Wednesday Love

Today I loved:

• Cowboy boots

• Daddy's Girl request that I help with her Wednesday night group

• Sunshine not peeing in her bed

•  Phone calls

•  The sound of late night rain

•  Being told I look "tastic"

•  Getting crap up in the attic where it belongs

•  Clean countertops

•  Organized rooms

•  Goldfish-shaped bread

•  Quiet

The truth about this summer

This summer will not go down in the history of our Tribe as the most stellar of all summers. 

To be honest, it kind of was crummy. 

Not because we didn't do some fun stuff or because anything new and crummy happened, just because it was very stagnant.

There was (and is) no new word on the employment front.  We continued this summer to "actively wait" for God to shine some light on "the meaning of it all."  But alas, He has not.

This summer Mr. Wonderful and I also decided that it would be best for me to go back to work, and, for the first time since I have had kids, this did not completely destroy me.  So I began the job search alongside my husband.  And I truly believe that one of the reasons God brought me to this point was to create in me some level of grace and compassion for what Mr. Wonderful has been going through. 

Agh!

Job searching pretty much stinks.  Finding jobs, applying for jobs, interviewing for jobs, getting those company-logo-embossed letters from jobs telling you that you didn't get the job...it is exhausting and deflating to say the least.  And I am still not employed. 

So it was a summer of passing the time as cheaply as possible while waiting for something...anything, to happen.

And yelling.  A lot.

I realized that all my chipper attitude the first seven months of this journey was due in part to the fact that we stay so busy that I was too distracted to get down.  But summer, like a nosey neighbor, looked in every nook and cranny and nasty dark place in my heart and exposed it.  I was angry, depressed, grumpy and self-absorbed.  And I didn't care.

And then curiously, all of the sudden, my bad mood lifted.

School began. 

Activities were back in full swing.

The promise of weekends full of grilled fatty meat and melted cheese mixed with anything from a can suddenly soothed the savage beast.

I am again...distracted.  And I love it. 

I am back in a good place where I can honestly say that although we have only prospects of employment and our income does not match our expenses...God is good.  I am at peace with it, and I am amazed all the time at how God comes through in the most amazing ways to say, "I have not forgotten, nor will I ever forget you."

He has a plan, and it is beyond my understanding.  (Big shock, Him being God and me...not.)  It makes no sense to me whatsoever how my brilliant husband has not been snatched up to work in a career he is so gifted in (although I am very grateful for the work he does have, especially since it has created some lovely biceps-just sayin'.)  And it is beyond me why when I am ready and willing to work and have had interviews for jobs I am perfect for, I am still unemployed.  And it is just unbelievable to me that a family of five can exist for this long on so little and yet have full cabinets, refrigerator and freezer at all times. 

I can't wait to see what God has in store, because what He has been doing is unfathomable. 

Looking for input

This has been a crazy-busy few weeks since I last posted.  Mr.  Wonderful is still on the job hunt.  I am now on the job hunt.  Summer is on its final lap and life is just in general...nuts!

In the midst of getting back into my former life of sales/marketing/communications, I have realized that I am going to have to stop fighting Twitter. 

I have stayed away for fear that my children might not even get fed if I take up one more past time.  However,  it looks like this Twitter thing might actually catch on, and it would probably behoove me to get on board.

So, as you know, when you twitter you much come up with a username. 

For me, this is a big deal.  Since it will be tied in with this blog, I don't want to use my name (for privacy sake).  I don't want to sound like a hillbilly, I'm not one of those gridiron-graduates who names their children after the school mascot and I hate to say it, but my entire identity is not just my (albeit very important and precious) role as a mother.

So Mr. Wonderful and I have labored over what my eternal username will be.  Which made me look at this blog.  @awomanamanandaminivan is just too long!  And anyway, I'm not completely crazy about the name, layout or format. 

Here is where you come in.  I need to know from you the readers and/or fellow bloggers.  Is it too late to change the name of my blog and my identity?  Is that like death to a blog?  I'm a pretty small blog after all. 

Your thoughts?

I didn't know laminate came in extra crunchy

An absolute fact of the parenting universe is that normal household items take on a new texture and look post-children.

My floors.
Crunchy. 
That's right.  And all you parents of pre-schoolers are living it and those of you who have already raised your little ones are having flashbacks just reading this.

Goldfish, graham crackers and, of course, Cheerios.  God bless them.

You get up to make your coffee and feel that crunch under your feet and you don't even have to look.
You know that what was 2 seconds ago a simple "lean over and pick up", is now a "get out the broom or dust buster."

No matter how much I sweep or vacuum, it is all in vain as my toddlers, like modern-day Hansel & Gretel, leave a trail of whatever snack they were consuming throughout the house.

I've tried to fight it, but I am convinced it is a battle I just won't win.  And they know it too, those little orange fish.  That's why they are smiling.

Marketing sells

(Disclaimer:  This is a post I wrote a month or so ago.)


We have all seen the commercials.

And ladies, I'm going to tell you that is pretty much how it goes. 
Can I get a witness?
I can survive all day on a banana and cup of yogurt,
but when the kiddos go to bed and I'm left alone in front of the TV,
oh mercy! 

Got.
To.
Snack.

Well, I happened to have a coupon for Special K
and they were BOGO this week at Publix,
so I took a shot at it and I will say...pretty stinkin' good.

I mean, the chocolate doesn't taste just like chocolate, but the flakes are crunchy, sweet
and just chocolaty enough to get me over my craving.
I love to eat it without milk because, well, it lasts longer
and I need my snack to last through the entire show or at least 3/4 of my movie (testify?).  

So this little snack has captured my heart.
For about 120-150 calories I can munch away and not go to bed feeling completely defeated. 
Now I just need extra coupons,
because I have a feeling that this affection
is not going to wane anytime soon.
(hint, hint Kellogg's)