Morning Go Round

This is how my mornings go:

6AM – alarm goes off and Babes fumbles around until snooze button is found or alarm falls off nightstand…whichever comes first

6:04AM – dog begins whining and barking desperately on my side of the bed to let me know that if I don’t drag my lazy rear out of bed and open the front door for him, it is all over for the carpet!

6:05AM – crawl back in bed for two more minutes

6:09AM – alarm goes off again after being “snoozed” the first go round…I lay in bed and think, why do I torture myself like this??

6:10AM – get out of bed a second time and schlep to the kitchen to fill Crock pot with tonight’s supper…at least I won’t have to cook tonight!

6:30AM – put on outfit number 1…nope muffin tops hanging over the pants just aren’t attractive…bring on outfit number 2..we have a winner!  Leave outfit number 1 wadded up on the bed instead of hanging it back up.

6:45AM – drag kids out of bed and tell them over and over to get dressed, put on their shoes and brush their teeth

7AM – brush Sister Lu’s hair and put in pig tails as requested…she looks so ornery with pigtails and I love it!!

7:15AM – mad dash to the car because we have got to get Brother Bear to school in time to get breakfast…kids get distracted half a dozen times on the way down the sidewalk to the car and I can feel my blood pressure rising!

7:17AM – “JUST GET IN YOUR CAR SEAT AND HELP YOUR BROTHER STRAP YOU IN; WE ARE LATE!!”…and there it is…the mother I pray every day not to be shows up right on time…every time…never fails…the feeling of failure sets in and I think to myself, “I always said I would never yell at my kids when I had them because I remember what that feels like…easier said than done.”

In my opinion, this is one of my biggest failures as a parent.  I lack patience and that translates into me yelling.  It is my prayer that I can change this.  In the meantime, I won’t let my failures define me.  I will learn from them and try to correct them!  I may be a yeller but I don’t want to raise yellers.

7:35AM – drop Brother Bear off and tell him I love him and to have a good day…he’s way too cool to kiss mom in the drop off line so I don’t push it.

7:40AM – drop Sister Lu off at PreK and hug and kiss her and tell her I love her.  She not too cool to kiss me and I enjoy it now because I know the day will come when she is too cool for me too!

8:10AM – I bust through the doors at work and head straight for my desk only to see my manager standing there chatting with someone.  Busted!  10 minutes late.  Rather than acknowledge my lateness I just go about my business like I was on time and head straight for the coffee pot!  This is going to be a great day!! 

There is a lot that happens in the first two hours that my eyes are open and I try to take in every last second because I know that one day I will wish I had to rush around and get two sleepy eyed kiddos ready for school.  I know I am blessed beyond anything I could ever deserve!

Can Someone Please Tell Monday that Today is Tuesday??

Today has been challenging to say the least.  The events that occurred this morning made me question some decisions that the husband and I prayed so hard about and were so confident in.  First of all, Brother Bear woke up in tears saying he didn't want to go to his new school and wanted to go back to the old school and see his old friends.  We tried to calmly explain to him why he couldn't go back and the tears escalated into a full blow meltdown of epic proportion.  He shouted at the husband and even balled up his fists.  I have never seen him act this way before.  He is normally very reserved and quiet.  After punishing him for the disrespect, we consoled him for his sadness.  We tried to make him understand the decision to switch schools was made because we want what is best for him and his sister.  We want him to have the best education possible and have more opportunities.  He started to settle down some and the car ride to the new school was better.  He started to act normal again.  Then, came time for me to walk him to the lunch room where the kids meet before going to their classrooms.  We walked in the door and there were hundreds of chattering children all sitting with their friends.  My mind flashed to one of those movie scenes where you see kids standing in a sea of faces with their lunch tray and no one will allow them to sit by them.  A look of sheer panic went across Brother Bear's face and my heart broke for a second time for him.  I helped him find his class and hugged him and told him I loved him and walked out fighting back the flood that burned my eyes like fire.  After getting Sister Lu back in the car I slid into the driver's seat and turned the key.  Nothing but a click.  On the verge of an emotional breakdown a gentlemen and his wife saved the day with their set of jumper cables.  The battery was so dead they had to leave their vehicle hooked up to mine for several minutes before my car would even turn over.  Sister Lu was late to her second day of preschool.  After the school drop off debacle, I drove straight to AutoZone for a new battery.  Wouldn't you know it, the only one they had in stock was the most expensive Duralast Gold with the 8 year warranty.  Perfect.  I'll take it.  Par for the course.  Thankfully, the company I work for is very family oriented and I have the type of management one can only dream about so being more than an hour late to work wasn't a big deal.  However, once I got there I went to the ladies room and proceeded to have a meltdown of my own.  Hot tears streamed down my cheeks and I just kept telling myself, "you have got to get it together, you have got to pull it together, NOW!"  And so I did.  I pulled it together long enough to get a cup of coffee and load it down with creamer to where it tasted more like cappuccino, plug my ears with Christian radio on Pandora and say a prayer at my desk.  Within a couple of hours Brother Bear's teacher emailed me to let me know he was doing just fine.  Things are looking up; thank God. 

My Birthday Girl

Note - this was supposed to be published yesterday...fail.  Just pretend it was posted yesterday!

Dear SisterLu –

                Today, you are turning five.  FIVE!  How did this happen?  It was just a few months ago that you were a little baby sleeping peacefully on the couch with your brother lying right next to you keeping constant watch.  I can’t believe how fast time has flown.  You are such a blessing to me and your dad even though you might possibly have the sassiest mouth I have ever heard on a 5 year old child!  In the past 5 short years we have already created so many memories.  Here is some of my favorite (some of these will probably be the ones that you will want to kill me for later in life!):

1.       I remember the day we brought you home.  It was 110 degrees outside!  It was also the only day you rode peacefully in the car.  You cried from point A to point B during every car ride thereafter and your poor brother would say “mom, please do something!”

2.       Potty training was quite the adventure.  You did not use the potty unless you wanted to.  I remember the first time you wanted to wear big girl panties.  It was the day of a birthday party at McDonald’s and the whole potty training thing just wasn’t going that great.  I decided, against my better judgment, to let you wear your panties and you know what?  NO ACCIDENTS! 

3.        The time that we had friends over and we were sitting in a circle watching you, Brother Bear and your friends swim and you came flying out of the pool, pulled off your swimsuit and squatted and peed right in front of everyone!

4.       Your first best friend was (is) your babysitter’s granddaughter.  You guys call each other sisters.

5.       Your first day of preschool was so hard for me because I wasn’t ready for you to be a big girl.  Your backpack was as big as you were and you were so excited.  Now, you are only a year away from Kindergarten – gasp!

6.       I just love when you get mixed up on the names of things; it’s so innocent.  Here are some of the funniest – beef turkey (beef jerky), Wet Burger (Whataburger), Woodpeckers (Fudpuckers), Milk N Shake (Steak N Shake) and amblience (ambulance).

7.       Your love for Justin Bieber.  I thought it would be a passing phase.  Well, we are going on a three year relationship now with no end in sight!

I could go on all day with the wonderful memories we have created with you.  You are such a joy to watch grow and change.  You are definitely your own person and have a very strong personality.  You are sassy, sweet, girly, tomboyish and beautiful (you take after me!).  You are very busy and never want to sit still for too long.  If we are at home for any amount of time you are ready to go do something, anything to get out of the house!  Even though you and Brother Bear fight constantly, you really do love him!  You like to sleep in his room in “the tent” and pretend like you are camping.  I love you more than you will ever know and I am so proud of you.  I pray every day for your safety, happiness and most important your salvation.  Happy Birthday Lulu! 

If You Can't Clean it, Fake it!

It’s a necessary evil, but I hate cleaning my house; LOATHE it.  I will spend hours cleaning it and fifteen minutes later my kids have it destroyed again because for whatever reason I can train the dog to go get his ball, but I cannot train my kids to put their clothes in the dirty clothes hamper!  I’m convinced people who say they enjoy cleaning their house are liars.  I’m also convinced when I go to someone’s house that has kids and it is spotless that they just did a mad cleaning session prior to my arrival because that’s exactly what I do!  Yesterday, my mother in law and her husband were in town and tried to get in touch with Babes, but he was busy making a living and couldn’t return their call.  They decided to mosey on over to our house to take a gander at our newly remodeled kitchen and dining room.  This is what people do in the backwoods.  No doors are locked in fear of things being stolen so family members have the constant go ahead to just come on in.   Normally, this is not a big deal, but considering I didn’t have those 15 minutes prior to their visit (because I too was at work) to make my mad cleaning sweep through house, my mind immediately rushed to the disaster that greeted them when they came in.  I’m not talking a few dishes in the sink.  I’m talking a stack of boxes leaned up against the wall that needed to be burned, two sinks full and one leaning tower of dirty dishes, a trail of dirty clothes (underwear included) because as previously noted my kids have forgotten where the dirty clothes bin is, food particles of what looked like was once corn on the dining table and last but not least a swarm of gnats that had taken up residence in said dirty dishes.  Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t a stench...that I know of.   Don’t judge, you know your kitchen has been in a complete state of disarray at one point too!  This is why I have created the below list of things to do when guests decide to drop in or when you are just being plain lazy and want to fake a clean house!

1.       Put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.  Forget rinsing, that takes too long and you can chisel away any food particles that remain off later.

2.       Wipe down counters.  If you have antibacterial spray use it, if not, who cares!  If the mess hasn’t caused any sort of airborne disease, then skipping the AB spray isn’t a crime and if a disease has occurred, you’re too late anyway.

3.       If you have gnats, break out the bug spray. 

4.       Arrange that pile of bills and junk mail into a neat pile and then stash it in a cabinet.  Just don’t forget about the bills if you intend on keeping your lights on.

5.       Vacuum and sweep.

6.       In the bathroom, stuff all dirty clothes in the closet.  If you don’t have one stuff some in the washer and put the lid down and put the rest in the tub. 

7.       Close the shower curtain; VOILA tub’s clean!

8.       Swab out the toilet.

9.       Slide everything on the bathroom counter into a drawer or cabinet and wipe down the sink and counter.

10.   Have the kids close their bedroom doors because there is no way that mess will take anything less than a hazmat suit and a couple of hours, neither of which you have.

11.   Make the bed in the master bedroom and slide any clutter under the bed. 

See, that was easy!

It's a Start

Welcome to Skip the Sugar.  This blog has no central theme so I guess it would be considered eclectic.  From the title, you may think it’s about my addiction to sugar (which is very real), but it’s not.  While I like to eat sugar, I don’t like it when giving or getting advice or opinions.  I don’t sugar coat.  Nothing in this blog will have a layer of sugar on it.  I constantly have a pool of thoughts swimming around in my brain and hopefully I can unleash some of them here.  I will write about life in rural America (we’re talking population 88 here), family, my faith in Jesus, things I have learned, etc.  If you stumbled here by accident, I hope you will stay a while; maybe even click that little “follow” button!  Here are a few random things about me to kick things off:

1.       I am cheap.  Some call me a tight wad, though I have been called worse.

2.       I try to love people even when they are unlovable because that’s how I am loved.

3.       I have 2 kids.  They will be referred to as SisterLu and Brother Bear in this blog.

4.       I also have a husband who I will call Babes most of the time. 

5.       I can’t stand when people chew with their mouths open.

6.       I like to pretend to not care what you think about me, but deep down I really do.

7.       I laugh at the most inappropriate times.  Advice – don’t trip and fall in my presence.

8.       If I’m not careful, I will pee my pants when I sneeze.

9.       I am a college student. 

10.   I hate when people throw trash out the window as they are driving.

Thanks for stopping by.  You might as well put you sweat pants on, kick up your feet and stay awhile!