I may be confronted with a cartoon wall of water in the morning when I open her door to wake her and find her floating, sleeping in oblivion up by the ceiling fan.

Campbell has been an asymptomatic carrier of strep for over a week now. She has been on meds for more than 24 hours, but she also went to school last week and contaminated the Older Two’s class 🙁 I didn’t know……..

Are you feeling sorry for my husband? I am too as I type this. Certainly hasn’t been a Hallmark homecoming, oh well… Sometimes life is hilarious (I’m on fire tonight with h alliteration. Was thinking ’bout adding Hilarious to the title of this post – think I’ll spare you this time…)

Over and out.

March

Turn on the music…

Okay, okay, okay. So the word regularly (as in the sentence I do commit to blog regularly) is a very subjective term. What is the meaning of the word regularly… Anyway, I’m trying to create this blogging habit, but I obviously don’t have it programmed into my daily routine as of yet. Bear with me… (I love ellipsis marks; they rock at conveying a thoughtful pause in writing – YES, I AM A DORK!).

Anyway, on to life observations.

My children are not often in the car when it is dark outside. We are a pretty structured, routine-driven family, and my children are generally at home getting ready for bed as the sun sets. Therefore, Campbell, our two year-old, is a little freaked out when she can’t see anything in the car because it’s dark outside. The other night she said, “Hey, I can’t see any fing; somebody turn on the music!” Which totally cracked me up. I still think that’s just too funny.

Now, I honestly do think she was trying to convey two totally separate thoughts, but the illogic of that sentence has stuck in my brain. But you know, I’m guilty too. I’ll say, “I’m stressed; cut me a piece of 75 layer chocolate cake, pronto!” or “I feel buried and overwhelmed by all that I need to do; I’m going to take a nap.” Yep, that’s me. Talk about illogical. The action that I take doesn’t at all address the problem at hand. Sure, it feels better, but it doesn’t make a lick of sense and is actually counterproductive. I don’t know why I do that; I’m sure there’s some deep-seated emotional trauma that warped my thinking, but I don’t care to delve into that.

In this season of my life, I just want to do what’s best, even if it’s what’s hardest. And that’s usually the case, you know, the best course of action is usually the hardest of your options – not the most fun, the easiest, or what feels the best. That sucks, but I am learning the pay-off in the end is soooooooo worth it – always.

Long live the ellipsis…