4 Miles!!

I know it doesn't sound great for some, but to me it is huge. I ran 4 miles today (without stopping)! I haven't run that far since the summer of 2002. I even have a cold, it was only 12 degrees outside and there was fresh, slippery snow on the roads. Yes, I am bragging - I am quite proud of myself. That's 11 miles this week I ran. Next week the weather is supposed to be warmer so the jogging will be more enjoyable I think. I also discovered that I need new music on my ipod - Strawberry Shortcake's Christmas just isn't very motivational! Anyways, I have hit a new point and I'm excited. Now I am freezing cold so I am going to go take a hot shower to take the chill off.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

How about you, you, you? Have you heard that song? Well, today we got to go to the zoo. It was a beautiful day. We were out in our shirt sleeves and loving it. We even discovered a whole part of the zoo that we missed last time. There were giraffes, zebras, leopards, and penguins. We also saw the regulars - bears, tiger, wolves, monkeys, rhino, llamas, sleeping camels, etc... The kids can't wait until spring so we can go everyday!!

Something for me

As most of you know, being a mother involves selflessness, patience, joy, love, teaching, setting examples, and many more things. It's easy to get lost in all of the duties that goes along with motherhood. For me, even though I am putting myself aside for a greater cause, I find that I get farther and farther from my goal of being a good mother if I don't find time for me. Lately, especially since moving, I have not been able to find "me" time. I have felt my frustrations growing and growing to the point of becoming overwhelmed with all that goes on. Today though, I did one simple thing and it is amazing how much better I feel. Thanks to the help of Stacey and John, I got a new pair of shoes for Christmas/Valentines and today I went out for a run. It felt so good (not good as in pain free, but good as in uplifting) to be doing something that was just for me. All day long I have been happier and more patient - I even made it through a full bowl of cereal on the floor with a full cup of apple juice soon following without being annoyed. And now, even though I can't walk because my legs hurt, I feel better about me and in turn I feel better about my role as a mother.

Born with Tennessee in their Blood

My kids know that Tennessee is a special place and they get excited whenever they hear anything about Tennessee and Nashville. I was supposed to get them all Tennessee shirts when I went but since my trip got cancelled, Mom and Dad did me the favor of picking one out for each child and sending them to us. We got them in the mail Friday and the kids were so excited. So here's a picture of them in their new shirts. Olivia was kind of hiding behind her blanket so I got another one of her. As you can see, the "WILD" part fits her perfectly!

Floor Angels

The other night, Zeke was playing around and I was watching him. He would lay on the floor like he was making a snow angel. Then he would carefully get up, look at what he had done and then jump in the middle of it and mess it up (there really was nothing there. Our carpet isn't the kind that leaves marks or footprints or anything.) If anyone would come into that area where he was he would get really upset because they were messing it up. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was making floor angels. Then he proceeded to make another one and show it to me so I could see it (once again, nothing in sight). He was having tons of fun and stayed busy with his floor angels for quite some time. I had to get a picture of it. The pictures of course don't do justice to being there and watching the floor angels getting made but it's the best I could do! I even got to make a floor angel - sorry no pictures! Just think of how much fun this would be if our carpet actually left marks! We would be doing this all day. I guess when you run out of snow, you have to make do with what you have. After all, Maddi and Makenna always say "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" There you have it - wise words taken to heart by a 3 year old.

Busy Weekend

This weekend seemed to end before it began. We had a lot of fun. The Olsens stopped by Friday evening to visit for a little bit before they went to a show here in Sioux Falls. After they left, we watched High School Musical 3 and ate Subway sandwiches. Then the Olsens came back and picked up Maddi and Makenna for a sleep over. Saturday morning I got up and did the shopping before it got too busy. When I got home, Michael started painting the basement. I picked up where he had left off cleaning the house. Then I fed the kids, put Olivia down for a nap and went downstairs to help paint. We got everything painted and now it's ready for a second coat. It's looking really nice and I'm excited for it to get done. After we had finished painting, Olsens came with the girls. They left Josie and Claire with us while they went and did some errands. Michael took all the kids out to see the buffalo, llama, miniature donkeys and horses. They had a fun afternoon playing. Then later on Ben and Becky came to visit. While they were here Olsens came and picked up their girls. It was fun to have them around this weekend. I sure am missing all my friends from Hendricks. I think I am having a harder time adjusting than the kids! When Ben and Becky left, it was time to start dinner. After dinner I did laundry. Zeke and Olivia were playing downstairs and found some wet paint somewhere and made a mess on themselves. Michael got them in the bath, I washed their hair and Michael got them out. I finished the laundry and sat down and ate some Cadbury Mini Eggs - the best chocolate ever! Anyways, it was busy and seemed to go by quickly but it was fun. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little slower!

Little Voice Inside Your Head

Lately I have become aware of several of my shortcomings (I've known about them forever, I'm just more aware of them now). I have decided that I really need to focus on these shortcomings and overcome them. See, I have this perception of what I should be and when I fall short of that I lose patience with myself. That in turn, affects my family (children mostly) because then I am shorter on patience with them. It's really not their fault, it's mine, but they end up feeling the frustration that I feel. Anyways, I've decided that I really need to work on this and show my children more love and patience. Now I have this little voice in my head - no I don't actually hear a voice, but I certainly have strong thoughts. Every time I get on the kids for being short on patience or being grumpy, this little voice reminds me that they are probably doing it to each other because I have done it to one of them. It's like this constant reminder. Sometimes I appreciate it, but other times I wish it would go away. It has however, helped me realize how much I do need to change. Now in case any of you are worried about the welfare of my children, don't be. They are fine. It's not like I am constantly ripping them apart or putting them down, I am just realizing even more how much my actions form them. I see them doing to each other what they perceive me doing. I have realized how careful I need to be in my speech and actions, my voice tone, everything, because they are watching, learning and mimicking. When they feel my lack of patience or frustration, they take it in and then unload in a similar manner. As a result, I am learning to embrace the little voice inside my head and listen when it speaks.

A Relatively Good Night

Last night was the best night we've had for a few nights. The kids went to sleep almost immediately after their heads hit the pillow. Michael and I headed to bed around 10pm. Of course, not long after laying down, Olivia started coughing and wheezing and gagging. She woke up shortly after that. I gave her some cough medicine while Michael pinned her down (it's a 2 person job with her). Then she wanted me to hold her. Michael went back to bed and I stayed up with her hoping that she would settle down quickly so I could go back to bed too. After standing there with her for a little while I decided to see if steam would help her. The doctor had told me if I could turn on hot water in the bathroom and let it run for awhile to get the bathroom warm and steamy that might would help the dry cough so I did that. After the room was steamy, I turned off the water and the lights and we went into the bathroom and sat in the dark in the warm, wet air. It seemed to work. After about 10 minutes, she had calmed down and gone back to sleep. I put her to bed and she slept until about 6:45 this morning. Thank goodness! I don't do well with no sleep. Some moms can go night after night with just a little sleep and look so good and still behave properly. Not me, one night and I can't seem to function on a human level! Hopefully we are on the up side now and she will continue to get better.

Olivia

Quick update on Olivia. She is still the same. I took her to the doctor yesterday. He said it is a respiratory virus. They took her x-ray and her lungs look fine. Her oxygen levels were fine. It is just croup. She is on steroids to help with the inflammation. She slept horrible last night. Hopefully today will be better. Here are a few pictures of the kids. The girls got a new bunkbed this weekend. They are excited about that. Makenna lost her other front tooth so we had to get a picture. The others are just of the kids having fun.

Blessing Behind the Snow

As I mentioned in an ealrier blog, I did not get to go to Tennessee because of the snowstorm that hit Omaha. It was hard to stay home but I knew it wasn't worth the risk of driving in such bad conditions so I stayed home. Well, as I discovered last night, there was a blessing to this. Saturday during the night Olivia startred getting a little couhg. Sunday it got worse. By Sunday night she was having trouble breathing so we started giving her breathing treatments with her nebulizer and albuterol. She had a rough night and as I was sitting on the couch with her around 3:00 this morning I was so grateful that I was not in a hotel room in Nashville with no medicine for her. So despite the dissappointment of not being able to go, I am so glad I didn't. I am taking Olivia to the doctor this afternoon and hopefully we can get her some more relief. Sometimes, blessings come in very disguised packages.