Five of Us

There might be something wrong with me.

:)

Might.  That's funny.

I sort of bought a dog on Saturday.  I say "sort of" because paying $40 for a purebred havanese...is like not paying for it.  He's 5, he's white and sable and cream, and he's as sweet as you can possibly imagine.  My friend Stacy, who adopted Pippin's "brother," Frodo Baggins, from the same people a couple of months ago, called me on Friday...you see, when she posted pictures of Frodo, I commented that I had wanted a havanese when I got Chani...but that the budget just didn't allow for that type of dog...Frodo's owners called her on Friday, asking if her family would like Pippin as well--that they would be moving and couldn't take the dog with them.  Stacy considered it, then realized it probably wouldn't be a good fit...but that it might be for us (she knows I'm completely insane).  In the midst of further insanity (wedding, running around, her son getting his fingernail slammed off in a door), she picked Pippin up for us, and we drove to Binghamton to meet him (with the understanding we would be taking him home).  Other than some mild digestive issues...he is a peach.  Oh my gosh.  Best dog ever.  He slept in my lap all the way to my parents', he greeted the dogs quietly when he got there (umm, all four of them) without aggression or intimidation...and his favorite place to be is right next to whomever might be standing--or sitting--still.  My hope in getting him is that he becomes a pet who wants to play with us and with Chani...Chelsea isn't much of a playmate for Chani these days (something about that 12-year mark)...but I think she and Pippin will get on just fine. 

Interestingly we leave for our yearly camping trip tomorrow...we'll see how he adjusts...again.  So far, he seems to be just fine.  I'm not sure how we'll do with three dogs on 6' leads around our campsite...but we'll see.  Maybe his non-barkingness will rub off on Chelsea and Chani.

He, he...I crack myself up.

...Children sitting side-by-side at the computer...without arguing over whose turn it is to play.
...The cricket on my porch who seems not to realize that it's daytime...and chirps merrily on.
...The cool breeze blowing through the open doors of my kitchen.  Someone planned the layout of this kitchen well...(and just for me!!)
...Espresso.  First thing.
...Decaf.  Immediately following the espresso. :)
...French pedicure.  Thought it was the silliest thing I had recently done when I did it...but it keeps making me smile...(still wouldn't pay for it...)
...90 Days through the New Testament.
...Shout, Wegman's Advance Laundry Soap, and Oxi-Clean...and the unidentified, stain-causing crud now officially missing from the seat of my daughter's favorite khaki shorts.
...Rose buds.
...Hummingbird feeders.  And their guests.
...Hydrangeas.
...Gerbera Daisy punches on their way...along with 2 pounds of gumpaste.
...A baby shower cake.
...Huge white fluffs of fur swept up daily in piles in my kitchen...evidence of the blessing of our Chelsea-dog for almost a year longer than her life expectancy.
...The promise of friends visiting.  Today.
...Side-by-side washer and dryer.
...Excellent Children's Literature.  The kind where they beg you to keep reading.
...Watching the kids dig in the dirt.
...Parsley and Basil growing in my window.
...Reassurances.  Encouragement.  Love.
...Reminders that others struggle too.

Have you ever gotten to a point in your day where you just. can't. do. any. more?

It's not because everything on your to-do list is done.  Certainly not.  Not because you feel accomplished, or satisfied, or content.  Not even because you're exhausted to the point where you can't move.  You literally just have to stop. 

I just looked around the house...so far today, I have accomplished...well...lots.  The kids rooms look great (cleaned by them, I might add--though this process requires quite a bit of corralling and cajoling and oversight each time it needs doing), the kitchen has been cleaned twice, all the floors got swept and vacuumed, all the bathrooms are clean and mirrors washed, all the laundry found its' way from the washer or dryer to its' respective drawer/closet, I convinced my husband to mow the upper level of the lawn  (despite the fact that his new-to-him rider STILL isn't fixed three weeks after he bought it), tidied the basement, and even unpacked two more boxes...at 3:08 in the afternoon...that's not too bad for sleeping in until 8:11.  The thing is...there is just so much left to do.

When we moved to the cabin, life stopped for a little while.  Other than the normal things (feeding kids, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, feeding the woodstove), nothing else had to happen.  In two weeks, I unpacked all the boxes (or at least the ones I planned to unpack), found homes for all of the stuff we didn't plan to use there, and settled, as much as I could.  It was done.  We have lived here almost 5 weeks now, and my dining room still contains a wall of boxes.  I just don't have the energy at the end of a normal day (or the middle of a Saturday, for that matter) to deal with them.  Life has gone on during this move.  Gymnastics, Horse Lessons, Karate, Church, banquets, meetings, school...and in the midst of all those things...unpacking.  Don't get me wrong--we're settled...we're just not done.  Far from it.  I even find myself forgetting the projects still begging to be done in this house--painting the laundry room, choosing a color for our room, painting the details in Bryson's room, giving the girls' walls some depth, hanging anything decorative, finding a place for the piano, the basement...the whole basement...and that's just talking about inside the house.  There's also an outside to this house.  Leaves beyond leaves that need raking by the pool and in the flower beds.  Weeds as tall as my son that need pulling.  Grass growing in my driveways.  Potted "plants" which have long since died and the pots have cracked hanging on hooks all over that just need to go away.  Sleds and bikes lying around.  A pond so thick with algae...there's not even any sense in pretending the tadpoles haven't completely taken over (and my son is now so attached to every single one of them that putting them in The Pond Beyond the Pool just isn't an option...plus who really wants to tote them down there by the bucketful??).  A deck completely covered in pine needles (and driveway rocks, thank you children), and slowly losing the battle against the wild roses and lilac bushes currently overgrowing its railings.  Please understand...I'm not complaining.  Really.  I just get to this point in a day...and freeze.  Just. can't. do. any. more.

Eventually, it will all get done.  I do realize that people do these kinds of things all the time...a little bit at a time.  I just can't help but look around and wish it could be done right now.  I want to have people at my house and not apologize for the freezer on my front deck.  I want stunning gardens and beautiful walkways.  Clean floors and well-kept rooms.  A sorted, user-friendly classroom and a welcoming family living space in the basement.  A screened porch that is a peaceful, tidy entrance into my kitchen..  And in the meantime, I really want my kids to be able to play here without me freaking out because there are toys strewn across their bedroom floors.  It will get better...it will get better...slowly, but surely...I know it will.

But in the meantime, today, I think I'll go sit down for a little while...

...who continues to rapidly gain on me in height and intelligence (ok, so she has far surpassed me on the latter)...had her 2nd horse show this weekend.  The competition was a little smaller than last time, but she definitely rode better...scoring herself a 2nd place in Equitation, 2nd place in Pleasure, 6th place in All-Day walk/trot (with all the competitors for the whole day--18 riders, ages under-ten through adult!), 1st place in the Egg and Spoon race, and 2nd place in Command.  I know...for you non-horse people, that's like a foreign language (it still mostly is for me, for that matter)...but she did really well.  My camera battery died (or something...I just charged it yesterday am) midway through the 2nd event...but I'll get pictures up eventually.  She has made two sweet friends (who spent the night Friday night--I'm shocked she and the one girl who rode yesterday actually kept their eyes open on their horses) at the club where she rides...and they have big plans for the rest of the summer now.  :)  So glad she's making the connections she has so seriously missed since we have lived here.

And today...church, helping out with a meet at Lainie's gym (she doesn't compete today--Prep. Opt.'s and above only), and a meeting at church tonight.  Weekends = Insanity.  Some things never change.  Some day, the pool might get fixed, the garbage the previous owners left might make it to the dump, pictures might get hung, and the rest of the boxes might go away.  Then again...maybe not. 

I grabbed my kid to hug her this morning, just after she woke up...I'm pretty sure she grew overnight.  I didn't have to bend down to hug her today.  She walks up to me at different points and says, "Mommy, how high am I on you now?" and she has measured herself against me...so I've watched this happen.  Granted, I'm not that big...but I'm bigger than a little kid, right?  At the beginning of the school year, her excitement bubbled over when she realized that she had reached my shoulder...this morning...the top of her not-so-little-anymore head touched my bottom lip.  Reasa is no longer a little kid.  We bought new flip-flops at Old Navy (seriously, who can pass up 2 for $5??), and she tried on the 3-4's in the children's section (the largest size)...her heel hung over the end.  She walked out of the store with two pair of women's 7's. 

Sigh.  It goes so quickly. 

Yesterday, she cantered for the first time on her horse.  She's been riding for a whopping 6 months and she's cantering.  She looks so good up there--she's obviously found her niche.  Her second show happens on Saturday...and she can hardly contain her excitement...Dinger, her steadfast horse, couldn't care less...just another walk around the ring for him.  I guess, as a horse, when you reach 21...you've pretty much seen it all.  Nothing about which to get overly excited.  :)  Thank heavens.  I sit at lessons with other moms whose kids have been thrown by less-steady horses...I'm sure Reasa's time is coming, but probably not on Dinger.  So glad she loves it. 

Just wish she'd slow down a little bit with this whole growing-up business...