Drama, Drama....

I am NOT Superwoman.

But, if I WAS....I found my krypotnite.

Laryngitis.

Please tell me how a mom of three super-energetic-beans who cannot call in sick to work is supposed to parent and keep said beans from killing themselves without a VOICE!!!

I will tell you how.....

Charades. 

And hand-clapping. LOTS of hand-clapping.

This morning I woke up with a wicked sore throat....an achy body...and absolutely no ability to speak above a whisper. (And no appetite...which is exceptionally weird for a pregnant lady) Anyway, I guess my dramatic abilities were getting rusty and God thought this was as good a way as any to get me practicing. It is also AMAZING how well these children of mine CAN listen...when all I can do is whisper (barely) they are quiet as little mice! And I don't have to repeat ANYTHING. 

How can that be???????!!!!!

Unfortunately for them, they have now shown me what they are capable of....bring on some big changes when the voice comes back! HA!

Today I have been made acutely aware of two things:

I talk. A LOT. A LOT.

 and

God has a serious sense of humor.

Copyright 2010

The Flip-side...

Ahhhh, phone calls from My-deployed-Love.....

They are wonderful.

They are horrible.

They remind me of everything I love about him...of every single space in my day that is empty. 

We had the treat of 3 times to Skype over the past 2 days and it was truly a treat! But it made me re-miss him anew.

I don't have any great wisdom in this area. I don't have any brilliant quotes. I just have what I've experienced...and nobody really talks about the flip-side of the phone call...but I must. The phone calls leave me happy and sad and encouraged and overwhelmed.

And I am reminded of one constant - Deployment is hard. 

It is hard on those left at home. It is hard on those away. While each of us copes, and deals, and manages - what else can we do?? - it doesn't make the daily challenge less of a challenge. I honestly struggle with the fact that I often go through a day and don't miss My Love - I haven't the energy or time! I can't be walking around falling to pieces - I have 3 little ones relying on me for stability...and one little one relying on me for everything....so I compartmentalize. "I'll think about it tomorrow." I say to myself.

I choke back the tears when String Bean prays for Daddy...or Jumping Bean wants to take her daddy blankie with her everywhere she goes....or Bitty Bean buries her face in her daddy pillow to give him kisses goodnight. 

And honestly, I'm scared. I'm scared if I were to REALLY start to cry...I wouldn't stop. And I know that would not be right.

So I will cry a few tears at a time...I will remember that God has a plan for our family  - and He will give us the strength to get through wherever He leads us - and I will remember that difficulty...challenge...pain....is not a horrible thing. 

There's always a flip-side.

Copyright 2010

Is that Fruity???

You want to know what brings my children utter joy?

Cleaning.

Yes. I am dead serious. These Beans were BEGGING - seriously - begging me to help clean the house today....nothing brought them joy like getting to stand on the sink and Windex the mirror. Jumping Bean had the treat of dusting....a chore she sang her way through! And String Bean vacuumed their room for me!

I seriously love those little people.

And yes, I am aware that a light bulb needs to be changed....just add it to my "to do" novella.

It appears the constant discussions on the Fruit of the Spirit (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control Galatians 5:22-23) are really sinking in. 

We've been seeking to apply the fruits in our every-day actions, interactions, and observations. (Nothing like actively applying Truth!)  From analyzing the characters in a book -such as Belle vs. The Beast; to assessing a fit of anger; to figuring out what those attributes look like - for REAL; we have been learning quite a lot.

It has really helped the attitude in the house level out. 

Mommy included.  

I am not off the hook in these discussions, unfortunately.

Just like when they snatch a toy, pitch a fit, or leave a job unfinished (not showing - love, kindness, self-control, or faithfulness) ... Mommy sins as well. When I raise my voice and yell at them - I am lacking self-control, kindness, gentleness, patience, and love. When I don't take my time to answer their questions - I am lacking patience, kindness, and faithfulness. There are plenty of examples of my failure to exhibit these qualities....so I'll just leave it there for now!  

Feel free to read...pretty much any other post, to see proof of my sinful nature!

So now the question we all ask each other is this: 

"Is that a fruity thing to do?" 

Then we giggle, recite the verses, and seek to be more of a home filled with the Spirit.

Copyright 2010

There Will Be Blood...

So the running joke in military families...is ON military families.

"The Curse" of a deployment if you will - everything that CAN go wrong, Will go wrong.

I was thinking to myself today how I had somehow managed to escape that "curse"...I mean, I have put my key in the ignition and every day my Suburban has started. (Don't fail me now!) My washing machine and dryer are still functioning at peak condition. No broken bones. No hospital visits. No major illnesses. But then I thought about it a little more....and realized I have had a touch of that joke played on me....I've just been too busy to notice!

So here's the running tally:

Bitty Bean: 

Bit an almost-complete hole through her tongue...in two areas.
Has already cut through EIGHT teeth since My Love left...and is working on two more.
Fell into a corner of a wall and had a large bump on her head.
Nose bleed that gushed and gushed and gushed....it was awful!
Explosive Diarrhea. (Need I say more??)

Jumping Bean:
Busted her lip when she fell into the leg of a chair.
Bit a large chunk out of her lip while trying to launch a shopping cart (For the record: they don't launch.) it swelled so much she couldn't eat that night
Jumped on bed...landed wrong...blood exploded out of mouth. All sheets and mattress pad had to be changed.
Fell down FIVE stairs.
Fell into the corner of a wall and had a goose egg the size of a goose egg.
Fell out of the tub and hit her face on the toilet...three bites on the inside of her lip, one deep gash in her tongue...OH THE BLOOD!!!
Explosive Diarrhea

String Bean:
Vomit.
Fell up the stairs and caused a swollen knee.
Fell down 8 stairs...no injuries that we could tell.
Fell off bike and skinned both knees. 
Explosive Diarrhea
Hearing Loss from all of her sisters' crying.

Myself:
Flooded Laundry Room
Locked Keys in Car
Forgot what not-to-eat...and got to throw up because of it.
Bitty Bean smacked her head into my lip...now I look like I lost some kind of fight.
Electricity knocked out more times than I can remember.


So, while the major things listed in the first paragraph haven't happened....I'd say we've had our fair share of little mishaps! I mean it has only been 7 1/2 weeks!!! 

A couple things I have learned in all this:

I still really, really, really don't like blood....but I'm getting better at handling it. 

Oxi-clean can get blood out of ANYTHING...currently my most used product...well, after toilet paper.

God has a sense of humor....do you know how much head/face wounds bleed?? Even when they are superficial??? An exorbitant amount. Really.

And the most important thing? 

Pregnancy is cake compared to what they can dish out when they are on the outside!

Copyright 2010

How do you know......

You are an utterly exhausted mommy?

You fall asleep on the couch for 30 minutes while all children are WIDE awake.

Yep.

Apparently the freak-of-nature-heat-wave we experienced today just sucked all my energy out. And replaced it with massive amounts of swelling in my legs. Fun times.

So, in an attempt to relocate my ankle bones...I settled into "the spot" on the couch...propped my feet up on pillows....called all beans to surround me....and proceeded with story time. After story time (which involved Robin Hood being read for the nine-millionth time this month, among other stories) the Beans climbed down....and I rested my eyes.

For 30 minutes. 

Really.

I completely passed out!

How do I know this? Because when I woke up...I was covered from head to toe in toys. And stuffed animals. The Beans had been playing Doctor to Mommy...and I just slept through it!! I had Jumping Bean in my face listening to my heart with her pretend stethoscope...and String Bean at my feet counting my toes and making sure all was where it belonged.

What a way to wake up! 

I just can't believe that no one injured themselves...or decided that was the perfect time to raid the stash of Hershey kisses in the freezer! 

Copyright 2010

Cocoa Bean Moments....

Well, I know I just posted a Cocoa Bean Moment, like, yesterday...but another one happened today!! Go figure.

First - confession: (It's good for the soul, right?) I've been sleeping in. I have been ignoring my alarm clock for about 5 days now...and it is great!!! I fully intend to go back to my early rising ways soon...but at the moment this boy bean won't let me go to sleep until 11....so I sleep until 7. Ah. Happiness.

Second - the moment. This morning (since I was lazy) I woke up to 3 little faces by my bedside.

Beautiful faces. Best way EVER to wake up. Anyway...they were not so very happy when they stumbled into my room. All three were wearing very sad faces...and String Bean was even on the edge of tears. They all asked  if they could snuggle bug with me...and, of course, I said yes. Then began the discussion of why they were sad....

They all missed Daddy.

String Bean was hugging her Daddy pillow...Jumping Bean was clinging to her Daddy blankie...

The first thing String Bean said was "Can this be the day Daddy comes home?"

Jumping Bean said "I know he loves us far far away...but can he love us here too?"

And Bitty Bean kept saying "Daddy! Daddy!" and looking for him. 

Broke my heart.

So, as I always do when we face the sadness, we talked about what we miss about Daddy. 

Here is what they miss...

Everything.

BUT 

String Bean doesn't miss spankings.

AND 

Jumping Bean doesn't miss his stinky toots.

And I laughed. Oh, I laughed until my sides hurt. And my day started beautifully. Full of cuddles, tears, laughter, and moments that cannot be recreated. 

Copyright 2010

Little sweet things....

As I was scrubbing the bathroom today...this nesting thing is definitely making my house spic and span!...I looked at my "Jewelry organizer" on our bathroom sink. This metal piece has a bit of history to it...

For our 2nd anniversary, My Love was extremely creative. (He had to be since we had a 6 week old!) He had returned from sea just before String Bean was born and wanted to celebrate this milestone in a special way.

So, he kicked me out of the house.

For just the afternoon.

(Please forgive the crumbs and water stains...I forgot to take a "before" picture!)

And when I returned, our front porch had been transformed into a beautifully romantic dinner setting for two. He had coordinated with two of his friends - who just happened to be AMAZING chefs - and we had one of our best dates ever. He had found flowers similar to the ones in my bouquet to place on the table...he found a purple runner like what was used at our reception...and he placed a beautiful metal candle centerpiece in the middle of the table to top it all off.  

It was perfect.

I'm sorry to say for a couple years that centerpiece was sitting in a box buried away...we didn't have a table big enough for a centerpiece...I didn't know what to do with it...and it just felt a little too fancy for every day.

But one day as I was trying to figure out a way to keep my jewelry organized and not in a knotted mess in a bag...I remembered this piece. I hunted around. Dug it out. And realized - just because it was MADE to be a table centerpiece or candle holder...it didn't have to stay that way!

So now, every day when I pick a necklace or put on ear rings...I get to remember this act of love and attention he showed to me. 

 And I smile. And remember exactly what it is I love about this man...All the little moments that make a life wonderful.

(If you like any of the flower hair clips - you MUST check out Poppie Lane!)

Copyright 2010