new day, new week, new hopes...

Sometimes I wonder about my seemingly endless hopefulness. These niggling little thoughts sneak in and say things like, "life is just the same old same old." Yes, the house will never be spotless, I will never lose my fondness for good things to eat, and I am getting older and my knees hurt. My kids are growing up, and the trial are never ending. But...we all know it is the attitude that counts, right? Life ain't all sunshine and roses, but. God is good.

My new hopes aren't so new, but they are RE-newed. I am going to eat cleaner,(I did so well yesterday, then an evil thing called, "chocolate" sneaked in...blah. I love my chocolate. Two handfuls of chocolate chips and some squares of German chocolate...oh yum) and get that daily exercise fit in to my so-busy schedule. ha. Busy or not, I am so full of excuses! And for some reason, since my knees were diagnosed with this arthritis, I have lost my dedication to that daily exercise. I have been to the pool three times, and exercised just a few times. It is difficult to modify things to baby my knees more, but this morning I am determined to shut up the negative thoughts, and just do this thing.

I also have new hopes about dealing with my kids. I realize sometimes that although I am present and with them, my thoughts aren't all with them. I am an expert at Uh-Huh-ing while thinking of something totally different. So I am working on my listening skills. I am working on thinking of each of my children individually, communicating about what they are thinking about and going through, not just thinking of myself and how my own day is going. We are so self-centered as people, we are the centers of our little universes by nature. Lately I have had this phrase going through my head quite often, "This is not all about me." Having this attitude really helps when dealing with teenagers.

Dang, my bowl of oats is gone already. It had crunchy peanutbutter, sliced almonds, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices, whole milk, and Splenda.

I am truly enjoying some quiet time. It is rare here. With college kids who commute, on different schedules than the nine school kids, they are home here and there during the day. Not that I mind, in fact I enjoy their company. But...this rare quiet time...it is yummy. The kids are back to school after a nine day winter break, which did go by too fast. I love having them all here....but honestly...I SO enjoy this quiet.

Today I am picking four kids up early and going to the big library in the suburbs. Jonathan has a book report due on Wednesday and hasn't read a book for it yet, it has to be a biography. So he will have to do some fast reading tonight! Evelyn has a tall stack of books to return and craves a trip to that big library. She says she has read everything good already from the small library in town. Since I am going out, I will stop and mail the state tax forms in. I think it is good for our family for me to be at home to do all the little things. Like clean up the house after a busy vacation. Not that we didn't sweep and mop yesterday, but still. I can't imagine working full time and still keeping up here, as I can barely manage as it is.

Besides, who would keep Suri company all day?

Yesterday, Mirielle and Jonathan and I went shopping. I thought we were having a birthday dinner for Mirielle, but Emily and Abigail had planned a girls' night at their house with chicken wings, so we just had a regular dinner ( baked chicken tenderloins marinated in Jamaican jerk sauce, extra fine long green beans, and french fries...I only ate a few little crunchy ones...then bided my time 'til they ate the rest, phew. gone.) Anyway, I let Mirielle pick out a few things for her birthday, and got Jonathan some pants, shorts, and a few shirts for next year, and a new coat. We all know this is the best time to buy winter coats here in the north. He got a really nice coat for $37, which is admittedly too much for me, but it is one of the coats that is really two coats, and was regularly almost $200, although I don't know who would pay that much for a little boy's coat. The stores seem to be catching on though, and it is harder to find clearanced winter stuff near the end of the season.

So....since my computer died, I have lost my regular blog list. I used to read some blogs that I have simply lost track of. If you write a blog and want to send me your address, please email me at dellamom16@yahoo.com I won't publish your blog address on my sidebar, I will just make a new list of favorites. I would really appreciate it!!! Thank you!!