Double Digits

Labor Day weekend 2005 went down in history as Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans and unleashed it’s wrath.   The nation sat glued to the t.v. watching the ever worsening news reports.

Far away from the devastation of Katrina, I was giving birth to Lindsey.   Like Hurricane Katrina, she came into the world packing a punch and forever changing things, but for the better.

When I first arrived at the hospital, my contractions were less than 2 minutes apart.   The labor & delivery nurse assured me that I was not in labor because “women in labor aren’t smiling and happy like you are.”  I assured her that I was truly in labor, and that if need be I could quickly change into her worst nightmare to prove my point.     Once she hooked me up to a contraction monitor and saw the contractions maxing out, she exclaimed “Oh my God, you ARE in labor!”    Really??  Who knew (besides me, ahem).

My midwife arrived within minutes, and less than an hour later our 8lb. 11oz spitfire made her grand appearance…without an epidural or even a Tylenol. 

With a head full of black curly hair and a dark complexion, this butterball stole our hearts. She was a quiet baby…then at 12 months she started speaking in complete sentences and quite frankly, she hasn’t shut up since.

I’ll never forget Olivia’s reaction to her sister.   For the first day, including all the way home she kept pointing at her asking “What’s that?”   I responded with “That is your first life altering experience.”  Truer words were never spoken.

Today, Lindsey turned ten.   TEN.  Where did those ten years go?   That black haired, dark complexioned butterball has morphed into this light complexioned, skinny little girl with a  incredibly high I.Q., an amazing sense of humor and a heart of gold.   Sometimes we still catch ourselves looking at her and saying “what’s that?” as she comes up with some new invention, or does something bizarre.

This is the one that will take the world by storm.   Unlike Katrina, she will leave a swath of greatness in her path, and carry others on to victory instead of destruction.

Happy birthday Lou-Lou-Who!

Reclaiming Our Home–Punky Brewster’s Room

Lindsey has earned the nick-name of “Punky” as in “Punky Brewster”.  If you grew up in the 80’s, you know what I’m talking about.   Once you see her room, you’ll understand why the name suits her.

The entire Reclaiming Our Home thing has taken on a life of it’s own.  After removing the door that went from the kitchen into Lindsey’s room, I was forced to paint her room.  It wasn’t on my list for the summer, but it had to be done.  See what I mean?

Interestingly enough, I also found out, that after 6 years of living here…Lindsey hates yellow.  Who knew?

She picked a lively color of paint called “Watermelon Splash”.  Can’t you just see the glee in her face?

This is a wow kind of color.  She loves it.

The room had to be done in stages.  First we completed the “Watermelon Splash”, and let it dry for a couple of days.  The waiting process looked like this.

I then realized that the new wall didn’t look as good on this side as it did on the kitchen side.   The husband said let it go…but that’s just not how I roll.   I then broke out the electric sander.

The electric sander created a lovely pink dust cloud that landed on every single thing in the room.   It was just oh.so.fun cleaning that up, not.  I washed the walls down, and the floor, and the dresser…you get the point.  But it looked MUCH better after it was repainted.

Then we added some “Fashion Flame” circles, because really this room needs more color, right?

Lindsey helped to trace the circles onto the wall.  We used the largest mixing bowl I own for this step.   Then came the time consuming job of taping off each circle.

A little “Fashion Flame”….and tada!

The circles were then painted with dry erase.  Two weeks from now there will be writing on the walls.    Grins.

A Day at Home

I think my blog title is misleading.   When people hear, or read, that I’m stay at home mom (S.A.H.M.), they envision someone who…well, stays home all the time.  That is a gross error in interpretation.

You see, even though I’m a S.A.H.M., I’m rarely just home.   A typical day includes homeschooling, then off to ballet or Awana, or the grocery store.   I rarely have a day to just be at home and do “home stuff”.  

Today was different.   The girls are only working on math and handwriting, which they do independently.  We have no outside commitments for the day, which truthfully I find hard to believe and I’m secretly worried that I’ve forgotten to write something down on my calendar.  Seriously.

I was able to get up and have a non rushed cup of coffee, while I read my Bible.  A friend stopped by for a brief visit (a real live person, just stopped by, it was truly amazing).   Then I was able to clean house, weed my flower beds, sit down and eat lunch with the kids, water plants and then joyous day, I TOOK A SHOWER, in the middle of the afternoon!  I may be just a bit giddy over here!

Now while I was in house cleaning mode, the kids went out back to do stuff with the dog.  We have an enclosed back yard, and a very protective dog so I tend to not keep an eye on them while they are outside.

Then they came in, one bloody and in tears.  After bandaging Lindsey up, ahem, we had an interesting discussion.

"How'd you manage this?"

"Olivia had a rope tied to the other leg and was controlling it."

"I see....Olivia, what was the purpose of the rope tied to the leg?"

"Well, she said she needed to be able to stretch further, I was stretching her." (insert muffled giggles on my part here).

"Lindsey, you had absolutely NO qualms about agreeing to this?"

"Define qualms."

"You know that still small voice on the inside that says you probably shouldn't do something."

"Oh, yeah, I had LOTS of qualms."

"And yet you let your sister tie a rope to your leg in order to STRETCH you?"

"Yeah.....I don't know why I did that." (insert flash back to Bill Cosby's stand up routine).

Then Olivia says "Is this going to be one of those things that ends with 'well, like Grandma Addie always said’ ?" Yes, yes it is.

"Like Grandma Addie always said when you don't listen, you have to feel."

What did we learn from this?

Lindsey: "Listen to your instincts, and don't let your sister tie a rope around your leg."

Olivia: "If you're going to try something like this, wait until the week AFTER ballet performance instead of the week OF performance." All the ballet moms say Amen!

It’s moments like this that I’ll laugh about when I’m 80.   It’s moments like this that the girls will tell their kids about over Thanksgiving dinner.   Just because we got to spend a day at home.   Grins!

Basketball and the Octopus

Being a parent is an odd job.  The only real training you get is on the job, and the only real learning you do is after you’ve messed up.   Thankfully, Holy Spirit steps in from time to time (when allowed) and does some pretty profound things.

Lindsey has a new found love, basketball.  Yes, I know she does lots of things, but they are all on the coattails of her sister.  Basketball is the FIRST thing I’ve ever seen her truly get passionate about. From the moment she was introduced to the game she has done nothing but dribble around the house and visit the basketball court next door (supervised by a parent of course).

Being the gung-ho kind of gal I am, I thought I’d see if there was a basketball league in our area for her age.  As it so happened (and I don’t believe it was coincidence, I believe it was God) I found a Christian basketball league that was starting practices the same day that I called, and they had ONE SPOT OPEN on the 2nd-3rd grade team.

I excitedly told Lindsey about it and she promptly burst into tears.  I was taken aback to say the least.  So after some consoling I began probing, because that’s how I roll.   Don’t you like to play basketball?  Yes.  Do you want to learn the rules of basketball?  Yes.   Do you want to get to play with other kids?  Yes.   Do you want to get a cool uniform?  Yes.

Blink. Blink.

Then WHY are you blubbering?   “I’m scared.”   Then it hit me, one of the giants that grips my husbands side of the family had taken aim at Lindsey.  I’ve seen glimpses of this giant lurking around her before.  But never have I seen it grip her so, and it flat out made me mad.

I didn’t really know what to do, or say and I kind of did one of those “A little help here please God” prayers under my breath.  Then I opened my mouth and God filled it with words of liberty for Lindsey.

“Do you know what an octopus is?”   Yes.   “You know how it’s this big scary looking thing with all these arms?”  Yes.  “Well fear, is like an octopus.”  (Blink.Blink.)   “You see if you get close to an octopus, it reaches out with one of it’s arms and grabs you.  Then it grabs you with another arm.  Before you know it you’re so wrapped up in this octopus that you can’t do anything.”   (Blink.Blink.)

“Fear is the same, if you let it, it’ll wrap around you in one thing.  Then in another, and before you know it you’re so wrapped up in fear that you can’t do or try or enjoy anything.   There are too many wonderful things in life to experience to let fear stop you.”   (Blinking has stopped and the light bulb of understanding is starting to shine.)

“Basketball is one of those wonderful things that fear is trying to take away from you, and you can’t let fear do that…and sometimes as hard as it sounds, we have to do it afraid, right in the middle of being afraid we have to do it.”

She was suddenly calm, as she squeaked out “ok”.    I shared several scriptures with her about not being afraid because God is always with us.  Then the excitement of getting to play basketball on a team took over and she was downright giddy for the rest of the morning/afternoon.

Fast forward several hours and we’re walking across the parking lot to the gym.  I see the muscles in her jaws tighten, and the rims of her eyes start to turn pink…and I could just make out her whispers to herself “do it even if you’re afraid, do it even if you’re afraid”.

That one hour sped by.  At first Lindsey was hesitant and obviously nervous.  Then she loosened up a little bit at a time.  When we left she exclaimed “Basketball totally rocks Mom!”

At bedtime, after prayers I told her I was proud of her for facing her fear and trying.   She grinned really big and said “The octopus didn’t get me!”

Thanks God, because I totally couldn’t have come up with that on my own.

My Little Evangelist

If you follow my homeschool blog, Learning Curve, you already know that we just finished up this year’s production of the ballet Nutcracker.   I’ve had some “churchy” people comment on the amount of time that’s gone into the show.   So let me share a little something with you from backstage.

Sometime backstage on Saturday night God came up in conversation among the younger dancers.  One of the little girls named Kia announced that she didn’t believe in God.   Lindsey was floored to think that someone wouldn’t believe in God…but she knew what to do.

“Mom, I told her I HAVE TO SHARE A SCRIPTURE WITH YOU…..and then I told her all of John 3:16, that God loved her and sent Jesus to die for HER.”

“Mom, she said she still didn’t believe there was a God.  So I told her more scriptures about God, and Jesus and how much God loves her.”

The little girl was still not convinced that there was a God.   Finally, in desperation Lindsey said to her “But Kia, if you don’t believe in God, and you don’t ask Jesus into your heart……then you’ll go to hell when you die.”

Kia was silent, and then said “Nobody every told me that before.”  Lindsey, my 7 year old Snowflake Ballerina who missed church on Sunday, then went on to share with this little girl how to receive the free gift of salvation.

What did YOU do to expand God’s family this week, oh churchy one?

A Mother’s Heart

Yesterday Lindsey found a tiny bird egg under the hedges in our front yard.  She brought it in, wrapped in a leaf and asked me if she could keep it.  Uhhh…ok…but at night time we have to put it back out by the hedges. (No clue why that was my answer, but it was the best I could come up with.)  So I admonished her not to drop it and to try to stay away from the furniture with it.  Then for added security I placed the egg in a little plastic cup. 

Maybe 30 minutes passed and she came back in.  “Mom, why is Rosie all watery?”  “Huh?”….”My egg, Rosie.  She keeps getting the leaves around her wet.”   “oooohhh…nooooo”.

So I looked, and sure enough, Rosie had a cracked shell.  Lindsey said it was like that when she initially found Rosie.  So I explained to Lindsey that Rosie’s shell was broken, and that she most likely had died, or was dying. 

Lindsey began to sob.  Deep, gut wrenching sobs.  The kind of crying that comes from deep within.   She laid on the sofa, wailing, with Rosie at her side.   I explained the scripture in Matthew 10:29, about how God had known when Rosie fell.   It didn’t help.

So I sat and consoled her.  Finally she regained some composure and I asked her why she was so upset.  “Because, I was going to be a mommy!”   And again the sobs began.

If only the millions of women in abortion clinics around the world could grasp a glimmer of this kind of love for a yet unborn (or unhatched) little life.

The memorial service for Rosie was a brief event.  Lindsey felt it best to bury her by my mothers day rose bush, since her name was Rosie.  I asked if she wanted me to do it, but no “I’m the mommy, I’ll do it.”  And she did, gently dig a little hole in the soft ground and place Rosie and her little napkin blanket inside.  She tenderly told Rosie goodbye and gently replaced the dirt and placed a dandelion on the tiny grave.

Since she was 4 Lindsey’s goal in life has been to adopt all the babies she can and take care of them all.  I’d say she’s definitely got a momma’s heart already.

Where Did The Last 6 Years Go?

September 3, 2005 was winding down, news coverage of Hurricane Katrina was the only thing on tv (and I don’t mean that in a bad way) and I was several weeks out from my due date with Lindsey.   At the time, a volleyball game seemed like a good plan (I won!, go me!).  I distinctly remember my mother in law calling and fussing over the phone because I was playing ball while pregnant.

The next memory was of me waking up, in a puddle and thinking I’d peed the bed while asleep.  It didn’t dawn on me until a few minutes later that my water had broke.  Hey, in my defense my first labor/delivery was a totally man made nightmare, so I didn’t know what was “normal”.   My next thought was geez, now what do I do?  So I called the midwife…”Are you having contractions?”….”Yes, they started at about 10 minutes apart, now we’re at about 7.” ….silence…  ”You are on a cell phone, heading toward the hospital, right?”…. “Um…no.”   My husband came stumbling in, bleary eyed at this point “Who are you talking to?”  …. “The midwife.”   WHAT??? and he came a bit unglued.

So I called the person who, for MONTHS, had agreed to watch Olivia for me, and she says “It’s almost 2am, I don’t think I can come right now. You’ll have to call someone else.”   WHAT??

Yeah, so I called Mary, who lived 40 minutes away, she got there in 30.   In the mean time I emailed friends with an update of my 5 minutes spaced contractions.  When Mary arrived, contractions were at 4 minutes, I tried explaining to her about Olivia’s morning routine but she basically shoved me out the door towards the van.   Then on  the way to the hospital I said “run by the post office will you, I need to mail some bills”.  My husband  came totally unglued at that point…he called me WOMAN.   “Woman, I don’t have a catchers mitt in the van, and I really would prefer to not be driving when the baby comes.”  Calm down folks, really it’s OK.

So after we left the post office (yeah, I won that battle) we arrived at the hospital.   The lady who checked me in wasn’t convinced I was in labor, neither was the charge nurse on the maternity ward.  They said I was in too good of a mood and didn’t appear to be in pain.    Well, then that means that all the prayers and confessions for a pain free childbirth are doing their job.  They didn't like that answer, so she hooked me up to a monitor and when it showed the first, MAJOR, contraction she said “oh my God, you are in labor”.   Really, ya think?

She then sent me out to walk around the hospital for a while to speed things up, and told me not to go too far “just in case”.  Ok, so 1) the hospital wasn’t THAT big and 2) I’m at the hospital, they should know what to do “just in case”.   So an hour later and the contractions are about 2 minutes apart so I went back to my room.

The nurse didn’t believe me when I told her how close the contractions were at this point.  So she hooked me back up to the monitor. SURPRISE!  She offered to let me sit in the birthing tub to relax, while I waited for the midwife to arrive.   “But whatever you do, DON’T push if you feel the urge, we don’t do water births here.”  Right, and so I’m getting in the tub now WHY?  

By the time I got in the tub, and got “comfy”, it happened, the almost uncontrollable urge to push.   So back out of the tub, into the bed and 3 pushes later and voila!   Lindsey made her grand debut!

Then I blinked.

Suddenly this 8lb. 11oz. chubby little bundle….

…had somehow turned into this beautiful, bright eyed, vivacious little bundle of energy and love.

Happy 6th birthday Lindsey!  But seriously, you need to slow down a bit….I can’t keep from blinking much longer.

Rites of Passage

There are some mile markers that seem to hold greater value in our lives than others.  When you’re a kid, learning to ride your bike without training wheels is a biggie.   This past week, both girls moved beyond the training wheel world and closer to “grown up”.

Olivia’s passage was necessitated by the fact that one of her training wheels broke and there was no other option but to learn.   Lindsey on the other hand, has the mind set that if Olivia does it so can she.  And so, she did.

Olivia’s biggest hurdle was getting her feet on the pedals and pedaling before the bike toppled over with her.   Once this issue was conquered the rest was  easier.

Lindsey’s biggest issue was trying not to gloat too much as she rode by her struggling sister.

But, as is often the case, the prideful tend to find themselves humbled in one way or another.  You show off a little too much…

First thing you know your foot gets snagged, and suddenly the view is different…

Slow and steady wins the race.  And a humble spirit prevails.

Afternoon Tea

The girls and I have been reading a lot of the “American Girl” books.   We all love colonial and Victorian era books and movies.  So this afternoon we decided to have our own little tea.

We used Thomas’ grandmothers crystal sugar and creamer set, and a few antique tea cups I’ve acquired, and added some yummy sweets.

Earlier in the week, we made these lovely fans, and the girls used those as they chatted and flitted about.

   
What great fun with my girls!  They’ve requested a weekly tea.  Lindsey truly enjoys tea, Olivia not so much….but she’s a big fan of the sweets.  Maybe next week we shall make some scones?

Yet Another Milestone….

Lindsey reached yet another milestone today.  She lost her first tooth, at 5.  (Olivia lost her first one at 4.)  It’s official, I don’t have any babies anymore…..waaaaah!

And for the record, only the first tooth gets $1…the rest are only worth 25 cents.

My Compassionate Child

Olivia loves animals.  Lindsey, not so much.  However, she has such a tender heart for anyone or anything that is being treated poorly.  We recently went to a “heritage festival”, which was a bust as far as the “heritage” part goes.  But I digress.   However, you could pay for horse drawn wagon rides.

 

There was also this small donkey attached to a cart.  The cart wasn’t big (you can see it at the rear of the photo.)  The girl in charge of taking people on rides was reckless and thoughtless though.  I had watched her from afar as she whipped the poor little donkey to make it run too fast for the heavy load it was pulling.  (Carrying two teens at a time.)  She didn’t like my answer when she asked if the girls wanted to ride with her.  But again, I digress.

Lindsey hadn’t seen her treatment of the little donkey.  But she saw the sadness of the little animal and was drawn to it.  She stood for the longest time, stroking the little donkey’s neck and talking gently to it.  It eventually moved closer to her.

As she stood and rubbed on the little donkey, she said “Mom, I wish we had a farm.   I’d take this little donkey home and nobody would ever be mean to him again.”

A compassionate heart sees the hurt in those around it…even when it doesn’t see what caused the hurt.  When was the last time you looked through the eyes of compassion?

The Face of Five

There’s just something odd about realizing that your “baby” is 5.  Sadly, there will be no more infants, toddlers or preschoolers running around our house.   It’s sad, and yet quite liberating to know that your kids are reaching a more independent level.

Saturday Lindsey turned 5 and the highlight of her day was getting her very own library card!   Seriously, I think we could have skipped the party and just gone with the library trip!

Had I realized how much weight the library card would have carried, I could have skipped this….

But then, we’d have missed this…

 

Seriously, who can resist such an animated, pretty little girl?

The future Ms. America!  all hail the queen!

No More Car Seats

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Olivia turned 7 this week, Lindsey made the final move from a “car seat” to a booster.  She was thrilled.  She’s been having major issues with being “little”, so for her this is a defining big girl moment.   For me, not so much.

The crib is gone….itty-bitty clothes, gone….car seat, gone.  STILL my baby whether she likes it or not!