Is she MIA????

Yes, and no.............Ah the life of a mom.  I love it, and I am exhausted by it.  I can't believe there were days in my past in which I sat in my empty, quiet living room and literally cried myself to sleep because I just wanted "the dream".  Well, God listened, and answered my prayers in ways I can't even begin to dream up!! 

Some things that occupy what others refer to as "all that time"........

• just being mom, answering questions, teaching, applying kisses to boo-boo's, being a nurse, and a shopper, and a chef, a taxi service, a secretary, financial advisor, housekeeper, thrifty person.  Answer to "mom" no less than 95 times today, and it's not too bad.
• being a friend--seems like I have several groups of friends these days.  There is the friend's I'd trust my deepest secrets with, the I can text you at midnight friends, the friends I hang out with because they totally get who I am and don't expect me to ever change, the friends I have known in my past and love to keep up with because we went through some of life's most difficult times with, the friends I don't chat with for months and pick up right where we left off, college friends, high school friends, neighbors, friends by association, and so many others.  I have such a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  It has drawn me in too much at times, and I find I wasted too much of my day on the computer again.  However, in about 3 minutes I can learn more info than I can in a 20 minute phone conversation.
• PTO mom--yes, PTO has consumed my time these days.  I'm not complaining at all, because there were so many days I dreamed of being able to help from this side, the mommy side, and give those teachers what they deserve.  I am the PTO president this year and I don't feel I am being the best at it, but I'm doing what I can do.  It has helped me make more friends, which is a good thing :)
• attending more doctor appointments than I care to mention.  This year has been dedicated to me.  I hurt my back and have gone through the chiropractor, moved on to the orthopedist and gotten an MRI, and steriod shots, then moved on to physical therapy, and now seeing the neurosurgeon.  Surgery is scheduled for Monday.......it's Saturday night, 'nuff said.  Not focusing on this at this moment.
• attempting to save money for our family.  While I HATE being that person that ever is known as the "keeping up with the Jones's", I really want to try to keep priorities in line.  However, I also really love the idea of vacations, and not being in the dark ages in the world of technology.  I try to coupon, and shop smart, and earn a little on the side.  I've been watching 2 kiddos to earn a few dollars, and it is crazy when I went up to school to grab my 5 kiddos in a day. 
• trying to keep our family focused on God, and keeping him at the center of our home, and our life.  However, I feel like I am failing here, too, as this wasn't even in my top 3 posts of how I spend my time.  I love our church right now, and I feel the people there are great.  However, I hate that it is 25 minutes one way away from our house, 50 minutes round trip!  That keeps me from joining the mother's group, or going to bible study, or even volunteering for the random happenings.
• watching my kiddos grow every day.  Em & Cal are playing soccer, so we have practice and games in a week.  Skip is coaching, and I love watching him work with the kiddos.  It is so fun to see.

Kid status-

Em-plays soccer, takes a gymanstics class once a week which creates a tumble bug at home, she is constantly doing cartwheels, handstands, walkovers, splits, etc. all over the place.  She currently has her 2 top front teeth gone, along with 1 1/2 on the bottom.  Toothless Jane :)  She is getting much better at her math facts and still has some work to do with her reading and spelling, but we work every day.  She loves Zachary, tolerates Calvin unless she can boss him, gives us just a little bit of Tween attitude, is quite particular on her clothing choices, and just melts my heart.  I don't ever get enough one-on-one time with her.

Calvin-such a little reader!  He has won his teacher's attention with his skills in the classroom.  I do believe that our Calvinator has some serious leadership potential.  We see this at home, in the classroom, at swimming lessons, and have heard from several that everyone seems to want to follow Calvin.  Let's just try to keep him steered on the right path :)  He is on a serious med for his migraines, and it seems to be doing the trick, which is great!  He is in love with anything and everything Fireman/firetruck related.  He is rotten to the core one moment, then he breaks into his Jim Carrey face and makes everyone laugh.  He also gives fantastic nose kisses to his momma.  Love him with all my heart!

Zac-is finally potty trained!!  Yes, it has been a long process, but we are finally there.  He has been cleared by the urologist from his surgery when he was 8 months old.  That was awesome news.  However, that doc and the hernia repair doc did advise us to watch him closely, which we will do.  I will quote his physical therapist at school "he must have been working hard this summer because he grew by leaps and bounds".  He is hopping some, walking up steps now, walking on a balance beam, and even sat in the swing on his own the other day.  This sounds crazy and unimportant to your average mother of a 3 3/4 year old, but we smile bigger than you can imagine with each of his new skills.  He is a cuddler, and loves his mommy, his race cars, his monster trucks, and everything related to transportation.  He wants to be a monster truck driver for Halloween, so I think we are going to get creative with that one.  Zac seems to melt the heart of anyone he is around, is still incredibly easy, and we just adore him so very much. 

Gotta run for now, more to do, but wow do I miss blogging.  I love writing about our crazy lives.  I love sharing my kiddos stories and cute pics.  I'm going to try, and you hold me accountable!! 

For now, I will say goodnight.