people I don't trust

What's the saying? Don't trust a skinny chef.

well, I don't trust 2 different types of people
people who are incredibly fit, but whenever I talk to them, they're on their way to McD's.
and people who are incredibly obese, but only talk about clean living...

And while I'm on a rager...
why can't I stop eating... I'll tell you.
It's a habit like any other, but frankly, I can stop taking drugs, but I can't stop eating...
so now I have to learn to eat the right things, right? I can eat what I want as long as it's good for me,.... where's the good for me ice cream (keep in mind I'm allergic to aspertame which is in EVERY low cal everything.).

And really, why do my children only scream when I need quiet... ti's like they can sense it. or they see me on the phone and their first thoughts are, dueling seagulls is a great game.
And they have pms when I do... it's like sympathy pains.

ok I'm done.

weak hands

I'm useless in the morning... Don't ask me to open a tough jar or hold your hand... don't ask me to do your hair because it'll be pitiful. I have no grip, see. My hands wake up so weak, and it takes time for my hands to wake up. Does this make sense to you?
Well, today I'm in the car with my mom and she's opening a bottle of water... after a minute, she just stares at the bottle. It has one of those IMpossible tops. The ones I stare at in disbelief that I could possibly NOT be able to open a simple bottle of water... am I weak...... well, this is how my mom stares at the water bottle and I'm with her
I have weak hands?
I can't even do something so simple
I sit in the waiting room while my mom starts chemo today. While I'm in the waiting room, I see people coming in and out of the elevator, struggling with weak hands to name the least of their problems.
What can I do for them?
I'm reading Kisses From Katie and she sits in her home in Uganda and just pr*ys that she would be used, and she is...
I look around where I'm at and what can I do? I feel so.... weak
Then I go on to children's rehabilitation center for Nyla's speech therapy. I look around that situation and just see disabled kids of all kinds.
What can I do?
How do I love on these people?
But I think I'll just have to pr*y as Katie did.
Just let me wake up and love on them .... you work L*rd... what can I do for you? please just show me.
maybe it's like waking up in the morning, I just have to stretch and maybe I'll find my nitch

school of hard knocks relived

SOHK is back friends... I know you missed me and my posts and pins on pinterest.
This time around has new challenges and new joys...
http://youtu.be/_Qu6d0lE1z8
This is the way I feel about being a teacher. I keep thinking that I know what I'm doing.... and I keep doing it... I'm a glutton for punishment.
So here's my challenge. I know I'm leaving in 3-6 months so thinking about school, I had to reevaluate what I was doing...
we started a computer school: time4learning.com. It's actually quite genius... and the kids really enjoy the games and are learning... well, who knows, I've only done it for a week.
But then the other day, my eldest said she wished she was at public school. I asked her why.... she said that she used to love having me as a teacher, but now I don't spend any time with her, I just put her in front of the computer...
and Zoe said the same thing when I questioned her later.
Here's my problem... i KNOW i'm leaving in 3-6 months and I have a cirriculum, but now I need to teach my kids... don't want to buy a lot of supplies because I can't take them with me... what to invest in... I could spend lots of money, but I don't have lots of money... just pretend I have none.
exciting things...
I'm teaching french now too... have no idea what I'm doing... the rabbi down the street keeps telling me to speak french in the home (that's great if we spoke french)... but it's a fun adventure to try to teach french as a foreign language.
PE....ahahahhaah... if you knew me, this is funny... but the kids are doing a triathalon... another humorous thing considering we have no money... where do we get bikes... helmets... money for the triathalon.. BUT they're doing it.
so if you need me for the next 3-6 call me in jacksonville Florida... I'll be out exercising, eating healthier.. my next post will have to be my new food pinterest pins that i've tried...
love you friends. thanks for keeping up with me...

double excitement, double the fun with....

well, not double mint gum because I'm allergic to aspertame like 50% of America.
I say double because tomorrow I'll be 33.... double 3's.
Last year I promised the unexpected and I'm pretty sure I followed through.
What have I done this year:
gained 55 lbs.... well that was unexpected (thanks old lady meds that I'll be changing soon)
lost family (another attribute to being old)
went to disney, chicago, Grand Canyon, Great wolf lodge, the amazing tour of the south East, and other sundry wonderful unexpected destinations along the way.
started homeschooling ( unexpected for all)
moved into an apartment,... and out of an apartment
learned to go with the flow (unexpected for me)
actually did pinterest things I' pinned (and I would post more of them if my camera would hook up to the computer)
became a weeeeeeee bit more computer savvy (depending on who you ask)
have read many books (only unexpected because I have 4 kids)
moved from chas to VA and soon to France and by next year I'll be moving to N. Africa

I think I've done enough unexpected things to scare an Elephant into stampeding.
What do I look forward to this year?
 I'm going to learn how to ski (better)
I'm going to lose those darn 55 lbs.... and hopefully shove them under the couch I'll be getting off of.
I'm going to eat stinky cheese
I'm going to become proficient in a new language
I'm going to make new friends
I would say I'm going to be a better mom and wife, but everyone would send me emails saying I already am and I'm not in the mood to argue....
I'm going to become computer literate
I'm going to ride a vespa
I am going to try on a uni-kini
I'm going to sing on the eiffel tower and wear a berret
I'm going to travel out of the country
I'm going to learn to cook a meat that shouldn't be eaten ... like antelope
I'm going to NOT COUPON
 I'm going to eat bread, and love it

pretty much a mid life crisis year right? except without the crisis
so what shall we call it... it's a year of mid life.... dang I hope I don't die by 66.... but then again, I'll go out with a bang , won't I .... to a year of MID LIFE!!!

what are you doing.... RUN!!!

Ella comes in my room at 11pm and sits on my bed. I start to notice that  she's moving kinda convulsive like.... until I realize
OH MY GOODNESS= she's heaving!!!
"Ella get to the bathroom"
" why? I'm not (heave) ... I'm not (heave)... I don't need t(heave)... thr(heave) up..."
"GET UP... get in that bathroom"
"I'm fine... heave heave"
"If you don't stand up, I might kill you ... I will drag you... GET OFF MY BED"
She walks out calmly, stops at the door and leans over a trashcan to barf crazy style... as she begins to super poot... (come on you know what I'm talking about.. where you strain so hard, you can't control your gas.). she runs to the bathroom and proceeds to , you know.
I open the door, "What possibly made you think you weren't going to puke? Why didn't you just go to the bathroom"
"I dunno"
Proceed to the next morning
Ella: "Hey, I'm feeling so much better. I feel great. let's get going"
Me: "not after last night"
Ella: What are you talking about? I didn't barf last night?

Can this really happen? Can a child do this in the middle of the night without REALLY knowing what's up? That's a serious body function.
And this is my week...
They said when we arrived that the school campus is small in VA and when sickness happens, it spreads... I took every precaution. sanitizer, disinfectant.... and it WONT LEAVE MY HOUSE
so before you get your panties in a bunch (I wont ask why)... I WIll overcome...
if it's the last thing to come out of me.

Snow?.... noooooo!!!

This was my reaction this morning when I opened the washing machine and found the diaper that  some dumb child OBVIOUSLY put in there (right? ok maybe it just walked in there on it's own when I put the load in while the kids were at school. couldn't possibly be my fault).
You ever done that?
As you know, maybe, you can't weed it out... I had to wash the washing machine empty, and then I stuck my clothes in the dryer and hoped that the lint trap grabbed most of it... MOST OF IT... still found baby goo, dried to some of my clothes... it was a great reminder of home

I have had a great couple weeks experiencing friends and snow, but when I'm trying to get back to real life (instead of a 5 week vaca) this was kinda a breath of fresh air... like the mistakes I always make, the things my kids always act up on are back and feels like home
which feeds into my saying, a place is not home, family is home... thanks for letting me steal that renee.

hospital-ality

First I want to say thank you to EVERYONE who was willing to host us for the past 5 weeks.
I thought it was funny that so many houses had disease and we escaped 90% of it. We had 2 girls who had a fever for less than 24 hours.
I want to talk about hospitality.
It is amazing that there is such a thing as the gift of hospitality. There are so many things I saw this trip that were so different but I would still consider to be great hospitable people.
I had some people who wanted to do EVERYTHING for us. There were some people who wanted us to feel like part of the family and pitch in. Some people had their houses decorated to the hilt, some people had very simple decorations (and maybe piles of dirty laundry everywhere for me to fold).
Some people had toothbrushes (and even one house that had robes for everyone in the family) in case we forgot and some were pulling towels out of the dryer as we got there.
No matter what I saw that they were trying to make us feel welcome at their house.... and we totally did. No ones house did we feel out of place or nervous. No one made us wish it was time to leave.
so what is hospitality and what makes it a gift?
Hospitality is making someone feel at home... and making it seem seemless. That is where the gift is.
So, thank you for your hospitality even if it included trips to the hospital for you.