If April Showers bring more flowers ...

what do April Blizzards bring?

We have SNOW!  Lots and lots of SNOW!  20 inches at last measurement!  Woohoo!  And, it is still falling!!!!!

 This was the first measurement of 6 inches ...

This was the second measurement of 14 inches ...

Last measurement 20 inches!!!! And, still falling!  Holy mackerel!  Or, Holy ... what's a snow fish?

Of course, we went sledding!  We had a few predicaments with our sledding expedition this late in the season ... Rachel's boots had a hole, Timmy had outgrown his boots and Lizzy had, simply, lost her boots in the move (LIIIIIIZZZZZYYYYY!  If you always PUT your boots in your LOCKER you will NEVER lose them!").  Soooooo, Rachel wore the next sized boots in our "Boot Bin", Lizzy wore her old boots with the hole patched with Duct Tape and  Timmy wore MY boots.  That last bit meant that my feet were REALLY cold while we sledded!

Lily really just wanted to swing.  I mean if you go to a park and you are 3, you swing!

Rachel

Tim

Jacob

Anna

Ben, who is 13, it takes the teenagers a little while to learn that they can EITHER let me take their picture OR I will post really bad pictures of them and write running commentary.

Lizzy, Lily and Joanie

An all boy sled race with Winston, Timmy, Ben and Jacob.  Joanie gave Winnie a bit of youngest boy advantage.  Surprisingly they did not all crash into each other.

And, finally, our back porch.  The red and yellow thing is our toy Little Tykes car ... I find the triangle shaped snow drift on the top amusing.  I don't know why.  

Modern Day Loaves and Fishes ...

... equals Garlic-Cheddar Biscuits and Drumsticks yesterday!

I knew on Saturday night that we'd have extra mouths to feed (ie: starving teenagers) on Sunday afternoon.  I was told two extra mouths and figured our 24 drumsticks would suffice with maybe some roasted potatoes and left-over veggie platters from Tim's birthday as sides.  As the afternoon wore on I began to panic as the 2 guests first changed to 3 and then to 5 and then to 6.  So the 24 drumsticks to feed 18 people seemed pretty lame.  As I whispered to my immediate family, "Only eat one drumstick!" I searched for a biscuit recipe that would be so appealing no one would want a 2nd drumstick.  This is what I found and man 'o man they were fantastic!  Mary ate FIVE!



Garlic-Cheddar Drop Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 cup cold butter, diced
1/4 cup cold shortening
1 cup shredded cheddar
3/4 cup cold milk

When done brush with:

3 T butter, melted
1/2 t garlic powder
1/8 t salt

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut or mush (mushing is with your hands) in butter and shortening until they are incorporated to about the size of peas.  Stir in cheese.  Fold in milk but do not over mix.  You want these flakey.  Scoop out with large cookie scoop and slightly flatten.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Brush with garlic butter.

I multiplied the recipe by 5 and we had about 1 dozen leftover.  AND we had 2 drumsticks leftover which is truly, truly a miracle.

The New Cruelty XVI

Every once in a while Mike and I institute what we call "The New Cruelty".  I'm calling this New Cruelty the "New Cruelty XVI" but, honestly, I have no idea how many times we've had resort to this tactic.  "The New Cruelty" is enacted when we go to bed one evening after a long, exasperating day and realize we've let some things slip.  It happens to the best of us ... I hope we're not alone in this ... but it happens to us a lot.  Sometimes it's kids disobeying, sometimes it us overspending, sometimes it's bed times slipping ... it just depends on the distraction of the moment.  Distractions come so easily for me.

Mr. Pearl, author of "No Greater Joy", says the key to parenting is consistency.  Follow through, doing what you say you will do, never letting your guard down ... makes sense, right?!  Being a born flibbertygibbet and a free-spirit it's very easy for me to let things slip.  I like a house clean, the kids obedient, the shelves organized and a good night's sleep as much as the next person but can easily let all these things slip when the sun is shining or the river is calling or the snow is falling or I need to bake or ... well, you get the picture.  Mike on the other hand is NOT like this.  He is naturally organized and meticulous ... unfortunately for him, he travels ... a LOT!

We began "New Cruelty XVI" when we moved into this house in February.   One goal was that I'd stay on top of things better.  This house is much better organized for our family and is closer to everything which means trips out take less time.  And, it has helped.  In the other house when we would do Friday Chores, we'd get only one of the three floors done.  By the time I got to the third floor two weeks later you can imagine what I'd find.  This house is easier.  With the exception of Good Friday, we've kept up with the house.  (Patting myself on the back.)

Another goal was that the consequences of disobedience would be swift, unemotional and painful ... as in, if a child is on his laptop without permission he loses it for an entire day or if a child leaves his clothes on the bathroom floor he has to clean the entire bathroom ... sounds reasonable, huh?!  The problem arises when I go into the bathroom and find 3 boys clothes or when I tell one child he can check his email on his laptop and then find 2 more boys on their laptops.  It's hard for me to focus on staying off my own laptop and keeping my own clothes picked up so keeping up with training 10 kids on these issues wears me out!  I haven't been AS successful with this goal but I'll keep on keeping on.  (Sighing in exasperation.)

Our final goal was to reel in our spending.  The other house was a rental and was crazy expensive.  It was also 20 minutes from the older kids school on a good day.  On a bad day it could take 40 minutes.  We were using a lot of gas going to and fro for both school and errands.  When we moved we sat down  and looked out our budget and marked it up with a red pen.  We've made some easy cuts and some painful cuts.  This past week was our test.  I focused on every single penny we spent.  And, alas, I had this amazing revelation:  IF YOU DON'T SPEND MONEY, YOU HAVE MORE MONEY.  I should tell the President and Congress.  (I feel both victorious and motivated!)

So, here's the point of this long post.  Every so often you have to stop and re-evaluate.  Fix what's not working and tweak what is working.  While there are aspects of my personality that are fun they have to be tempered by reality.  We can not live in chaos and the kids must be well-trained.  Despite the fact that I'd prefer to live like Pippy Longstocking and Mike would prefer to live on a Marine Corps Base.  Between the two of us we seem to be able to keep this ship afloat, clean and well-run ... most of the time.

   






Kathryn's Dream House













Mike's Dream House

"Does it get easier?"

This is the question young mothers now ask ME ... which is funny because I specifically remember asking an older mother that question years ago.  When I asked the mother responded, "well, it does get easier physically but becomes harder emotionally."  At the time I thought, "whatever that means?"  My thoughts are much more sarcastic than what I say out loud... usually.  That mother was a liar.  I was exhausted then and I'm exhausted now sooooo ....

I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately.  I'm in this peculiar place in life.  I have such a broad spectrum of children that sometimes I feel like I'm spiraling through a worm hole minute by minute dropping into different "seasons" of parenthood.  Changing a soggy diaper while a 7 year old cries about being slighted by her sister while telling the smelly 12 year old to "please for the love of all things holy take a shower" while wondering how many friends the 17 year old has invited over while worrying about the 19 year old getting mugged when he gets off work at 3:00 a.m. ... whew.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE my life.  I love that I get to snuggle a 2 year old early in the morning just as much as I love staying up late watching Portlandia with my 19 year old.  Can you imagine how my head will spin once I have married kids and, eventually, (oh heaven help me I can hardly wait) grandkids?!

So, back to the question, "Does it get easier?"  Up to this point ... Nope.   But, like everything in life,

... from great trials come great joys,
... extreme exhaustion comes from great fun
... from the worry of letting adult children make huge life decisions comes great pride in their success ...

you get the picture.

I had a great opportunity to ponder this deep, philosophical, motherly angst as I waited for my 19 year old to get off work the other night for 2 hours ... 2 HOURS ... sitting, waiting, watching him work, locking the van doors so the drunk in old town can't climb in my 15 passenger van thinking it's his ride back to the half-way-house ... I thought and thought ... I cried a little.  I cry when I'm exhausted and exasperated.  As I watched Joe work,  I thought about how incredibly proud I am of him.  He had a rough journey into adulthood. Not horrible but rocky.  It took him a while to become comfortable in who God made him to be.  Joe is thoughtful, philosophical, a loner, a zealot ... these traits don't fit in well during the "teenage-social-frivolous"years.  But, he survived, victorious, and, while he doesn't know what in the world he should do with his life, (does anyone want to hire a resident philosopher?) he is a hard worker, he is tenacious, he his kind and he is INCREDIBLY forgetful!

I am SO, SO proud of him BUT ... here's the point of this rambling post ... BUT ... I'm almost ashamed to admit this ... I'd trade all of this pride and relief and excitement for his future to turn back time and have him be my little, tiny, baby boy again.  To hold him as he sleeps, to read him Good Night Moon for the first time again and see him point out the mouse in each picture and to sing him "You Are My Sunshine" as he falls asleep.  I would.  Because, I know life does NOT get easier.  I know that adult decisions lead to adult consequences.  When you are a young mother you have a bad day when your 4 year old will not obey or sleep or eat.  When you are an old mother you have a bad day when your adult child can't find a job to help pay for college so that he can have a good job and marry his sweetheart.  Both fill you with angst.  Both are exhausting.  But, when your children are young, you can protect them.  You are in control.  You, if nothing else, have nap time to rest. (They eventually give up naps I'm sorry to say.)

I share all of this NOT to discourage young mothers.  Not at all!!!!!  NOT AT ALL!   I share this because it is a reminder that we can not be looking to the future constantly thinking "tomorrow will be easier".  Life is not about easy.  If we are looking to the future we forget to EMBRACE THE PRESENT.  THESE are the best days of your life.  Every hour, every minute, every second.  These days will fly by and you will look back and think, "oh, why didn't I enjoy that season more?" "Why was I so impatient?" "Why didn't I eat more chocolate since my arms would eventually get fat anyways?"  You will.  We all do.