It's Thursday...

• So cute...John lost another tooth and now has that absolutely adorable look where he is missing both front teeth. Pictures will be forthcoming...
• Music to my ears...Sara asked me last night what the weather was going to be like today because she was laying out her clothes. And, y'all, I hadn't even asked her to do that! Yeah, maturity!!
• First time ever...I bought an air filter for the mower. And, if I can find some motor oil in the garage, I may actually install it. I know, I don't get why you have to soak it in motor oil either. But according to the expert (Joe) and the packaging that's what you do. I just do what I'm told.
• The first goal...I've met it! I hit the 20 pounds lost mark today. I don't think that is too bad for 3 months. I'm about 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. We won't mention that Nathan turns 5 soon...
• What to do....with the jalapenos that are laying on my counter. They are begging to be stuffed with cream cheese and deep fried. But that won't really help me meet my second goal. I'd have to run a lot more and we all know how I feel about running.
• The never ending chore....off to do some of it again. I'm convinced someone fertilized the laundry room.

the ordinary stuff

So Joe asked me the other day if I was ever going to blog again. I said yes, and so here I am, back at it. Joe enjoys reading my blog posts so while you may not have missed me or taken note that it has been almost a month since a post, Joe noticed. What has been going on you may ask. My mom asked me the same question during our weekly phone conversation and I actually said "not much". That is a weird answer coming from me and if you look at my calendar you would say "yeah, right. You've been pretty busy!" I have, but it is one of those things where it is just normal life and so it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. And when people ask me what has been going on, I generally tend to think out of the ordinary type of stuff. The only "out of the ordinary" is that our Nathan has been away from us for about a week now. He is coming back in a few days. Boy, we have really missed him. I'm not sure anyone has missed him as much as his mommy! Here is some of the "ordinary stuff" that we've been up to:

• Scouts have started...actually they are all at their meetings right now. Girl scouts have started up for Sara and Ashley and John began Cub Scouts this year. I actually think he may be a tiger or is it a bobcat...it's all so confusing. Good thing his den leader is his daddy. They've been having a great time with it.



• AWANA started with a bang this year...107 kids the first night.



• I started MOPS last week. This will probably be my last year which makes me a little sad, but in going through the introductions last week it became apparent to me that yes, this season of my life is almost over. I'm definitely on the older end of the moms...yikes!



• I do get to speak at MOPS again this year. I'm looking forward to that. I also get to speak at a workshop for our women's retreat this November. I do love speaking to women....by far my favorite ministry thing to do so it is a treat to me that I'll get to do it twice in the next 6 months.



• I'm moving along in getting licensed. It will probably be the end of October. I'm so excited...I'm going to have so much fun watching more kids.



• It's football season. Go Colts!!! It's fun this year because John has started getting into it and I think by the end of the season he may actually understand the basics of the game.



• I've been running. Yes, you read that correctly, I've been running. I ran 2 1/2 miles this morning. I. hate. running. But I feel really good when I'm done and this morning I actually wasn't miserable for the first mile. I've never run this far before. Joe has his sights set on a half-marathon (he's up to 4 or 5 miles). While I would like to set that as my goal, I'm not sure it is a good idea because of my hating running issue.



• And now I'm going to curl up with a nice cup of decaf and enjoy this fall evening...it's great! My all time favorite time of the year...

A new page is turning

I'm taking the plunge. I'm going back to work. No, wait, what have I been doing the last 9 1/2 years? Let me rephrase...I'm going back to work for pay. I actually started last year, but we are making it a little more official this year. Last year I began to babysit a little girl for a teacher here in town. The job totally fell into my lap...I had not pursued it at all. Joe & I had always planned for me to do some type of part-time work once Nathan started school. So when I started babysitting last year it wasn't necessarily a permanent thing. It was kind of on a take a year at a time kind of a thing. Well, I loved it and as I got to thinking about my ideal part-time job nothing could really top babysitting for a teacher. Last week I kick started the licensing process to become an "official in home daycare center". (If I add anymore kids, I have to be licensed). I can't believe I can actually say "I'm starting my own business."

As a side note, let me just say that had you asked me ten years ago what kind of part-time endeavor I might take on, I never would have mentioned babysitting. It probably wouldn't have even been in the top ten. I was coming out of the corporate world and that is pretty much all I knew. Kids did not enthuse me at all. I was excited about having my own, but everyone else's kids pretty much annoyed me. If you had asked me about it, I would had used the word NEVER. Reminds of another time I said never...I'll never be a pastor's wife. Well, look where that got me. I LOVE being a pastor's wife (well, most of the time ;) ) and I think I'm going to love this new stage of my life. Just a hint to never say never...God usually takes that as an opportunity to show me what He can do in my life and in my heart.

It is misfiring!

My brain has had some serious misfires of late. Here's the proof:

• On Tuesday I (accidentally!) put body wash in my hair instead of conditioner. I do not recommend using that as a substitute. It has taken me three days to get it out. It was Oil of Olay. Yep, there is definitely some oil in that stuff.
• I threw away John's homework paper. And, yes, I dug through the trash the. next. day. to find it. The things we will do for our kids...
• Yesterday I put the ice cream container in the microwave. Fortunately, I realized about five minutes after I did it that I had not put it back in the freezer. (I was going back for more ice cream!) Unfortunately, it took me about 45 minutes to figure out where I had put it since it was not in the freezer.
• I also woke Nathan up from his nap yesterday, dressed a very grumpy child (who normally doesn't mind getting woke up), and was on my way to wake up the baby when I realized that "oh rats, this isn't my car pool day". Fortunately, Nathan had already crawled back in bed and was asleep when I went to tell him that we didn't have to leave.

I could blame this all on decaf coffee, but that would have been last week. I made decaf in the morning for three days last week. In case you're worried, all my children are currently safe and accounted for and I have completely cleared my schedule for the rest of the week since I obviously can't handle more than one task at a time. Ah, it is a good excuse not to mop the floors today.

Getting settled in...

We have slowly been getting into a routine here at the Horn house. I have a feeling we will kind of find our rhythm and then the September activities will begin and we will have to find it all over again. The kids are settling into school. Ashley and John have been testing to find where they are at so their teachers can move forward. And we were kind of wondering when homework would really start at this house. Evidently, at least in Sara's case, it is the fourth grade. Whoa, homework has definitely arrived. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind it much. It has actually really helped that she gets home earlier than the other kids. It gives her time to get started on it so she doesn't feel like she is missing out much later. Nathan has been begging to learn how to read. He got so desperate the other day he convinced his sister to sit down and teach him some stuff. So I've been doing at home preschool with him (minor stuff--about 20 minutes organized work a day) and he loves it! Most of what we do is in an unorganized fashion...rhyming at the grocery store, sounding out words in the car, and counting various things. Well, he loves everything but coloring. Who can really blame him for that though? He kind of fails to see the point of it and views it only as a way to get to work on the next sheet. Joe is starting a new endeavour...Cub Scout Leader. I'm not sure who is more excited Joe or John. They are both really, really pumped about Cub Scouts. And, me, what have I been up to? Well, I am T&T (Truth in Training, I think that is what it stands for...wow that is really bad that I don't know that!) director this year for AWANA. It is the 3rd-6th graders. I'm pretty excited because up until know I've usually only taught and dealt with younger kids. I'm also still in charge of Children's ministry at church and I'm starting a new endeavour as well. But that will have to wait for another post. I want to give many details.

I'll close this quick update with a quote from Nathan yesterday: "Can we go to Africa for our next vacation?" It made me chuckle. I asked him about Disneyworld and he said "Well, I want to go to Africa and then Disneyworld." It is these moments that make Joe & I feel good as parents. Don't hear me wrong...I love Disneyworld. It is a ton of fun and I see no problem in kids wanting to go to Disneyworld. But these comments reflect what we've tried to instill in our kids...a broad picture of the world and a love for learning. Well, that, and I think he'd really like to see a lion in the wild.

The tooth fairy

The tooth fairy visited our house again last night. This one made me cry. The top teeth always do. Treasuring these years...

The zoo

This past Saturday we made our annual trek to the St. Louis zoo. This really is one of our all-time favorite family places to hang out. The highlights of this trip were getting to see the hippo open its mouth and the lioness hanging out in the tree. The kids were also pretty excited that the snow leopard (one of their favorite animals) was where they could see it.

First Day wrap up

Yes, summer vacation is over at our house. We started school today. They go half day today and tomorrow in an effort to ease us into it (well, that and I'm sure the teachers appreciate the prep time). Here's our traditional 1st day of school pics and a little bit about every one's mornings.

Ashley's first words when she got to the car were "Well, I really like Mr. Angelo, but we have homework." (It's easy homework in case you're worried). As part of her homework, she decided that one of the things she would take to school tomorrow to describe herself is a stick from our Ash tree in the front yard. I was quick to inform her that she needed to make sure she told her teacher that we did not name her after a tree. Yes, I will admit it, I want the teacher to like me and not think I name my children after trees.
John loves being in first grade, but, WOW, did it make him hungry. I can't even begin to describe everything he ate when he got home from school. It has given me pause about what I pack for that boy in his lunch box. We definitely need to be giving him more to eat at school. (BTW, this may be his last picture with his top front teeth intact. They are both wiggly. We may get to sing the "All I Want for Christmas..." song this year. )

Sara is in the 4th grade this year. Can you believe that?! I can't. The first words that she said to me after school were "Mrs. (blank) was really, really nice even though all my friends on the playground said that she was a monster." Greeeaaattt. I'm glad she is an independent thinking and doesn't assume what everyone else says is true. I've just heard that her teacher is hard which is not necessarily the worst thing in the world. I think Sara is going to do just fine. She has a locker this year (Ashley does too) and is super pumped about decorating it. She also has to get a lock. I hope she can remember the combination. I still have nightmares about forgetting my locker combination in high school!

Nathan didn't want to get left out of pictures. Poor guy really missed his siblings today. He hung out with me at McDonalds and some of his friends who he'll be going to kindergarten with next year. I sat and drank coffee with my friends. None of us could really bear going home with only part of our children. We had all pretty much cried our tears already and were ready for some mom conversation distraction until the kids got out. One thing is for certain, this has jolted me out of my summer schedule. I'm still feeling a bit frazzled from the morning. We are experiencing some change this year. Sara goes to school 45 minutes earlier than the other kids and therefore, gets out 45 minutes earlier than they do. John & Ashley's school has a new addition which is creating new drop off and pick up locations that are going to, understandably, take the school a few days to figure out. I say give it two weeks and I'll be in the swing of things. Until then, if you see me, you may want to ask me if I'm sure I am where I am supposed to be.

a few tidbits

Here are some tidbits of my life lately:

I went a week and a half without conditioner for my hair. I was waiting to get a really good deal on some. I'm thinking now that I was just being lazy and my hair paid the price. I could almost hear it sucking in all the conditioner after I bought it.

I took a shower last week (well, in case you're worried, I took one today too) and got interrupted 5 times by my kids. And I don't take that long in the shower. It takes me a total of 20 minutes to do everything...shower, hair, make-up, clothes. One of the interruptions...Child: "Mom, mom, mom!!" Me: "What?" Child: "Mom, mom, mom!" Me:" What?!" Child: "Oh, um, oh, um, I don't remember." Yeah, I don't think that is classified as an emergency.

I got a notice yesterday in the mail from my electric/gas company informing me that I've spent 7% more on energy this year than last year. Thanks...I just wasn't sure if this hot summer was costing me more money.

I cleaned the house yesterday. Well, I cleaned part of it. Joe had cleaned the boys' rooms while I was in Iowa for a quick visit. This cleaning is worth noting because it just doesn't get done in the summer. Joe even commented...WOW! You even dusted! I mopped too and we all know how I feel about mopping. It was a noteworthy day.

I commented to my children this morning that I would probably be crying next Monday morning. They were curious as to why and I told them because I miss them when they are at school. Sara's sympathy: "Well, we are only going to be gone a half day." She probably gets the tough love approach honestly.

I have watched my children grow up this summer. Not taller or bigger, but grown more mature. It's been good to see the fruit of discipline of the last 9 years with them. And, yes, I am going to dearly miss them starting next week.

For all you moms out there...

Summer, well, summer break is drawing to a close at our house. We've got about a week and a half before school begins and my house shrinks from 4 kids to 1 kid...actually 2 kids because I babysit, but only one of my own. The last few days have been a little trying on the nerves. The checkout clerk at Walmart asked me yesterday if I was ready for school to start. I don't know if it was the behavior of my kids or the look on my face that prompted that question. No one napped today despite the fact that we had a friend for a sleepover last night. I headed downstairs to blow off some steam on my elliptical while everyone "rested" in their own rooms. About 10 minutes into the workout at a commercial I glanced around the room, took a big sigh and immediately launched into mental gripes about the cleanliness of the playroom. My gaze rested on a naked barbie. And the thought struck me...someday you are going to miss having naked barbies on your floor. The barbies haven't even been played with that much this summer. My girls are 8 and 9 and their birthday requests this last winter were MP3 players. It goes fast....the summers, the school years, the kids years, etc. It seems I've struggled with contentedness all my adult life. I tend to wish things away so I don't have to deal with the difficulty of the moment. I took pause and realized I could either gripe the next week and a half away or I could enjoy these moments...the squeals of enjoyment of life, the hugs and kisses and the discipleship and training moments. The next time I blink, there will be no more naked barbies on the floor.