Ways to spend a sick day

When everyone just needs a long ride, a little fresh air, and a nap. Perks of living in the Pacific Northwest: only an hours drive to Tulip Festival

Fragged

An adjective most often used by my father to mean something like exhausted with your mind falling apart.
Accomplishments since January:
Gideon is 23 lbs.
Annika is not as bored and into trouble.
The girls can put away their own laundry, make their beds, and tidy up their room. It still takes alot of reminders though. All children are doing better with initiating toothbrushing.
Tristan has a train table.
Gideon raises his hands to get us to say "SOOOO BIG" again.
Annika knows most of her capital letters and sounds. She read STOP.
Both of the girls are really good at mazes on paper.
Scripture memory system started. It isn't complicated, but helps motivate me.
We eat breakfast together and do catechism.
Tryn is sans adenoids and tonsils.
We have been outside for a stretch at least once a week...Kubota, park, backyard.
Six new chicks.
Revamped budget with Stefan and sticking to envelopes
Worked out at least twice a week for six months (except for one really sick week)
Lost five pounds and have actual visible hamstring muscles!
Getting a better meal planning system in place
Letting a lot go. Alot.
Getting a daily rhythm.
Baking more with the girls....doing math problems while on the road
Getting Gideon into more of a predictable nap rhythm

Growing strong

Juggling Act

Inevitably, I drop balls. Every year brings a few more, and all though my juggling skills have increased significantly, the ball representing a clean bathroom, patient instruction, or oops, that friend's birthday is lying there only to be retrieved if I can manage to drop the go to bed early ball or swoop down to pick up the time alone to get my head straight ball.
With the first kid, your being is astonished, even insulted, by the sudden, unrelenting demands of motherhood. With the second you realize how much you have gotten used to juggling a kid, and it is back to the intense time requirements of a newborn + the toddler insanity. Add a third, and the ensuing chaos becomes the background hum of your everyday motor. The adaptations are constant, tiring, and inspiring. With number four certain compromises must be made...bye bye bath twice a week for kids ball. The mom gets a shower everyday disappeared somewhere with kid number two. Getting to shave is more of a "whoops!" (as I cross my legs) reminded to get to it. One of my compromises was chucking the scrapbook every moment of each kid's life ball so far I will not find it for another 20 years.
So Jesus is good. The best part is to remember that I am not juggling of my own strength and only resting in Him do I have the necessary coordination for my life.