I Have A Problem

I know what you're thinking "a problem, Brooke, a problem? Nice try!"
And you're right.
But this is one specific problem I am confessing to this morning. It has to do with Thank You notes. My problem does not regard the actual writing of thank you notes. I like to do that. And I generally do that as soon as possible after receiving a gift, spending time at some one's house, etc. I keep boxes of little thank you notes from the Michael's dollar bin on hand for just that reason. So, as the need arises, I write out my thank you notes, stick them in an envelope and then...this is where the breakdown begins.
I write the return address up in the left hand corner. I write the name of the recipient on the envelope (usually) and then I:
a.) get distracted by breaking up a bloody fight between two kids
b.) get distracted by a dirty diaper that has turned into an emergency
c.) can't find the address of the recipient in my address file that has been dumped out by my kids a few hundred times, so I leave the card on the counter planning to email or call to get the address as soon as I can. Said card gets covered by the mail five minutes later. It is moved to the "look at later" pile.
d.) I somehow manage to address the card and then realize I have no stamps. It sits on counter and gets buried in the same scenario as letter "c".
e.) I address the envelope, I put a stamp on it...I am too lazy to walk to the mailbox at that exact moment. Again, it gets buried and lost.
After scenarios a-e happen, the card often stays buried on the counter for days, weeks, months and in a couple cases (hiding deep shame) years. I find them when I pack up to move. When I clean the kitchen before having company. When my kids knock over the precarious pile. When I am searching for a recipe before Thanksgiving. And then I sometimes write a quick "oops, sorry this is so late" on the back and drop it in the mail. Sometimes I am too embarrassed to do that and I let it sit a couple more days before I get up the courage to mail it late.
If you have ever gotten me a gift, stayed at my house or helped me out in some way and are wondering where your thank you note is...please shoot me an email. Chances are I have it buried in a pile of important stuff. If I can find it, I'll send it to you. If I can't, I'll write you a new one, lose it for a while and get it to you by next year....or the next.
Above they are showing how they can look like Daddy. And in the two below, well, I think you can guess who that looks more like : )

Fall Festivities and Activities

When the weather gets crisp and rainy and the great indoors starts to sound more inviting, it's time to find things to do for the little energy hoggers.

Such as:
Pumpkin painting. So much easier than carving. No crisp toasted seeds this way, though.
Making clay and tooth pick shapes and structures.


"A cross to remind us of the one the Lord Jesus died on in order to wash our sins away."
Time to pull out the cute tights and boots!
Time for Daddy to celebrate another birthday. Even if he's stuck at home on the couch with three sick kiddos.
Time for drawing and coloring at the table for loooooong periods of time.

For trying to copy Anne of Green Gable's hair braids.
Time for festivities at the school too.
Ezra's teacher bravely undertakes the project of creating Where the Wild Things Are plays each year in the fall. Instead of a Halloween Party with costumes from home, each child plays either Max or a Wild Thing wearing a costume they created at school. Families are invited in to watch. We got to see the play four times because the class was broken into groups of 5 or 6 so that each child could play a part.
Ezra is the Wild Thing with the red headdress. He was SO excited to be in the play. He had the stomach flu from Friday until Sunday and was worried he might not get better in time. It was our second round of all three kids having the stomach flu in as many weeks. Can we be done now, please?
At the conclusion of the plays, several parent volunteers set up a monster themed party complete with games, prizes and cup cake decorating and eating stations.

The girls had a blast getting to be a part of the celebration. I felt quite sorry for the teacher having to deal with the plays and party being on a Monday. Sure makes the rest of the week seem loooooooong.

That night we told the kids they could go to the ten or so doors on our street for trick or treating. Ezra borrowed a knight costume from the neighbor at the last minute and we made some quick antennae for our little butterflies. Good thing we have a dress up drawer filled with tutus and wings : )
No, neither of the girls has a black eye. That's just my ineptitude with make up!

They had fun and came home with way too much candy. Good thing they have a mom willing to sacrifice herself!

Fall is also a good time to snuggle up on the couch with the big brother you adore on dark, dark mornings. These are my two early risers. Caroline is the only one with enough sense to be a sleeper inner whilst she canner. Don't forget to fall back everyone. Next weekend the mornings won't be quite so dark--but the evenings sure will. Go enjoy one last late afternoon walk today or tomorrow!

You MIght Be a Soccer Mom if...

If you have shin guards and cleats in your pantry, you might be a soccer mom.
If you have more than one child playing soccer, you might be a soccer mom.
If you drive a mini-van, you might be a soccer mom.If you yell things like "Hurry up! We paid good money to be on this team and we should be getting there on time. Plus your coach thinks I'm a loser because I can never get there on time!", you might be a soccer mom.
If you keep a giant golfing umbrella in your car for just in case, you might be a soccer mom.
If you have a collection of water bottles in the car, you might be a soccer mom.
If you buy box juice, oranges and granola bars at Costco and store them in the car for those days you forget you are the "snack mom", you might be a soccer mom.If one child does homework in the car (with a kit kept there especially for that purpose) while the other child practices, you might be a soccer mom.
If your child can ride a bike with shin guards on, you might be a soccer mom.
If you own super cute rubber rain boots bought on clearance during the off season (called Wellingtons if you paid full price during that actual season) that you have to wear mostly covered up by your mommy jeans because "skinny jeans" and your thighs don't get along very well, you might be a soccer mom.

If you have a freezer full of make ahead suppers that have the ability to cook at low temps in the oven for up to 3 hours, you might be a soccer mom.
If you have had to spray the mud off your child with a hose before you allow them in the house, you might be a soccer mom.
If you answered "yep, that's me" to six or more of these statements, you ARE a soccer mom! Or a baseball mom, or basketball...you get the idea. Let's hear it from all the soccer moms!
And thanks to my own soccer mom who was a sports mom for 20+ years (and still occasionally gets phone calls from her grown sons asking about concussion-like symptoms or whether they should go to the ER for a possible sprained ankle). And to my sports dad who was more often than not the coach. As it usually goes, now that I've reached this stage in life I do a lot of looking back and wondering how on earth you did it all those years and came out alive : )

What do you do if your house is lacking a nice big colorful fall tree in front of it?
And the rest of the houses on your street happen to have big trees with acres of colorful fall leaves drifting down?
You rake them up, load them into your big red wagon and bring them to your house, of course! Much to your dad's delight : )
And then you and the neighbor kids join forces to rake dozens of leaf piles up and down the street and you all ride your bikes through them as fast as you can.



I have to admit that I tried it with my bike. The crunch of those leaves was quite satisfying. Therapy. Leaf therapy. Fall bike rides with the kids are one of the many perks of stay-at-home-mom-hood. Don't tell anyone but every time I walk down to the mailbox these days I slide my feet through the leaves and pretend I'm walking down the aisle at my wedding again.

Kid Friday

In no particular order, here are some of my recent faves of my three main reasons for blogging...along with some of my recent favorites from the Psalms:
"Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:17
"Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;" Psalm 55:2. Okay, so the other morning I was reading that particular chapter and I was fairly cranky. These are the words that my eyes saw "Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn, I complain, I make noise." Seriously. I read it again and realized what it actually said. And I attempted to snap out of it.


"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Psalm 43:5
"From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." Psalm 61:2, 3
"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." Psalm 65:2
(The blonde is not mine. But my Nory Pory seems to think she is part of his family. She loudly proclaims him to be her "Buddy"!)
"Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me." Psalm 66:20