Seasons. They are a Changing.

I realize the last two posts were contradicting of each other, one was a "Wow" and one was a "Pow". In the College group that I am somehow (a God thing) a part of... they do this thing called PowWow. When they asked me to be a part of this group, and help out, I was flattered and jumped at the chance to hang out with the College group at church. Are you kidding me?? Man, an hour (or two, or three!!) without children and be around people who get to sleep and read books and listen to music.. probably music that I like? HELL YES.

So I joined. But then I realized I had sort of bit off more than I can chew. Dealing with a 2 year old like Lily... a job, a husband, a house to clean and those pesky Stedmans to deal with... (kidding BEN! pleasedon'thurtme) and I have two other children too.

So anyway.. they do these icebreakers, and I was already so nervous to even be there, and didn't know anyone, and then they do the POWWOW thing, and I thought I was going to pee in my pants right then and there. But you give a "pow", which is a negative thing that happened this week.. then a "wow" which is a positive thing. I think you understand. If you don't, you shouldn't be reading my blog, you idiot. But I am normally a nervous person, so speaking in front of others in painful to watch.

I started reading the book that went along with the class.. and I am surprised at myself. This book, called SEVEN, by Jeff Cook, has really ministered to me. What a blessing this class has been. (the wow) I feel like God has completely orchestrated the whole thing. It goes over the Bible's "Seven Deadly Sins" and let me tell you.. WOW. This book is amazing. I would encourage it a read for everyone.

So everything has been lacking lately. My proficiency as a wife an mother and house-keeper is all shot to hell. I just can't get everything done. So my expectancy in myself is going down. If I keep high expectations on myself I will just drive me and everyone around me crazy.

My house will be messy. I will forget homework. I might forget to brush my childs hair in the morning. I might be wearing mis-matched socks or need a drink at 3 in the afternoon. But this is the season I am in. And if your expectations of me are higher than this... I will go ahead and tell you that I will let you down. Cause I can't do much better than this.

Little known fact: I LOVE DAVID BOWIE. The Thin White Duke is a little dream of mine. Yes my husband knows. No, I do not rub it in his face. nom nom nom, Bowie.

zzzzzzzzzz........

This is what happens to me every week. .

I clean my house, I vacuum, mop, do laundry, and dishes. I make sure everything is put away and the coffee is ready to start in the morning. I feel so organized and accomplished.  It feels so great to look around and feel like you can walk around without your shoes on.. God forbid you step on one of those sharp little legos that bruise the bottom of your tender feet. 

I go to bed patting myself on the back and then that thing happens.. It happens often. It's happened most of my life. I don't sleep.  Somewhere down the line, there must be vampire blood or owl blood or something else that is majorly screwed, because I can't figure out what I am doing wrong to deny myself sleep. 

I LOVE sleep. I could stay in bed aaaaallllll day and just snuggle in the covers and and read my Readers Digest or watch Barack Obama and dream about what it would be like if I had married him or Jon Stewart instead.   

But sometimes, well.. often.. I just don't sleep. I will lay away till about 2 or 3 a.m. and then finally drift off. Then if or when I wake up, my day becomes Cranky Momma Day. The kids scatter and learn to get their own water or juice. Last week on that particular day, I woke up and started sneezing over and over. So I decide to take a Benadryl. (I never take medicine). About an hour later, Jacob is ready to go to work and the Benadryl knocks my ass out.  I am the crankiest momma ever, yelling "SSHHHHHHH!!!", and "LET MOM SLEEEEP."

My children have learned from this sleep deprived state of motherhood. 

The other day, the girls were talking to themselves at the kitchen table. Madeline started chanting "Apple juice! Apple juice!! Apple juice!! Apple juice!! Apple juice!! Apple juice!!" and I said "Madeline, that isn't a nice way to ask for juice. " And Anne piped up to be the big sister and said "Maaaadeliiine. Don't ask like that. You could anger Mom. And then she might ATTACK!!" and she curled her fingers and sort of lunged at Madeline.  Which I thought was hilarious. 

Today was a good morning, though. I got up, took a shower to wake myself up, and started cleaning. Then I swept, mopped, checked on the garden, mailed my netflix back, stuff like that. I'm getting ready for Ben Stedman to come over for dinner, which he never does anymore because he is famous and has to practice all the time for his band that I secretly wish he wasn't in.  Because then he would be bored and we could see him more.  I have a feeling that since I didn't sleep last night, that he will come over, I will laugh and have a drink and then perhaps pass right out and not spend any time with him. I won't get to make fun of him or ANYTHING.

Guess I better get it all out of my system right when he walks in the door.  Anyone wanna help me fill up some water balloons?

Chicaaah-go.

Jacob and Ben are on their way to Chicago today, and should arrive sometime this evening. How interesting that my very favorite Heather Armstrong from Dooce will be there signing books at a bookstore down town.  RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME THEY GET THERE.  I told him he better bring me back a prize, and hinting heavily did not work, so I just sent him all the information on exactly where she will be /the picture of the book/ at what time. Sometimes you have to do that with him. 

Lets go back a few steps.

Dearest Internet, 

The month long hiatus from this blog was filled with lots of fun and then sickness, followed by laundry .. never ending laundry. And anger. But I will address that in my own time. I think some people just need to be pulled aside so that they can be told of the trail of toilet paper hanging out of their shoe.. or something allegorical like that. Some people don't want any attention brought to their own freak-shows. 

I had a birthday party!! It was a joint birthday  party with Brandice, and honestly I cannot think of any better way to spend a weekend. It was fiesta themed, complete with pinata and margaritas and tom-foolery.  My Favorite part was when I whispered to Brandice in her ear that I was going to point her to Ben Stedman, and she hit him PERFECTLY. The most brilliant thing was, his back was turned, and everyone else saw what was happening but him. she hit him square in the side. Everyone laughed and we got to spank Ben all at the same time. :)

I have the best friends, and I am so thankful for all the work that went into the party, and all the cleaning up afterwards. It was wonderful and I will always remember it. I think Brandice should have parties with me from now on. :)

Lily is her own little person. And I am afraid of her.

Right now, I am watching my sweet baby Lily sleeping beside me. 

I should be asleep.

Her little face looks much like the photo here:

She looks so small and sweet and innocent, doesn't she??

You Fool. 

She is so far from that. She is become my little tumbling, screaming, screeching two-year-old who will strive to get her way NO MATTER WHAT. Today, we went to Trowbridge's, a local ice cream parlor built in 1918 and when you walk inside, it seems as if you have walked into the past. I love it there. Sitting down in the old fashioned seats, I order a chicken salad sandwich (it comes on white bread) and their orange pineapple ice cream (served in an old fashioned dessert glass).

As soon as that glass hit the table she grabbed it with her little grubby fingers and started eating it. I ignored it for the most part, because I really don't mind if she eats some of it. I just wanted a taste. 

When I get my spoon and start to take a bite, you might think that this sweet little person dressed in ballerina pink with a pretty little bow in her brushed, soft hair might be having a seizure. Screams shoot from her little open mouth and her whole body shakes in defiance of what she sees her mother do. This has become commonplace, lately, and I just roll my eyes. 

What can you do? 

I have spanked, threatened (and then followed up on the threats) taken things away and sat her in time out. It seems endless, and then again.... she is only 2 and 1/2.

You might think that with all of the hub-bub of my day and merely dealing with Lily, that I too, should be asleep. 

I am not asleep because... I can't sleep with out Jacob. 

aaaawwwww. 

He is downstairs with Anne watching that dumb sequel to the Narnia adventure movie that was awesome . This one seems (by the noises I hear) to not be so thrilling. 

I walked downstairs to do some laundry, and I asked him how it was. He replied with a "nuuaaah." 

Next week, he leaves to go to Chicago on a business trip for  a few days. I can already tell it is going to be a week filled with Tylenol P.M. and crying jags. The medicine will be for me, and of course the crying will be from the girls (mostly). I don't do well when Jacob is not around, but I figure I will manage. It is hard because they LOVE their Daaaaadddyyyyyy!!! He is magic and makes everything better and gives them things when Mommy says "no". They are always asking for him. I can imagine him at the hotel, getting a full nights sleep, eating at UNO's, laughing it up with Ben. YEAH, that's right. Ben Stedman is going. Because it is "work-related", and a computer programmer conference and why not, Laura, ease up geez I'll only be gone for a few days....

All I can say is, those girls are going to be getting LOTS of ice cream while he is away. 

Especially Lily.

When he gets home, maybe she will be nice to me again. 

FAIL!!

There was probably a lot of controversy surrounding my marriage to Jacob. First of all, my family had no idea who he was or how absolutely AMAZING a person I chose to marry. But I Knew. He has come to be loved by them, now. Good thing, because he isn't going ANYWHERE. Secondly, there are many other things but I do not feel like typing them out. This morning, our friends Ben and Isaac came by to pick Jacob up for work, and while they were here, They heard what I will call "a little fart" in the marriage.
Jacob was opening the window in our basement because it really is a beautiful day. But he almost knocked over one of my precious pots with seedlings that I have carefully nurtured during the harsh Alabama winter. I said "Jacob if you break that, I will kill you." In which Jacob laughed out loud, because he likes to be harassed by me. HE DOES!! Honest. Then I turned to Ben who was starting to laugh and said "sorry you had to hear that, boys." Ben said "OH, I SEE HOW THIS MARRIAGE WORKS. " Jacob laughed and replied "oh, that was just the pressure valve releasing a little air." And then we all laughed that is was merely a fart in the marriage.

The other day, Anne asked me how old her Daddy was. I told her that Daddy was 34, and this year in May he will be 35. She went on with what she was doing and it wasn't until yesterday that I noticed what she had done. Every little kid draws a picture of their family when they are little. Mommy and Daddy are always enormous, with tall legs. Then the oldest child is next, shorter than Mom and Dad, but always taller than the younger sibling.
Instead of writing out that her Dad is 34, she mistakenly wrote that he is 43. I didn't know I was married to such an old person!! HAHA. He is now 13 years older than me. That is pretty amazing and if my family found out, there would be such gossiping behind my back! Glad they don't know about that "little fart".

Getting Frustration Out.

A while ago I called Jacob and he was at lunch with the boys from work. I heard Benstedmans yakking and I told Jacob to give Ben a message. I must have laughed for 20 minutes after hearing timid sweet Jacob say "Hey, Ben. Laura said to shut your big fat mouth".



I am still sort of sore with him not coming over and hanging out with us LIKE HE IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Today, I also found a sweet old picture of Ben on an airplane on Facebook. So I snatched it immediately and am posting it here.







I think I might try to find more old pictures of him for a good Internet laugh or two.
Who's with me?!?!?

Several times this week, I have opened a new page on my computer, to write a new post. 

Every single time, I ended up closing it, and doing something else.  I feel very put-out lately, with the many many things I have to do. I also feel overwhelmed and frustrated because all the things I want to do, I cannot. 

I am trying to pace myself, but I feel eager like a kid on a free candy-spree. I need to mop!! Oh and do the dishes! and start the rice for dinner!! and put more wood on the fire! and I really need to call that person back.. 

It seems overwhelming right now, for some reason. 

Madeline and Lily and I are still coughing. The other night, Ben Stedman was over here, and he heard me struggling with the coughing fits. Then he called me a SARS-monkey.  I laughed but inside I wanted to punch him in the face. I am so glad Aaron is around now, because he told me this morning about a time when Ben didn't stop coughing for a MONTH.  I can't wait to throw that back in his face. 

Cough it in his face. 

HeeHee.

A Senecal / Stedman Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2008 was alot like last years Thanksgiving, only my grandmother wasn't there, and there was more booze.  Also, I was sick as Hell but I was a smarty pants and didn't let on. ::gleam::The turkey was basted with rosemary and fresh lemons. 

Brandice brought the most beautiful salad I have ever seen and and still reliving the moments the avocado touched my lips. Little tears met my cheeks. The Stedmans came over making it the second annual Stedman/ Senecal Thanksgiving. We eat, we talk, we go on a walk. This year we walked all the way to the water.  I kept shushing the kids, because of fear that the people whose land we were walking on would get upset, but looking back I was really being a douche!! Geez, Laura. Little kids gotta run and scream and shizz.  Mean ol Aunt Laura making us walk around in the woods all quiet like Indians OH SNAP!! Yes, I said it. If Anne could read this she would give me an hour long speech on how I should NOT say Indian, but Native American. That is what I get for raising awareness in my kids. 

Here, Anne is having the TIME OF HER LIFE. Aaron Stedman has been her dream man since since she graduated Kindergarten and didn't get to see her boyfriend Trey everyday. She told Aaron this summer that she wanted to marry him and tries to get away with flirting with him any chance she gets. Here she probably said something very lady like, such as "Mr. Aaron, I am a little girl and I probably need to hold your hand so I won't fall down in these icky leaves. " Jacob and I laugh and hope that she grows up to marry someone as amazing as Aaron Stedman one day. 

Cousins... and the wierdo at Thanksgiving.  Hey, every family has one, right??  These kids are so adorable and really don't get to see each other all that much, so I was thrilled that they got along so well. From left to right... Madeline, Aidan, and Emma. Creepy dude that wants to get in little girl pictures.. Benstedman. 

The bestestest part about Thanksgiving this year was the part where we are all sitting at the BIG PERSON TABLE and Ms. Stedman starts telling Brandice and me all about her kids when they were little. She tells us that Ben had an imaginary friend named Reggenounce and... and.... HE USED TO KICK HIM .... when he got mad. He kicked his imaginary friend. Okay. Let's stop and take a little breath here.  Little ginger Ben. In overalls  (he probably wasn't wearing overalls, but it makes the scene so much better, don't you think??) all red-faced and mad. He goes over and kicks NOTHING. How his mother understands that he is taking his anger out on Reggenounce.. I'll never know. Also.. How the hell did he come up with "Reggenounce"?? What kind of stupid name is that???  All Brandice and I could do was sit there and TRY to not die from choking on the food in our mouths as we cried from laughter. Ben on the other hand hung his head in shame as he realized the verbal abuse that would ensue for the rest of the day and furthermore... the rest of his life.   It was beautiful. 

Tonight BenStedman walked in my door. 

All I heard was little girls screams and wails. 

I felt like I was listening to a very small 1967 Beatles concert. 

Deafening. 

"sigh" for mothers of little girls.