Cabinning at Crabtree falls

Over the weekend of July 4th we took a family vacation to the Cabins at Crabtree Falls  between Charlottesville, and Lynchburg, Virginia - pretty much smack dab in the middle of wilderness.  We called what we did "cabinning" because although it was in the woods - we did have indoor plumbing, so we didn't think it right to call it camping.  
For this family with 3 city dwelling girls, it was as rustic as we'll be able to handle for a while!  (We stayed in Annie's Cabin and it was perfect!)  Our activities planned included swimming in the river, hiking to the top of Crabtree falls, roasting marshmallows, exploring, and just being together. 
 We did indeed hike most of the trail to the top of the falls - we made it 1.1 miles out of the 1.7. Canaan hiked almost the entire way!!!  Jonathan carried Lena in a backpack, I carried Taylor in a backpack (both were made for carrying children!), and Canaan carried lunch in a backpack.  She was such a trooper.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful...we took pictures - but they seem to have been eaten by the computer.
 However, the highlight of the hike for the girls (and I mean Canaan and Lena) was when they had to go to the bathroom.  They thoroughly enjoyed learning how to "go in the woods" and I think they determined to hold it until they could go outside the rest of the weekend!  They are now educated on the finer points of where to put your feet and how to go off the trail.
More on the rest of the experience later....It was full of excellent stories!

Copyright 2010

Exhausted thoughts from a random mommy...

Exhausted thoughts from a random Mommy.....Random thoughts from an exhausted Mommy!

Today over breakfast I was explaining to my beans that a dear friend would be having her baby today (!) and this is the response from Canaan: "Ouch! That's so painful. Poor thing.  Man, now its a lot of trouble to do all the workouts to lose the weight so you're not fat. I guess kids are a lot of work, huh?"
As I tried to recover from the orange juice that was snorted up my nose, I realized she at least has an accurate picture of the whole ordeal!  (By the way, a healthy baby girl was born and joins her two big sisters!!)

The other day Lena got in trouble for BITING Canaan...on the lip. (Surprise - I had just gotten in the shower when they both came running to me crying) Anyway, after I corrected Lena, she needed to go tell Canaan she was sorry.  So off she plodded - with all the earnestness in her apology of a rock. (We will work on that part later....at least we got the words out. The first time!) Canaan wrapped her arms around Lena and said, "It's okay Lena. We just need to pray for you to be more like Jesus. Like me."  (We will work on her humility also!)

Tonight as I was tucking the girls into bed it was time to "talk to Jesus" and this was Lena's prayer: "Thank you God for Blue. (I'm assuming the color) Thank you for Lauren. (The wonderful woman who watched her today!) Thank you for goldfish. and Taylor. Not Canaan. (Opened one eye to peek at me to see my reaction...quick closed it back shut.) Okay, thank you for Canaan too. Aaaaaa-men."

Canaan, not to be outdone: "Dear Jesus, thank you for my two very good sisters, and the baby in mommy's belly.  Please help them to grow and love you like I do. Especially Lena. Help her attitude to be good tomorrow so she's not a trouble to mommy. (Opened her eyes and looked at me. Saw the raised eyebrows and cocked head. Closed eyes.) Okay, God, help me to have a good attitude too and be loving and kind...even to Lena. Amen."
Apparently I need to oversee their relationship a bit more!



Copyright 2010

Mommy's Law....(my personal take on Murphy's Law)

It seems there are a few things one can always count on as a mom...in an effort to help prepare those who have yet to experience motherhood I thought I would outline the top 3.  (For those of you who have been hiding under a rock - Murphy's Law states "if a piece of buttered toast falls to the floor it will always land buttered-side down," and other such facts of life.)

1.  The sound of the shower head being turned on is a clear and universal signal for extreme pandemonium. It does not matter if the whole reason Mom was getting in the shower was because all children were either happily occupied, or blissfully asleep. Oh no - regardless of their pursuits prior to Mom being wrapped in a towel (or actually dripping with water), once she is in that state she had better hustle.

 For example: During my shower today: Taylor woke up screaming from her "nap" (15 minutes into it!), Lena decided to bite Canaan, and Canaan realized her world would collapse if her hair was not styled for the day in the next 2 minutes.  Thankfully, I have learned how to shower swiftly (Courtesy of a father who would turn off the hot water if we exceeded our time limit; and a husband who has trained me in the art of the "boot camp" shower).  Enjoy those long showers/baths now.....I hear I will get to take my time again one day....but at the moment my one shaved leg testifies now is not that time. 

2. The sound of Mommy saying "hello" on the phone is a clear and universal sign for pandemonium. Yes, I am aware I am somewhat repeating myself - but it doesn't matter. I have gone and locked myself in the laundry room for a few moments (after making sure the children would be safe of course! Loud, but safe.) so I could sound like I wasn't running a zoo while talking to our bank.

Yesterday we were driving along and everyone was amazingly quiet - Lena was calmly humming "Give thanks to the Lord," Canaan was working on her imaginary laptop with her pretend cellphone jammed between her shoulder and her ear consoling someone, and Taylor was sleeping.  I thought (incorrectly) that would be a perfect moment to call the dentist office to move Canaan's appointment.  Literally the moment they picked up the phone - Lena kicked the seat, which made Canaan drop her phone, Canaan yelled at Lena, Lena started crying, Taylor woke up, Taylor started crying, and I just hung up the phone.  Word to the wise - lower the number of minutes you have on your cell phone. You won't be able to use it.  

3. Your off-hand remarks you don't want the children to hear will not only be heard, but repeated. Constantly. Everywhere. Speak carefully.

 Here goes my embarrassment... the other day the lone male of our home did a stereotypically manly thing and followed it up with "Oh. There's my butt trumpet."  (I laughed too - go ahead)  Unfortunately, our 3 girls were climbing on him at the time of the comment and they thought it was HILARIOUS.  So - every time they pass gas they say, "Hmmmm, I trumpeted!" Or, "Was that in tune?" Or, "My butt trumpet is very loud."  (Yes, yes, I know it is indeed funny)  It wouldn't be so horrible if they just said it at home - but they say it everywhere!  And my girls have some stomach issues....so they say it a lot.  Looks like people will be warning their children NOT to hang out with those Poitevint girls!

More will be added to this list later....do you have any of your own??

Copyright 2010

Pay back will be sweet!

I've determined that there is no need for me to ever become "cool," "hip," "modern," or "stylish."  Maybe after my children are finished being easily-humiliated-teenagers....but definitely not before.  They have made me bury my red face in my hands too many times to deserve an easy pass later in life.  These children have an uncanny ability for public embarrassment...of their mother.  Don't believe me??

Case #1

Jumping Bean, aka Lena Marie: This particular offspring is in process of potty training (success for 1 week!!!) and is INORDINATELY proud of wearing her big girl panties. Potty training girls is much easier in a dress...sooo she is constantly lifting her dress over her head and wiggling her bum to show off her panties!  Not such a bad thing at home.  But at church??? In front of a large group of older men??? Seriously - who is responsible for this behavior?!

Case #2

Jumping Bean, aka Lena Marie:  The other day I was sitting on the floor and Lena sauntered right up to me, cocked her bum into my face, smacked it, (yes, SMACKED it!) and said, "Check this out" with a know-it-all slant to her head.
I said, "Check what out?"
Lena, exasperated, "Mommy! My Bum! Check it out."
I was trying - in vain - to stifle laughter, "Okay Beana, duly noted."
Lena, "It is a BE-A-U-TIFUL bum. God made it beautiful."
Where do these things come from?!

Case #3

String Bean, aka Canaan Lee: This one has taken to asking the most difficult questions lately....(fun ones like....."Mommy, how did the new baby get in your belly?"  I answered, "God was gracious and put baby there." Bullet dodged.)
 Or yesterday she asked "Do people know when they will die"
"No, Canaan, no one knows when they will die"
"Well, then what is everyone waiting for?  Everybody needs to ask Jesus into their heart right away!"
And then today she asked her vocabulary-loving-scientifically-challenged-mother, "Mommy, how does your brain tell your mouth what to say?" (Seriously!)
I gave the most basic explanation I could....and promised to ask one of the more knowledgable people at church to explain it to her. We asked. They answered - beautifully. Perfectly.  Another bullet dodged.

Case #4

String Bean, aka Canaan Lee:  Last night we were at a friends house for a cookout and they have horses.  Well, my girls are not well-acquainted with how to behave around a horse....and they chased a cat THROUGH the horse corral! Yes. That's right. My 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old ran into a horse's corral chasing a cat practically under the horse's nose!  When I was able to steady my voice enough to explain why we don't do...anything they did....I said "Horses are big. If they get scared they could run over you or kick you. They are so big they could kill you!"  (They needed a healthy dose of fear.)
Canaan looked at me with widest, most innocent eyes and said, "Oh! That would be wonderful!  Then we could meet Jesus!"
Obviously, her understanding of Biblical things is maturing...her grasp of why Mommy is visibly aging, however, is nonexistent.

Thankfully, Taylor doesn't talk yet...but once it starts.....

Copyright 2010

Did you find my dignity at the Commissary???

Today was Commissary day...our cupboards were bare and needed replenishment.  I have not had an episode with my beans in the store in a long time - so I guess I was due.  (I recall one particular trip in Pensacola where Canaan started pitching a record of a fit and I earnestly looked around and said "Little girl, where is your Mommy??"  It shocked and confused her so much she stopped wailing.)  Unfortunately,  my megaphone-crier-drooling-Lena is not so easily dissuaded from her quest for publicly humiliating her mother.
Please picture the following...
Chilly bean riding happily in the snugli on Mama's chest, chubby toes kicking away; Jumping bean riding in the "car cart" (genius invention) singing songs about Jesus; String bean also riding in the "car cart" steering the cart very carefully down the aisle. All beans were behaving so beautifully, I doled out some candy treats. (Points for being a good mommy, right? Not so much.)  Lena was playing with her candy - instead of keeping it in her mouth as I had instructed - and dropped it on the floor.
Suddenly the joy was sucked out of the general vicinity. Wailing, crying, tears, and a general gnashing of teeth immediately followed my announcement that no candy would be replacing the lost piece.  After numerous people started to walk down the aisle and then promptly decided they didn't really need any paper products; I was able to steer the cart towards the bathrooms. Canaan stayed in the mostly-loaded cart to stand watch. (Those car-carts are a hot commodity - once I get one I don't let it go!!) Off to the bathroom I carried my oh-so-very-strong 2 1/2 year old (horizontally on my hip - enabling her kicking legs to not make contact with me or Taylor) and prepared for battle.
There are moments that I need to be reminded of the Fruits of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control Gal. 5:22-23) and I found myself repeating them over and over in my head to keep calm. (It also gave me something to focus on that wasn't the pitying looks of other shoppers!)  Unfortunately, when we entered the bathroom, all three stalls were occupied. Of course. So we had to wait for the handicapped stall to come available - we can't all fit in one of the skinny stalls!  Hallelujah - the handicapped stall has a kid-keeper seat that I was able to stow Taylor in for the battle that was yet to come. Lena - who can be summed up as Passionate - knew discipline was about to occur and did not feel like suddenly becoming a compliant child. Instead she theatrically threw herself onto the public bathroom floor and started flailing. And continued with the crying that had started in the aisle. It was a thing to behold. (Preferably by someone else's child)  I was - miraculously - able to keep my voice calm and level. Taylor was not. Lena's crying scares Taylor (it scares me at times too!) so Taylor was sobbing away as well.  I waited until someone flushed and then Lena had a swift swat on the bum.  That did NOT quell the crying. It may have managed to increase it. So, she was dead set on getting a 2nd spanking for her fit about the spanking. Thankfully, she managed to pull it together, I was able to calm Taylor, and we all washed our hands.  We made it back out to the cart...loaded the Jumping bean in... and proceeded back to the aisle to get the toilet paper we needed. Unfortunately, that was the scene of the lost candy. Lena was barely able to keep her emotions in check...her raspy breathing and periodic sniffles gave testimony to her hard work at not losing it again.
All I could think through it all was this... One day we will have an 18 year old, a 16 year old, a 14 year old, and a 13 year old... at least 3 will be girls...oh the emotions we will experience then!!!  I guess this should just count as training for the future!
Copyright 2010

Dreams vs. Reality

Amid all the high school graduation parties this week, I was struck by the realization of 10 years passing since that event occurred for me! In the past 10 years my life has gone absolutely..... NOTHING like I thought it would. At all.  When I graduated high school I had full intentions of not only getting my bachelors degree in Communications, but continuing to get my Masters (and possibly a Doctorate!) in Speech Pathology.  I planned to live in a largish city, have my own apartment, work, and enjoy the freedom of being a 20 something single woman. Marriage was on the far horizon...maybe I'd have 2 children by the time I was 35. Or not.  I was happy to plan an unencumbered life not around a man or children and do whatever I wanted.  HA!
For those of you who don't know me well, here is a brief synopsis of what actually has happened in this particular life...
I do not have my bachelors degree...obviously the next levels of education have not occurred.  I have 2 1/2 years (or so) of college completed - and have absolutely no idea when I will finish it off.  I did, in fact, live in an apartment, work, and enjoy my freedom.... for 5 months.  Then I met my hot stuff husband!  Marriage suddenly became top priority - I wasn't gonna let a hottie like him get away!!  So, just a few months after turning 21 - I became a wife.  Then at 23 - baby #1 was born, 25 - baby #2, 27 - baby #3, and 28 will be baby #4!  My life has been a bit different than I dreamed!
The amazing thing about youthful dreams is this - you don't always know yourself well enough to know what you really do want!  (Some people do....I envy that!)  But for the rest of us late bloomers, our dreams change as we age and learn more about life.  Does that make the dreams bad?  Or does that make reality bad?  I would have to say NO - on both questions.  Dreaming - hoping - about the future is something I still love to do....I've just learned that I'm probably waaaay off!  My reality is nothing like I thought it would be... it is soooo much better!  (And a ton more exhausting!)  I wouldn't trade my sloppy baby kisses and dirty shoulders from toddler tears for any business suit or heels.  Are there days I would like to sleep in? Yep.  But every day is such a gift!  I feel blessed beyond measure to get to live this life.  Langston Hughes asked in "A Dream Deferred"


What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.Or does it explode?

I'd like to venture that it doesn't do any of those options above... I think it can grow into something beautiful - even more wonderful than what the original dream was.  Life doesn't have to be easy to be great - suffering allows you to realize the depth of joy possible in a life.  

I can't wait to see what my dreams change into over the next 10 years....

Copyright 2010

Losing my mind...again

     While standing in the card section of the Navy Exchange yesterday, I had a bit of a breakdown. I was looking through the Father's day cards (Coming up THIS Sunday) and just started crying. Standing there in the aisle looking at the cards I couldn't see straight because I was crying so hard about "You are the love of my life - I knew you'd be a great Dad" and "When we started on this journey, I had no idea how much more deeply I could love you" and "Dad, if you were a booger, I'd pick you." Seriously!? I was standing there overwhelmed with love for my husband - and excessive hormones coursing through my body - and just had to sob. Loudly. Unfortunately, I was not alone in the aisle. There was an elderly couple to my right inspecting birthday cards... and I think this slightly unhinged woman unnerved them. (Considering it was in a military store - who knows why I was crying!? My husband could be deployed or could have passed away, and that would be the cause for my waterworks.) So this kind elderly woman leans over to her husband and attempts to whisper...unsuccessfully..."We need to get out of here - that woman is LOSING IT!" Before they could shuffle away, I turned to them and said apologetically "I'm sorry for crying. I'm pregnant." They both looked at me sympathetically, shared a knowing a smile, and then returned to their cards. 
      Somehow, that moment of meltdown was totally okay - all because I'm pregnant!  I am even trying my hardest to keep it together and not be a basket case (My 3 girls really do need a stable mommy!)  but without fail... I cry everyday. At least twice.  It is insane!  I watched a re-run of Glee last night and cried through the song from Les Miserables "I Dreamed a Dream." (Of course, if you don't cry during that song, I don't think you have a soul.)  For the record, my husband didn't cry. Apparently, he is like Chuck Norris.  His tears could cure cancer - but he's never cried.   I'm chalking up Jonathan's lack of emotion to not knowing the heartbreaking story of Fantine and Jean ValJean and Cosette.
   Anyway, it looks like today will be a good day...I've been awake for 2 hours and haven't cried yet!
Copyright 2010