Spring Break. It does a body good.

I realize that it is now Tuesday. I am having a really hard time completing tasks these days.

Mondays. Monday is typically met with resistance, especially from Zman as he gets ready for school. Today, it was me who struggled.

Our Spring Break is over and I am sad. Before it started I wondered how in the world we were going to fill all that time, 9 days. We were planning a family vacation but at the last minute it fell through. I have to admit, I was NERVOUS. The kids can't last 9 minutes without fighting, let alone 9 whole days!! My first thought was to keep them SUPER busy so they wouldn't have time to bicker, whine, moan or groan.

But somewhere along the line I took a breath. I relaxed and let the schedule naturally fall into place. We had lazy mornings, late lunches, movies in bed, games, reading, and LOTS of snuggle time. We did go someplace everyday just to keep it fresh, but for the most part we hibernated. It was wonderful and something we all needed. The time at home brought my kids together. It did my heart good to see my two playing like friends. They laughed together, created together, shared secrets, planned games, played tag. Basically, they were inseparable. FOLKS, THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!

It was delightful and made me crave summer. The endless amount of time and flexibility of our schedule is good. Very, very good.

I will leave you with our Easter highlights.

Nothing says Easter like...

Bed Hair....

Christmas jammies from 2 years ago...

A basket full of bunnies...

and sparkly shoes.

A big piece of humble pie.

Maternity swimwear.

Talk about an oxymoron. Your body gets big and round while the swimwear stays the same size, covering only 9% of you. Not matter how cute the suit is, it doesn't do the complete job. I thought I still had a month or two before I had to go down this road. But today we decided to visit a local indoor waterpark. I am all for having fun with my family, but I usually like to do it fully clothed.

I have 4 suits to choose from, thanks to the generosity of several friends. They are very cute and stylish. Loulabelle wanted me to wear the pink one with white flowers. So I tried it on and did an overall assessment.

Not bad. The bump in front minimizes the bump in back.

I made my appearance from the bathroom. I knew Lou would be excited that I chose the suit she picked out. Z-man saw me first.

"That swimsuit doesn't make you look near as big as you are."

I am choosing to take that as a compliment as I face the day with only 9% of my body covered. Thankfully, we will be surrounded by complete strangers and they may or may not remember the whale in the pink floral suit.

Happy Spring Break!!

Oh no, she didn't!

Before you proceed with the rest of this post, please read this to catch up. My story will be regarding the same girl.

Don't worry. I will wait for you to come back......

OK...now that you are up to speed, let's rewind a couple of weeks.

I was mostly dressed. I had the appropriate undergarments, jeans and a cami. Z walked in and said, "Mom, you look hot!"

WHAT??!!

I look hot? From a six year old? What is going on here and where did he learn that? Skip and I talked and decided we would lay low with it. If it was something that he learned, it would repeat itself.

Sure enough, it did. Yesterday in the car with Spice from the Spice Rack, Z asked if he knew what hot was. "Yeah, it's like when you sweat and stuff." (Good answer, Spice.) Z told him that was not the "hot" he was referring to. He whispered the meaning of the new word in Spice's ear.

It was now time for action.

"Z, where did you learn that?"

"School. From Bri."

"What else is Bri teaching you at school?"

"About L-O-V-E and K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Skip and I exchange looks. This isn't good. I know what kind of knowledge this little girl has considering what she taught him last year. I don't have a good feeling about this. I'm no fool, I taught school long enough to hear what kids are talking about. Mostly they have it all wrong, but still they are talking. This is something we all have to face with our little ones, and it is scary.

Later in the day when we had time to ourselves with Z we questioned him more. We found out that this girl has been showing them how to kiss by using books or her hand. I am guessing this isn't the innocent kiss you would give your grandpa either. Boy does my blood boil just thinking about what this girl must know and WHY she knows it. Her loss of innocence saddens me deeply. I hurt for her.

We explained to Z that we want to be the ones to teach him about love based on what God teaches us. We told him that he is not old enough to be talking about that yet, but that he can always come to us with questions. We promised him that we would be truthful with him if he will promise to be truthful with us. We gave him some strategies to avoid talking with this particular girl about such grown up things.

I am left feeling uneasy and angry. This world is cruel and fast and ugly. We are good parents who try to protect our kids from such things. But the world finds it's way in and infiltrates it's message. This poor girl has lost her childhood to grown up things. I don't feel one nice thing about her teaching my son her knowledge. But is it her fault? If it wasn't her, it would have been someone else.

There is always someone else.

"Father, please protect our children from the cruelties of this world. Please guard their hearts and minds to things they don't need knowledge of. Help them turn a blind eye and deaf ear on things that could hurt them. Protect them, Lord, from the evil one who seeks to steal, kill and destroy their innocence. Give us as parents the wisdom to teach our children Your ways and Your truth. Help us guide them down the path You have chosen for them."

It's the little things.

A glob of toothpaste by the sink.

A water ring on the table.

A leaf on the laundry room floor.

A handprint on the window.

A pillow thrown off the couch.

A knife with peanut butter in the sink.

A dog that perpetually sheds.

A wet wad of toilet paper on the floor.

A plunger in the bathtub. (Hmmmmm?)

A discarded M&M wrapper hides under the book.

A broken hanger in the entry way.

A blue stain on the carpet.

A leaky juice bag on the counter.

A pile of Easter grass strewn along the hallway.

These are the things I have been picking up all day. I am feeling frustrated by the amount of little messes that I have chased today. My wheels have been spinning in no obvious direction. I haven't been able to keep up with the mess or contain the mess-makers. I am upset and tired and grumpy.

Finally, I took a nap. I was right in the middle of folding a load of towels left-over from Monday and I couldn't take it anymore. I quit. Laid down and slept.

But the "others" were lurking as I slept. Now the mess is bigger and harder to handle. What am I going to do next week during Spring Break?

Help me, Lord Jesus.

Thirty Four

Yesterday was my sweet hubby's birthday. I would have done this post yesterday, but I couldn't use my letter L and the period. That makes for a hard day of typing.

Skip, there are so many things I love about you. This list only scratches the surface.

1. You took my LAPTOP today so the LETTER L and period could be fixed. Now I can type things like LOVE. LOULABELLE. JANELLE. LIKE. LISTEN. LOLLIPOP.

2. You saved me from a burning campfire when my jacket caught on fire. The way your LEAPT over that fire still makes me smile. I imagine how you pushed your current girlfriend out of the way. That makes it even better!

3. You stole my heart in drama class.

4. The way you LOOK in baseball pants!

5. How you remember to call people on their birthdays. That is so touching!!

6. You are a great gift-giver.

7. I LOVE the way you pour your heart into coaching our son's teams. You give more than most people in a volunteer position.

8. You LOVE your family. You are so good to your sisters.

9. Your favorite place in the whole world is home. That means so much to me and the kids. More than you will ever know.

10. Your hanger collection. Nuf said.

11. You have a future dream for us. The one where we grow old together type of dream.

12. Your blue eyes.

13. Your LAUGH.

14. The way you look when you roller skate...yum!

15. That time when I hit the house with your car, you didn't belittle me. Thank you.

16. Your favorite number and family LEGACY! So cool.

17. The age I was when you captured my heart and said yes to the Sadie Hawkin's dance. I knew you were the man for me.

18. When things get tough or scary or uncertain, you pray. You pray with me.

19. You are over-the-top good at managing our money. That is a huge relief that I take for granted. You take excellent care of us.

20. That I am your best friend.

21. The way you keep your car so darn clean on the inside. You are not at all obsessive about it either. *smirk*

22. The way you hug my Grannie.

23. Our shared television viewing. There ain't nobody better with that TIVO remote.

24. Your sarcasm.

25. The way you apologize after your sarcasm has gone too far!!

26. You and your co-conspirator, LOULABELLE, are thick as thieves. I don't trust either one of you.

27. I will cherish the LOOK in your eyes when I told you about LIL Poppy. There was pure joy reflected in those baby blues.

28. Your brain. Can I borrow it?

29. Your exceedingly patient with me during this season of LIFE. I know your needs have been put somewhat aside. For that, I am sorry.

30. Watching you wrestle and LAUGH with Zman melts me. You two are developing a real friendship. You are good for him. So good.

31. You are not afraid to tell the truth.

32. You never make fun of my hearing LOSS. Never!! I appreciate that. There are a lot of jokes to be had at my expense.

33. Our trip to Mexico will go down as the best week ever! You made it so special, even if you did get LOST.

34. This makes me speechless. It's a whole bunch of wonderful.

Happy Birthday, sweetie. I LOVE you so much. You complete me and make me a better person.