Catching You Up on Christmas Vacation Happenings

It's Christmas Vacation, and therefore it means it's been forever and a day since I have blogged "regularly."

Or so it feels like it's been forever and a day.

The boys are pretty happy it's Christmas break.

 Or at least I think that's why S3 and S4 look so silly.

It's been amazing mild wonderful weather the last few days.

So nice in fact that the boys spent it outdoors playing like it was spring.

Which meant they got super muddy.

 And S2 couldn't figure out why no one wanted to ride with him...nor did he realize the yard is nothing but mud on the trail that he created.

You can watch one of his jumps HERE on youtube.

 But he was exceptionally happy with it all.  And I was happy for him...and all the boys being able to play outside.

 Until they took my bath towels to clean off the mud.  Then I was glad I had stocked up on Tide before the break.

The weirdest and silliest and saddest thing that happened to the boys when they were playing outside was when S3 found the Christmas mole.

 Technically, he did NOT find it but our dog did.  And after researching it on google it was found that moles do not, in fact, make good pets.  They are very shy and do not like to be handled.  They also carry parasites.

If the mole falls on your bare feet, you will be shocked at how the nose is as cold and feels as squishy as it looks in the picture.  Take my word for it.

I recalled a movie I watched once with S4 where a mole was trying to take over the world using kitchen appliances (I musta been being a great mom to have watched such a movie with him) but the mole looked pretty harmless to us.

But we let it go.  Today, a few days after these photos were taken, the boys found a dead mole.  Certain it was THIS mole, S3 and S4 held a funeral for it, burying it and leaving a stake for the headstone with a paper they had me write on reading, "Eli and Abraham's Friend Dead Mole that is right here".

It's been a great Christmas break that is going by  much too quickly.  We have been the normal insanely busy and then had slow moving days (like today).

I have been used as a shield by my husband as he was having a nerf gun war with the boys.  I felt ever so loved and protected then.

My husband got me a fancy spancy new camera and I haven't yet downloaded the pictures from there to the computer.  I should probably do a post of all the silly pictures you take as soon as you get a new camera. I am sure you all will appreciate the nicer quality photos when I get the time to play with it more.

The magazine comes out in a few days - squeal! In the magazine there is an article talking about One Word.  It's when you take a word and think on it and concentrate on it for a whole year - brining meaning and being like a resolution.  I can't figure out what word to use at all. It's driving me INSANE. I broke down and asked my husband.  He told me I should choose "Lucky" because I am married to him. I then told him how true he was and decided to ask someone else.

We just finished up the last of the groceries that the Christmas Stranger purchased us.  That still can bring me to tears.

It's been a great Christmas, as I hope it has been for all or you as well.  Even with the lack of snow, I believe this to be the best break and Christmas in, well, maybe ever.  Yes, that good.

And I just wanted to take a moment to say hello to you all.  How I have missed blogging!  But it has also been so great just vegging with the family and visiting with friends these past few weeks.

Tell me how you all are! And I promise to be blogging regularly again very very very soon.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

'Everyday, I am inspired by this boy'

There is a little boy in our school that was born with half a heart.

Over the years, S2 has mentioned him as they are in the same grade.  And being in a small school you sorta get to know people even if you don't know people.

At the beginning of the school year, when the boys were decked out in football gear, we took a field trip.  S2, Jakob and Jonathan were all in the same seat - as usual - and I sat across from them with the little boy with half a heart.

The ride was long and I dug around in my huge purse for crayons, paper and pens and passed them out among the four boys to help them kill the time.  "I wish I could play football," little Owen admitted to me.

I wanted to say, "That you are playing and at school and ALIVE is more than any old football game!". But I didnt' say that.  I just said, "There is so much you CAN do."

"Just soccer," he muttered.

And that was the end of the conversation.

Shortly thereafter, we heard about a contest Owen's mom had entered him in.  American Eagle was giving a scholarship to a deserving kid.  I voted on facebook for him daily and encouraged everyone else too.

I checked with his Dad - who I see nearly every single morning but still don't know his name nor hardly ever talk to - nearly every day to see how the contest was coming.

When he won, HE WON, S2 and his buddies figured Owen got all the luck.

When Owen's Dad told me that Owen had won, I was so thrilled I did a leap in the middle

of the elementary school hallway.  And then I hugged him.  The dad. So overjoyed, 

I hugged Owen's Dad.

Seriously.

And when I got back in my vehicle that morning, I called my husband.

"I hugged Owen's Dad this morning and I figured you should know.

It being a small town and all."

To this day, weeks later, I cannot hardly look at Owen's Dad for hugging him.

But you all should expect this of me.

American Eagle 77 Kids came out to see Owen and present him with the 10,000 dollar scholarship.  It was a huge deal and I made it to school just in time to see it.

The school also received a 2,000 dollar gift, which Owen decided the school should use for new indoor  recess games (you should have heard the cheer) and a snow cone machine...most kids didn't know what that was, soon they will be cheering that too.

 Owen being presented with the scholarship at school.

 I love Owen's big grin here.  The Check is WAY bigger than him!

 Owen standing with the PTO.

High Five'ing with American Eagle 77.

It was such a great story, Owen, in and of itself.  That he won an award out of all the kids with amazing stories across the nation - complete strangers all over voting for him - is just another amazing part of the that story.

And American Eagle 77 Kids did an amazing job and I wanted to personally thank them.

If you would like to "meet" little Owen and his family....here's a video clip from a newscast.

I apologize for taking so long to post this great story! 

And I hope Owen's Dad knows I was just thrilled that Owen won and that's why I hugged him.

I had to set that record straight! ;)

The Gift of a Stranger

Someone - who I don't know - has become the Christmas angel to our family today and will be the heroine of our family history stories.

Today I loaded up the three youngest boys and headed into town to get groceries.  I went into our nearby town of Wayland hoping to find some great fruit.

For Christmas every year I try to make something extra special for dinner and this year I was determined to have a big fruit salad.  It being Christmas time, fruit is through the roof in price and I had made out very specific list of only the items we NEEDED for the next three days of festivities.

There were some basics we needed but mostly it was all fun food we don't normally buy (soda, water chestnuts for a family appetizer, bacon for breakfast...).  The boys were being great helping me find things and not asking for all the other things that looked good (to boys, nearly all food looks good) and so I had let them each get a donut. They were thrilled, donuts are a big deal.

Making sure I had everything on my list and being thankful I found it all and kept to the list, I went to check out.  Amazingly, there was no one even to wait behind and we unloaded the full cart.

I watched the total add and add.  This was going to be expensive.

A lady came up behind me and got a divider out to begin putting up her few groceries.  I made little small talk with the cashier (Yes, these are all my boys.  No, one more isn't with us (he was on a special Christmas run with his Daddy).  Yes, all boys.).  I told her this was our last stop and we were headed home to enjoy Christmas.

The woman next to me in line seemed to be standing exceptionally close to me.  There was no one behind her but she seemed to be really close to us, just the same.  Not annoyingly, just enough to notice.

The bill was over 200 dollars.

I dug out the cash I had set aside for the groceries, wondering what I had to add to the 2 one hundred dollar bills I had in my hand when the woman next to me suddenly grabbed me in a hug.

Think about that.

A stranger just hugged me.

And then she began to whisper in my ear.

Because I was in shock at first of what she was doing, I can only paraphrase what she said.  But it was basically this...

"Please don't make a scene but please put your cash away 

and let me pay for your groceries.

I went to pay a layaway off and it was already taken care of so I want to do this for you.

You just take the groceries home and have a wonderful Christmas with your boys

and Pay It Forward yourself."

I began to cry.

She scooted in front of me and swiped her card.

I think the cashier's jaw dropped.

I hugged her again and thanked her.

I hugged her another time as I cried.

"Please," she whispered, "don't make a scene."

So I nodded and said, "Thank you."

The cashier handed me the receipt.  Her voice was halted as she brokenly said, "Have a Merry Christmas."

I hugged the lady again, thanked her and she told me "Merry Christmas."

S2 wanted to know why I was crying and hugging a stranger.

I got in the suburban and posted it on facebook from my phone.  Late tonight I seen the 50 some comments.

Later today, as I was still tearing up over the incident, I found the receipt.  It was for $210 and some change.  At first I had posted it was $225, guessing what the total had been because, honestly, that moment was a bit of a blur.

At various times today, as the boys and I made and frosted Christmas cookies, they would say, "That was sooooo nice of that lady.  You really didn't know her, Moma?"

I really did not.  I really do not think I could pick her out of a line up.

As we bowed our heads to pray for dinner of hotdogs and fried potatoes...bought for us by a stranger...Jake asked a special blessing upon this woman.

We talked again what a gift she had given us.

I don't even begin to know how to Pay if Forward.

We did nothing.  I went to the store for groceries.  I stood in line.  And someone just bestowed upon us a gift.

Not much unlike the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Christ came to earth to save us.  He gives us a gift, offered it to us to take - that gift of Eternal Life, the gift of a Savior - all we have to do is accept.

And be forever changed and blown away by the gift of it.

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Please, find a way to Pay It Forward.

Not just at Christmas but any day.

I can tell you, the gift of it is amazing.

My Boys Asked Santa if He Drinks Beer

Today, I get to go to work and work with SANTA....I really know him!

It's bound to be a memorable day...because last year when the boys met Santa, they asked him if he drank beer.

I wasn't sure if Santa would come back...or ever take the boys off the naughty list...but he did take them off in time for Christmas last year and he is coming back.  And my boys will be there ready to chat with him again.

But all day, I'll be waiting for it to happen all over again.

Here is last years incident........

Sunday, December 19, 2010

My Boys Asked Santa if He Drinks Beer

On Saturday, our awesome little library received a call from Santa Claus asking if he could stop in and say hello to all the good little boys and girls in our town. Our librarian sweetly told him that cookies and good boys and girls would await him. On Saturday morning, Santa flew his reindeer into town, bedded them down at one of the farms and hitched a ride with a farmer just to say hello to all the good boys and girls at the library.

Then he met my boys.

Our boys have never sat on Santa's lap. They are not sure about the whole Santa thing and the last two years we have just sort of gone along with the fun, not really mentioning Santa but not saying Santa isn't real either.

Well, S4 is convinced. Santa is real. He knows this because

A. Santa has a real beard (Not like the one on Elf who has a fake beard).

B. He has Santa's signature. Really, he does.

It was fun to see Santa walk in, watch all the boys and girls eyes get huge and run up to him to hug him and just be in awe that Santa was THERE, in the SAME ROOM as them...in the library they visit EVERY Saturday for story hour!

Because shyness soon swept over the kids, Santa began to flip through a book that was laying out on one of the study tables. My youngest two (only three of them came along, S1 was busy helping Daddy with wood) were sneaking alongside Santa, not saying a whole lot.

Yet.

This was the book Santa looked at....

Santa mentioned he remembered drinking Coke out of a glass bottle but he supposed that these little boys next to him didn't remember that.

S3 chirped right up. "No, but you can drink beer out of a bottle."

I.

Nearly.

Died.

"Yah!" S4 agreed, "You can! WE can't drink beer but sometimes our Daddy can."

"Yah, but not so much anymore." S3 added. "Do YOU drink beer, Santa?"

They.

Did.

Although I wanted to haul them out and....wait, no, I wanted to NOT claim them.

Do you drink beer, Santa?

Santa realized he probably needed to find a seat and sit down and try to leave this conversation. But the boys kept up with him, continuing to chatter away at Santa. He finally told them that, "No, Santa does not drink beer. It would be a crazy ride with the reindeer if he did and that just would not be good."

I hurriedly tried to get the boys to color pictures and let the other kids get some time with Santa. It took some doing. But I think I might have seen a look of relief in Santa's eyes. And maybe even a "I'll be sure to bring a little something special for you dealing with these boys all the time" wink. (well, I can hope!)

Then S3 asked for a BB gun. I hoped Santa said no...he didn't say yes so that is good. Santa did tell him he seemed young, he couldn't be shooting helpless animals or brothers. S3 informed him you CAN shoot birds. Santa told him he couldn't. S3 disagreed. I am pretty sure it won't be under the tree from Santa.

And then S4 asked for a "Piddow Pet" and if he can't find one, they are at Target. Lots and lot of them. Then S4 let him know there would be cookies and chocolate milk and white milk waiting for him and special sparkly oatmeal for his reindeer he arrived.

If he gets here.

And there won't be beer.

A Praise and Coffee Night

Last week we had our Christmas Praise and Coffee Night.

Sue was giving her testimony and I was nervous for her.  I know her story, but I know it here and there and I knew it would be hard for her to share it all in front of everyone in one story.

But the day was rough on me.  I may have at one point in the day been on the phone crying to my husband.  It was just a bad day, a down day, a day I literally was crying as I was baking cookies.

Just one of those days.

I would have rather curled up in pj's and snuggled on the couch with a book or movie but I knew I had to be there.  I dressed in my favorite clothes - my husband can say what he wants, clothes do make me feel better - and determined I was going to go and have fun and be happy.

And then God just gave me this awesome gift and had it so my husband and I were going to pass each other on the road so we met in the bar parking lot just so we could get a kiss in.  I love that man, and I love how God just timed that perfectly.

Here I am kissing my husband in the parking lot with the Tavern sign glowing down on us.  Oh, it was so romantic!

With my hands wrapped around a short triple breve with caramel, I listened to Sue pour out her heart with my friends A and Morg at the table with me.

Every time Sue took a deep breath, I wanted to go give her a hug.

When her amazing testimony had people with tears in their eyes and her analogy of having God saturate our lives, everyone began to break up in designated groups on specific topics.  Morg, A and I...we didn't budge.  It was like we knew, we were not in a "group" mood.

We were in a friend mood.

Sue came and sat with us and the four of us laughed to the funny stories Morg had for us.  We connected with bits and news that we are always to busy to share when we are passing each other in church or just in sending a quick text.

I sat there soaking it in, looking at these friends I love so dearly and thinking how different we all are and how we are all brought together on this night.  I thanked God for soaking me in His grace...in the gift of this moment.

We packed up all the pretty finery and left over cookies of a beautiful evening and headed for home.

Except I didn't get home for a good long time.

Standing out in the parking lot, I had a heart to heart with a friend.  We hadn't planned on talking the night away, but in the moment of just us we laid out the things heavy on our hearts...sisters sharing a burden and knowing the trust we had in each other.

And isn't that what Praise and Coffee Nights are all about?  Sharing with a friend and giving praise to God and growing in our relationships?

Not a day has not gone by since that Praise and Coffee night that I haven't prayed for the friend I chatted the night away with.  I am still giggling over the funny stories we shared at the table.  I am still so proud of Sue for sharing her testimony.

And I am blown away by this group of women God brought together.  Our friendship makes no sense on paper, but in life it is the perfect blend.

Some women are afraid of starting up a Praise and Coffee Night...it's too big a task, they fear.  But Praise and Coffee was held at a table with four women and in a parking lot on an "official" PC night.  It's girlfriends and sisters sharing the moments of life they are in and being prayed for and looking to God for the answers.  It's connecting.  It's encouraging.  It's inspiring.  No matter how big or small the gathering.

And all that was flooded into my life on a rough day that ended with a great night.

Things I Learned Over the Weekend

I have stumbled upon the most phenomenal beauty secret that I must share with you all.

But in order to get to that, we have to start way before to the beginning of the story.

The beginning of the story is Saturday morning, my handsome man's birthday.

I made a big breakfast and then set to getting all the potluck food I needed for the next day done so my hair did that stylish sloppy pulled back tight bun look I never can rock but always do.

I had to stop at the grocery store and we needed milk - as usual - and as I was picking up the milk to put it back into my cart as we were checking out of the store, it slipped.

If a gallon of milk slips from your hand and falls to the ground in the check out line (with the owner of the store ringing up your bill), THIS will happen......

It will explode into the largest white firework of milk ever.

I am serious.

It rained milk, people.  RAINED milk.

In the check out line.

I was drenched.

But through my milk soaked eyes I seen the rest of the milk pouring out to form the ocean of milk so I quick picked it up and tossed it into a waste basket behind me because thankfully no one was checking anyone out next to me.

Even the boys were speechless.

And I was mortified, I must admit.

We arrived home - a very short two minute drive - and I got the blow dryer out to dry my milk drenched hair.

I didn't have time to wash it because we were going to my parents for Hubby's birthday.

My hair looked....amazing.

I put a little hair spray in it and all night my hubby told me how great my hair looked.

Because we got home late, I fell asleep minus a shower and in the morning as I stumbled for the kitchen to start the water boiling for my cup of coffee, my husband said...."You look...."

I braced myself...

"...Great.  You look really great.  You don't even need to wash your hair, it looks so great."

I sorta thought he was teasing.  But he was right.

This has NEVER happened to me.

So I bunched it up, showered, and then just shook my still dry hair out, sprayed it a little and went to church.

All day people commented on how nice it looked.

The phenomenal beauty secret?  

Drench yourself in exploding milk and then don't wash your hair.

It will look amazing.

Of course, did we get ANY photo of my amazing hair?

Or, more importantly, of my husband and I on his birthday?

No.

Not a single photo.

So you'll just have to take my word for it.

Happy Birthday to my Husband

Happy Birthday, Hunky Husband!!!!!

I am ever so thankful for you.

Thanks for marrying me a zillion years ago and thanks for being a ton older than me.

I love that you hold me in your strong arms and then "rest your eyes" watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies just cuz you know I love them so.

You are THE hardest working man I know, and your giddiness to work makes me giggle. Still.

It's so much fun to see you play with the boys and hear you spend hours talking to them.

Your growth in knowing God more blows me away.

You are so opposite me you make me better.

And I am most thankful for....

You are so much taller so I get to wear big spiky heels.

Thank you for that.

I love you from the tips of my bare frozen toes to the top of my strawberry scented hairspray head.

I am ever so thankful to wake up next to you and sing happy birthday.

And I hope I get to do that for another fifty years or more.

What My Boys Are Up To Today

Thought you would enjoy this!

It's the first snow at our house and they had to celebrate it!

My Husband Was on the Red Green Show

On Thanksgiving, the boys were watching the Red Green Show.

Because they wouldn't be caught wasting their time watching the Macy's Parade with their Moma.

Anyhow, my husband suddenly asked the boys to rewind it a little.  And then he hollered for me to come see this too.

They had finally made a character that was my husband nearly to T.  Seriously.

My husband has this weird love affair of Buick Century's.  We currently have FOUR in our yard.

And he also has this thing with disposable coffee cups.  You know, those "to go" cups?  Yah, he loves those too.

We have talked about his love of coffee before.

And here was a skit on the Red Green Show that had us all laughing.

So, I took out my flip cam and taped it off the tv because I couldn't find it on youtube or on Red's website.  Sorry for the graininess of it, we have an ancient old tv.  Literally.

But you'll get the idea.

Enjoy!

And for a blast from the past, read our post about when We Met Red Green.

What Happens When We Befriend a Stray Cat

The title is one that my husband came up.

And I started giggling all over again when he stressed the "befriend" part. 

Cuz this story....I think this could only happen to us.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a yellow tom cat hanging around our house.  It was normally found over by the chicken coop, sometimes in the shed, but I noticed it was getting more and more brave and getting closer to the house.

When I fed the chickens some scraps one morning from the kitchen door, the cat was there amongst them all waiting for the scraps too.  I think he thought I wouldn't notice him if he were surrounded by my beloved chickens.

I told my husband that I'd seen the cat a lot more and if he didnt' want it to end up in the house, he'd better drop it off somewhere.  "You know me..." I told him, which means he needed to interpret that my heart would melt for the poor thing some wet cold day and let it in.  And if I didn't, I knew four boys that would go so far as to trap the thing and haul it in the house to love on.

On a sunny day, my husband opened the kitchen door and there was the cat.  He picked it up.  It instantly curled up next to my burly husband's chest and began to purr.

We fed it some cat food, pet it a bunch more, and sent it on it's way out the door.

Since then the cat has been really hanging around by the house.

You can't really blame it.

On a dark night as I was standing at the sink peeling potatoes, the boys tumbled in the door from a game of football in the side yard and began to call the cat.  The three little guys would call the cat in a few steps more and then glance at me to see if I was hearing them.  I just kept on peeling potatoes...keep in mind if I stuck my leg out I could have touched each of them.  Our kitchen is tiny...there was no way to keep a secret in there.

But the boys thought they were pulling a fast one on me.

Suddenly S4 exclaimed, "Quick, shut the door!"

The door was slammed and the big tom cat was scooped up in someone's arms and the boys ran for the living room.

I finished peeling the potatoes and went in to check on them.  Three boys and one cat were curled up in the lazy-boy chair, the cat was purring and being loved on like it hadn't in probably forever.

"See our new cat, Moma?  Can we keep it? Please? It's so nice! Please, Moma?"

I told them they would have to ask their Daddy.

Their faces fell.

Then I told them we might as well show it the house an feed it so they took it to the kitty litter box, where the cat, being the gentleman he was, peed.  Then it ate all the dog food in the dish.

When the dog food was gone, they moved the cat to the laundry room to see where all the cat food was at.  Fernie Cow, our princess cat, was not impressed with a visitor.  Especially when he ate all the cat food in the heaped full dish.

At dinner, S4 fed the cat I don't know how much chicken.

Then the cat curled up behind the washing machine and dryer and fell asleep in the nice warm spot.

Later, my husband walked in.  He'd been out for the day and I had called it an early night and was all curled up in bed already when he entered the bedroom.  "What is THIS?" he asked, holding the cat.

"Um, a really nice kitty cat?" I offered.

S1 walked had walked in with his daddy and he laid across the bed retelling the story how his little brothers had coerced the cat in.  Meanwhile, the cat had curled up next to me and was purring sleepily.

"I have never seen such a fat cat!" My husband said, rubbing the cat's enlarged belly.

"Don't do that!" I gasped, "Do you know how much this cat has eaten today?"  I began recounting all the food he had eaten as my husband rubbed the cat's tummy roughly again.  I slapped my husband's away while the cat suddenly stood up.

"See, he doesn't like that," I said as the cat began to squat down again on the bed.

"Well, he does seem like a nice cat," my husband began to cave as I cocked my head in concern as the cat seemed to be taking an odd stance.  And it was a new cat.

I pushed it off the bed.

It began to squat again.  And suddenly it hit me.

"No!" I squawked and flew the blankets back.  Never mind that S1 was laying across the bed and I was just in my panties and t-shirt.

I picked the cat up as fast as I could and held him as far away from my body as I could as I ran for the bathroom.

There was poop literally hanging from the cat's behind.

A little dropped on the floor as I dropped the cat in the kitty litter box.  My husband and son, who were wondering what on earth had suddenly possessed me to go screaming from the bedroom with the cat, figured out quickly what was going on.  In one quick swoop my husband scooped up that cat and tossed it outside.

I began to giggle as I cleaned up the poop.

My husband looked at me like I all my exhaustion had finally caught up with me and made me truly insane.

"Come on!" I giggled, "You have to admit it's pretty funny.  Here we are going on and on how great the cat is and how it uses the litter box and it tries to take a dump on our bed."

He grinned a little.

"Yah, only we would befriend a cat that would try to crap on our bed," he snickered.

It's been two days.  The cat has been skittish at best when I have managed to catch glimpse of it.

But I'm sure it won't be long before we let it in again.

Maybe.

Moms Of Boys Connect

I sighed as I opened the bill for our AT&T service.  I keep forgetting they have my name misspelled...badly enough no one could find us in the phone book if they needed to.

If anyone uses a phone book anymore.

I figured I had better get the call over with while the boys were gone at school and dialed the customer service number...that did not have "misspelled name" as an option...and was put on hold for the "next available representative".

Sigh.  You know how long THAT takes.

But then I was connected to a woman named Sylvia (I think, not ever sure, sadly) who said "Hello, Mrs. Bekstra, what can I do for you?"

She worked quickly and efficiently to change my name, she was so sweet about it we got to chuckling over how badly it was.

She asked for my email to verify the changes and I said "It's all spelled out, life with four boys...."

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped, "I have four boys too!"

I then spent the next couple minutes chatting with her over boys, sports, feeding them, the dread of cleaning their rooms.....

We giggled and laughed and "oh, I know!" and so on and so forth.

Her boys were older and she had all kinds of advice for me.  She was the sweetest.

My first name is her middle name.

It was all too funny.

She made the changes to my account, found a way to bundle our cable and phone together for a cheaper rate, was pleasant and as friendly as she was efficient at her job.

The best twenty minutes I have spent on the phone with a "available representative."

Us moms of boys, we connect.

Even if it's over a misspelled name on a bill.

Life of a Mom

"Moma?" S2 asked as I drove he and his brothers to school, "What do you do all day when you are home and we are at school?'

I didn't answer for a moment.

Then I said, "Well, I make dinner, wash clothes and clean the house so you can all come home and eat all the food, give me more dirty laundry and mess up the house so I get to do it all over again tomorrow."  I gave him a grin.

He grinned back. "Oh."

S4 quipped up from behind me, "Moma, we like to play with our toys because we can't play at school much so thanks for letting me play trains and blocks."

"No problem," I answered him.

I thought of that a lot as I cleaned the house.  I scrubbed the tub, no one will notice.  I spent way too long cleaning the toilet, under the toilet, the cracks of the toilet.  They'll never notice.  I wrote our schedule on the newly washed mirror as I always do...before the end of the night the boys will write all over the mirror - smiley faces on days they like the "to do"'s of,  silly messages to Daddy or pictures and no one will notice the sparkle it has right now.

I forgot my coffee on the counter as I cleaned and warmed it up a bit in the microwave.  I scrubbed even the top of  it yesterday and not a soul knows but me.

When the boys get home, I will still have piles of laundry.  Although I mopped, the floor will be littered with dirt, pine needles and dog hair.  There will be clutter everywhere.  I'll have the dishwasher full of dirty dishes and will be tired.

They'll wonder what I did all day long.

Isn't that life though?  I'd rather show them all how much I love them in the little things they may never notice....I think of them as I scrub and put away and sweep and mop and wipe down.

It's a thankless job.

And one I would never trade.  Not for a moment.

Even if, every once in a while, it feels I am forgotten. Invisible. Misunderstood.

It's the life of a mom.

And I'm ever so thankful it's my life.

My husband, my boys, how I love them so.

Excuses to Be Late to School

This is a BONUS post because not only was I late to school - I was late getting home.

The other night, a winter weather watch was issued.  Some places were getting tons of snow, some places would not get any snow.  The boys were SURE that we were the place where ALL the snow would dump.

And some places did get snow.  My parents woke to a winter wonderland and they are just a couple miles away.

We got....

None.

Not even a little dusting on the grass.

Not a single bit of snow at all.

S2 woke up, seen this, and was not at all daunted.  He was CERTAIN we had a two hour delay, if not a full snow day.

I pointed to the fact we had No. Snow.  He pointed to the tv where there WAS snow, somewhere.  For all we knew, it was piled high at school, no way to get in!

He was so convincing that at the marked time for us to leave, his little brothers were just getting cereal.  They really thought we had a two hour delay.

So we left a bit late.

We arrived at school at 8:02.  School starts at 8:00.  I did not even acknowledge the staff in the office - but to be fair, it was pretty busy in there with other late parents with kids.

I figured out how I could get them to class the fastest and was dictating directions when S1 remembered I hadn't signed his planner.  No signed planner means loosing recess time.  No boy ever wants to loose recess time!  Where had his planner been all evening? Upstairs in his room.

Every day I sign his planner I try to sign something fun.  I really do not like signing the planner but I guess the teacher has to sign 28 or so of them every day so I can sign one once a day.  Today I wrote, "Super Late Moma".  I don't even think S1 noticed.

I sent S4 to the bathroom to wash his hands and I dropped his stuff off in his locker.  My happy boy I had left in the hallway walked into the classroom, head down, tears dripping from his eyes.  I glanced at his teacher "I'll try to fix this" I whispered as I grabbed his hand and headed to S3's class.

Some boys in the bathroom told S4 his hair looked funny.  I told him EVERYONE's hair looked funny when they took their hat off.  And then I worked on smoothing it down.

S3 was still high five-ing friends in the hallway and still had his boots and coat on.  I opened his back pack to put his things away and found - wadded in the bottom of his backpack - the homework he didn't tell me he had to do.  And, the homework he HAD done last night was not in the back pack.

Ugh.

Hugs and kisses to him and I literally shoved him on into class before he forgot and wandered off to meet us at S2's class.

S4 and I arrived at S2's class where he, Jonathan and Jakob met us at the door.  Every day these three meet us and I always take a moment to talk to them all.  But today we were so late and I always fear I may get them all in trouble so I reminded them how late they were.  They were not all concerned about this as they wanted to know where S3 was, wanted to show us their cool coins and needed to know what I was making for dinner.

I think nearly the whole school knows what we are having for dinner every day.

S4 and I got to giggling as we walked with super speed to his class.  I dropped a happier boy off to class and all seemed well with the world again.

When I went to start my suburban to leave the school, it just went 'tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic'.

My faithful suburban has never ever let me down.  Never once.

But amazing bus driver Mandy was there, and dear Alicia who's husband was home for the morning so I knew they would help me.  Mandy hopped in to fiddle with it and started the suburban right up.  I have no idea how.

But un-makeup-ed, little coffee-ed, hair uncombed, teeth still feeling the garlic bread of last night, me hugged her in all my joy at the soothing hum of my running suburban.

And so I drove home on our unsnowy roads to share this all with you.

In case you need a new excuse to be late to school - try the whole "Snow day" when you have NO snow excuse.

And - think of your friends close to you and be thankful for them.  Friends are treasures indeed.