A Day In The Life

I have been debating for two days about even mentioning this, and then debating what to call it. It was between a day in the life, or wish I had a camera! I decided to mention it since my kids can't quit talking about it!

I'm calling this post "A Day In The Life" because since we homeschool, we often get the most random questions about our days. I know people do wonder since it is a little against the grain. Let me start out by saying Tuesday was not a typical day (whatever that may be!) We started by leaving the house at 8:45 to go to the dentist. The boys all had appointments. We were up and at 'em and on time, a good start! No cavities, Kellen starts with the orthodontist next week for braces and they have decided Garrett needs to start as well. His poor mouth needs two-phase braces. I think I would have rather paid for a couple of cavities! Our friend Ryan came to observe since he had never been to the dentist and ended up being seen and did great, so we all went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Yes, it is lunch time by now.

Chick-Fil-A is our favorite and we have a new stand alone restaurant that has a playground. I don't normally let them play, too many kids, too crazy, I just can't stand it. But, we were a little early today and I had someone to visit with, so off they went. Callie had never been, but you wouldn't have known, she was right in the middle of everything! There was a big curvy slide, she started out coming down with Garrett, but by the time we left she came down by herself with the biggest grin on her face. You could hear her laugh echo through the tunnel of the slide, it was so funny! This is where I wish I would have had my camera. She loved it! I think Kellen was three before he would even go up in the first level of these toys. Callie is a very determined little thing! Of course it helps that she has three brothers looking out for her and helping her!

My windshield wipers had quit working out of the blue, so I called the car shop and they said I could bring it right in since there was a chance of rain all week. Let me just say that sitting at a car place is one of my least favorite things to do. I despise it. I usually try to work this out for Todd's day off so he can go. But, I knew the mechanic was right, windshield wipers really needed to be working. So, off we went. When we got there he said it would be an hour give or take. Now, they have a waiting room. Not the cleanest place to hang out. They have toys, also not the cleanest. There is a TV, always on the most random channel. I spend the whole time wondering if anyone is really watching this or if I should be brave and change the channel. Are you allowed to do this? They have vending machines. Do you know how many times in an hour four kids can ask for something from the vending machine? At least a million. And, it is impossible to sneak something for yourself in a little square room, even if your kids are busy playing with nasty toys. And last but not least, there is always at least one person having a strange conversation on their cell phone for everyone to hear. Do you see what I mean? Ugh! I can't stand it. So, I decided we would walk to the mall.

The mall is essentially across the street, if Kimberly road is a street. (Think NW expressway.) It wasn't freezing, but the wind was blowing. I bundled Callie up and we took off. No sidewalks, but we managed to maneuver the stroller through the grass and to the mall. Of course getting across the mall parking lot took as long as getting the mall. Up and down hills. At least now I wasn't feeling guilty about not getting up and walking on the treadmill that morning! My kids were about to die. Well, except Callie, who was laughing the whole time. Kellen was upset because he said he had good hair that day and it was now windblown! He said he was never leaving home without his spy comb again, or something like that. Some kind of gadget he had. They were just sure we were going to die. Kellen said he felt "HH", helpless and homeless. Then he decided we were like the Boxcar Children, so it was OK. I started to feel a little spoiled as we trudged along. So, of course mommy mode kicked in and I started telling the boys how blessed we were that we had a car to go back and get and then we would be able to go to our warm home, etc. We really don't have to walk anywhere. I wish we could more, but there is not really anything close enough to walk to from our house, except a hospital, and I really don't want to go there. I tried to make sure the kids understood that this was no big deal, we had something we wanted to do and we made it happen. Why not have an adventure every now and then? We laughed and laughed about what daddy would do if he saw us, I'm sure he would have pretended he didn't know us and just kept on driving!

What was really strange, as we were walking, still out by the street, there were bedrolls tied up in some trees. Do you think this belonged to some homeless people? It was really weird to think about. Right there in the middle of town, camping type stuff tied up in trees. It did help illustrate my sermon though. There are people that don't have any choice but to walk everywhere. I hope we can get out of our comfort zone more in the future. Our family is definitely blessed. God has provided more than we need and has given Todd the ability to provide these things for us. I hope I can convince my kids to remember this, so we don't take things for granted.

All in all a good day, not a typical day thank goodness! We didn't get home until 3:45, which is a long day for us. I wish I would have had my camera to document this day. I think days like this are just as important to our lives as the "big" camera days. Kids remember these things! They've talked about this more than going to New York! We got our car fixed and would you believe it still hasn't rained! Our weather people here are not Gary England, to say the least!

Yesterday, back to normal. Trying to get our school lessons finished before baseball season starts, at least most of them anyway. The boys are doing great in their subjects this year, I am very proud of them. This school year has been crazy with moving, but they have hung in there.

So that is a day in our life. At least I can say we never get bored around here!

Callie in her latest mama creation. I'm going to do something different at the top. I don't like that part. It's just a little "pillowcase" dress, there are a jillion variations so I think I can make it look a little better. But, at least she had something different to wear to church. I'm so ready for spring weather! I cannot get the girl to sit still for a picture. I tried to put her on the table, thinking she would not want to move. No such luck, she just climbed up and down the table and chairs like it was a game.