I Will Survive

Spring Break has begun for the kids! I didn't know how I would handle it, especially having been at home with them without a break all weekend while Boyfriend was away.
So far today I have been able to:
Sleep in till 7:30am.
Go through the kids' clothes to figure out what they need to summer.
Read to #3 without falling asleep.
Shower at 1:30pm.
Make a yummy lunch that ALL the kids ate and enjoyed.
Reuse torn pants for #1 to now use as shorts.
Use above mentioned pants to also create and sew and adorable purse for #1.
Endure (without laughing mind you) #1 doing interpretive dance while listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber.
And the days not over! We still need dinner, FHE, and a yummy treat involving crepes and Nutella.
I hope your Spring Break has started as fabulously as mine!!

"I Feel The Need..."

...The need for CAPRIS!
I've never been much of a "shorts" person, but I love capris. What's the problem, you ask?
I don't have any! I used to and then they all grew too big for me and now I need to go shopping (boo hoo). Any ideas of places to find some?

It is in the thirties that we want friends ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Boyfriend is out of town. When he is gone I have a very difficult time sleeping. I just don't feel tired. Maybe I am nervous about being the only adult? Or maybe the idea of being in bed alone just isn't appealing? In any case I didn't get to bed till after 1am (which, incidentally means I had 4 1/2 hours of sleep, but that's a whole 'nother topic!)
Since I couldn't sleep I stayed up and watched "Miss Potter," it just happened to come in the mail when I could watch a nice girly movie, while finishing 2 baby quilts. In the movie Beatrix Potter becomes, as #1 put it so eloquently recently, "fast friends" with her publisher's/lover's sister. When they met the sister said "I have decided you and I will be friends!"
I also read a friend's blog recently when her daughter made friends very quickly with another little girl because she said she was cute!
I only wish I could make friends that easily!!
And in trying to figure out my difficulty, I will use this blog as my therapy (it would be much more comfortable lying on a couch though!)
It takes me a while to open myself up to people and be okay with not being perfect around them. Yet, another issue stemming from my OCD! And, recently it seems, when I finally get to that point of trust, they just move! And I have to start all over again with trusting others.
Lately I have been looking at others as assets in my life. I try to decide what each specific person has to teach me. Maybe there is some reason God put them in my path. And I need to figure out what I can learn from them. That way, even if they do move, I have felt the benefit of there presence in my life and can move on without regrets.
But I want to know what your secrets are? How do you make friends quickly? How do you judge who would be a good friend? Do you have many close friends? How do you maintain those relationships despite busy families, work, etc?
An another note...and speaking of friends...today is Fred Roger's birthday!! Happy Birthday Neighbor.

Taking Notice

This morning I did not want to get out of bed. #4 is sick and wasn't sleeping well due to coughing (that's a new symptom) and a stuffy nose (couldn't breathe). And Boyfriend and I were taking turns helping him get back to sleep. But, that doesn't mean that when it wasn't my turn I wasn't awake! So after reluctantly climbing out of bed and waking the kids I had to get started on my day.

Being the crazy woman I am (lets face it...I have issues!) I prefer to have beds made, dirty dishes in the dishwasher, kitchen and dining room wiped down and clean, and the rest of the house straightened up before I leave to take the kids to school at 7:15am. Because we woke up a little late this morning I didn't have time to unload the dishwasher to pile the breakfast dishes in. And being a person who likes to blame others I immediately (in my head) start grumbling about Boyfriend not helping out in the morning and taking off so early for work that he can't do something as simple and helpful as unloading the darn dishwasher!!

So, when I had four minutes to spare before it was time to get in the car and everything else had been accomplished, I finally opened the dishwasher thinking I could at least get some of the dishes put away...to find...an empty dishwasher!!!

And, because I hadn't noticed earlier a few dishes on a towel on the counter that needed a little more drying time before being put away!!! Come to think of it, what had Boyfriend been doing this morning before he left for work? I was so busy worrying about myself and all the things I needed to get done and walking around half asleep, that I hadn't noticed what he had been doing. Maybe, and it turns out to be so, he was unloading the dishwasher!! Thanks Boyfriend!

I sometimes take the same attitude at church meetings. I am so worried about myself and how I am feeling (stressed by the kids usually), or anxious about giving a lesson, etc. That I fail to notice the needs of others around me. I have heard too often recently from people visiting, new and not so new in the ward about how unfriendly our ward is. That no one smiles or says hello or introduces themselves. And I feel so much blame and guilt that I COULD have said hello, if I had not been thinking that nobody was saying hello to me! Or I COULD have smiled if I had not been rushed that morning because of my own selfishness (this is a recurring theme for me). Or I COULD have introduced myself if I had not been so worried about my lesson preparation. And the list of what I COULD have done (SHOULD have done really) goes on and on, as does the guilt along with it.

So, I will try to be better at being aware (not just of the services my darling Boyfriend gives to me) but of the ways I can be of service to others.