What to say...

Good news blog- I don't have much to say! That is extremely good news for me because it means that things have been a bit more calm lately. I so appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers as I have been and continue to go through such a stressful time. I have never been more thankful for my family and friends. It is always interesting to see who really comes through to be there for you when push comes to shove. Sometimes it's not who you would expect and the people you would expect to be there are nowhere to be found.

I do have one things to talk about. I have been helping out with middle school volleyball conditioning this past week. Today was my second time helping. I have been having the girls do some P90X workouts to get in-shape for the upcoming season. Mostly, I have been watching to see some dedication and REAL effort. On Monday, I had the girls do the Cardio X workout. It's not too bad, but nothing in P90X is easy (I know some of you know this!). Today I had them do the mother of all workouts- Plyometrics. It is a KILLER workout. I am happy to report that most of the girls tried pretty hard. They were exhausted at the end. I don't quite think they get the point of trying to push themselves, but we'll keep working on that. We probably could have had a slip-n-slide on the gym floor with all the sweat. I was literally sliding around during the cool down. Are knees supposed to sweat? I looked like I had just gotten out of the shower. It was very attractive.

The SAD thing is that I (who haven't worked out hard core in several months) could run those girls into the ground (and I told/showed them so). What is happening to our youth that an almost 30 year old is in better shape than a group of middle schoolers? A lot of them look like they should be in good shape, but then they putter out about 1/4 of the way through. I remember spending my middle school summers running around outside, riding my bike everywhere, and staying out late to play flashlight tag. Maybe I should be thanking my parents for never letting me play video games, giving me tv coupons (so I could only watch so much tv a week), and paying me extra allowance to watch NO tv and read extra books for one month out of each summer (way to go Dad!).

I hereby promise to make Johanna ride her bike to friends houses so they can play OUTSIDE. I promise to make her use tv coupons and stick to it even when she is driving me insane whining about wanting to watch a show when the coupons are gone. I promise that she will be able to outrun me when she is in middle school (I will be almost 40 then....AHHHHH). I promise that someone will need to remind me of these promises!

Finding Mommy-

I feel like I have begun to rediscover myself as a mommy lately. Things were so crazy during the house prep and with the other stresses we have been going though...well, let's just say that I am not exactly in the running for Mother-of-the-Year. I have been feeling more like my picture would be posted on some new mom training site as an example of what not to do.

The good news is that I think a lot of this has been less obvious to Jo. She has just assumed mom was "grumpy" a little more often than normal. Since things have calmed down a bit, I have taken more time to actually "be" with her instead of just being around her. It has been fabulous :)

I am not trying to say that everything is always great now. She still frustrates me past the point of sanity and asks a million questions a day (many that I have already answered at least 5 times). She still makes messes a lot and whines even more (really working on this one-will keep you posted).

But, she also gives the best hugs. The kind where she just wraps her arms around my neck and picks her feet up off the ground. She has the BEST smile..a little crooked like her halo. Her laugh is contagious and she is constantly trying to make me laugh. She is quite the comedian. She loves to dance and sing and get others to join in the fun. She bounces wherever she goes and when I am calm enough to not be frustrated with her energy I realize that she is JUST LIKE ME!

God has the best sense of humor. Many people who knew me growing up comment on how much Jo is like me. I think they think of the tough things like the fact that she tries to be super manipulative (even at the age of 3!), is high energy pretty much all the time, and likes to be the center of attention. I like to think about her love for others- like whenever someone is crying she wants to give them a hug, rub their back, and really cares about what is bothering them. She is a great comforter. She loves going to church and learning about her friend Jesus (whom she is constantly looking for). Her laugh and smile light up a room, and her sense of humor brightens my every day. She is friendly to everyone and has a way of making others feel special.

So....when people tell me I got what I deserved- I'd like to think they are right.

In honor of Jo, here is a top ten of her favorite things to do so far this summer-

1. Go swimming
2. Play with cousins
3. Eat Popsicles
4. Ride bikes
5. Dance
6. Watch movies or new shows with mommy
7. Watch music videos on mommy's computer
8. Dig for worms
9. Catch lightening bugs
10. Play pirates with mommy (you should have seen our pirate ship made out of a Dora chair...pretty sweet)

Agitation Part 2

I think that the open houses went well. I am just glad that a lot of the work is done..... for now. I feel like I can start to live again....I hope.

Short sweet and to the point-

Agitation number 2- People who are what I like to call "masters of the obvious."

This can come in various forms. Sometimes I think that people can fall into this category because they don't want to appear narcissistic even though they know full well that people were talking about them. I mean, really folks. Lets just own up to what we all know is true. You don't need to overstate the obvious.

The best example I can come up with about this one occurred when I was pregnant. I absolutely HATED going anywhere the last weeks of my pregnancy. There were the comments. Those of you who have kids know exactly what I am talking about. Comments such as-

• "Oh, no baby yet?"
• "You're still around huh?"
• "What are you doing here?"
• "When is that baby coming out?"
• "Still pregnant, huh?"

It's a good thing the people wanted to clear up the fact that I was still pregnant b/c the over 8lb kid squirming around in my stomach didn't make it obvious or anything. I know they meant well, and probably really cared...or at least wanted to pretend to care which is more than some people (should we be masters of the obvious and try to guess who I am talking to here?!).

Bottom line advice for me (as in advice for everyone else too!)- I will try not to state things that are obvious. Also, if I have a pretty strong feeling that someone is talking about me, I am probably right. Good mental notes here folks.

Agitation...

So I decided that instead of wishing for circumstances that lead to blogs about puppies and flowers maybe I should continue my dramatic "angry girl" semi-witty blogging that seems to be so enjoyed by my friends (thanks guys!). I guess this is a very real side of me (having a contempt for the human race) that I don't normally let out until you have known me for awhile. Usually things are all puppies and flowers until the friendship has moved to the "you know way too much about me and I know way too much about you to ever stab you in the back" stage.

I'm not sure what got me thinking about today's agitation of choice, but here it is......

So, I really hate when people find a way to unload serious emotional baggage on you when they know that you have NO WAY to respond to the situation. SERIOUSLY. If you look up "selfish" in the dictionary, I am pretty sure that you will find a picture of such people.

Examples..I know you want examples. Everyone always wants examples (I think that goes along with the teacher side of me. The whole...."I don't care how you do it as long as you can explain it to me or give me an example" thing.).

Example One- People who call you and unload IMPORTANT information when they KNOW that you cannot talk back (i.e. you are with other people that cannot/ should not hear what you are talking about). Seriously folks....people do this to make themselves feel better. They get to say their piece while the other person gets to say "uh-huh, yeah." So they get to feel better and the other person is left feeling like they would rather be licking one of those shards-o-glass freeze pops from the anti-tobacco ads. How about actually calling back when you know the other person can talk. Rocket science, I know.

Example Two- People who send you information by email/txt that you do not know how to respond to. Should you email/txt them back or will that create some sort of drama. Tone can be difficult to detect from an email or txt. Do they want you to write back? Do they want to be left alone? Good GRIEF people...just SAY how the other person can respond. Say- "hey, if you have questions or need to talk about this further you can call me from 2 to 4." Or how about even a simple, "call if you have questions or concerns." DON'T leave people not knowing what their options are b/c it will have them going for a second shards-o-glass freezer pop.

I think that two examples is sufficient for now. I'm sure I will have a new agitation for you soon.

The big day...

So, tomorrow our realtor is bringing all the agents from her office through our house, and then we have a "for real" open house on Thursday. It is hard to believe that all of this is finally taking place. I have been working so hard for the past month, and I am happy that the end of "house projects 301" is in sight. I am forever indebted to friends and family for all their help. I have had an amazing support network, and I couldn't have gotten through the last couple months without them (so sappy, I know). So, to those of you who have been there with tools in hand, toys in tote, or ears willing to listen........thanks.

Lately...

Our house is officially on the market as of tomorrow. We have two open houses this week and probably some more showings. While this is a good thing in theory, I have to admit that I am completely overwhelmed with bringing all the of house projects to completion and keeping up with all the regular stuff (laundry etc.). I HATE admitting that I cannot do everything, so this is a pretty big thing for me to say. So, here is a run down on some things that I realized since the last time I wrote-

1. You should not try to spray paint anything inside the house
2. Coccia House pizza is still the BEST
3. A tired 3 year old can be more difficult to handle than a dull knife stabbing me in the eye
4. I think I know more than half of the people working at Lowes
5. If you have to go to the same store more than 3 times on the same day, they should give you a prize
6. I am SOOOOOOO thankful for amazing friends and family
7. Losing touch with people who are important to you SUCKS
8. When you are trying to sell your house you should buy stock in cleaning products
9. I should take people up on all offers of help
10. I am thankful that my daughter should have no memory of how awful I have been as a mom during the past month

Thanks for sticking with me through all the drama. One day my posts will be happier..........I hope!!

Bribery....I mean Parenting

Since I am so sick of Johanna's lack of going to bed skills, I pulled a parenting hail mary. Yup, I bribed her. I guess I do this more than I would like. I try really hard to teach her to obey because it is what is best for her and not because she will receive some extrinsic reward. However, I think I have mentioned that my child is 3 and desperate times call for desperate measures. I found these adorable child-sized press-on nails on clearance the other day. I bought them knowing exactly what I was going to use them for------an attempt at nighttime peace.

The good news is that so far I have not had to go up there again. The bad news is that it is still early and I probably cursed myself by posting this.