tea time...or pee time?

so i'm cleaning the toy room the other night and i'm looking for these magnets that go to something i wanted to hang in the kids toy room for their artwork. i had let elias play with them (my first mistake) and can't find them anywhere. i'm thinking "did he eat them?...did piper?...are they stuck to something random somewhere?..."

can't find them. but i open one of the cabinets in eli's little kitchen, and i see a tea cup. grandma nancy gave piper THE cutest tea set made out of tin for her birthday, and there, sitting on the shelf inside the little cabinet is one of these little tea cups.

full of pee.

yes- you read that right. pee.

now my first thought is "how in the WORLD did he ever pee into this tiny tea cup with out making a mess?! and without me KNOWING?!" there was no pee to be seen anywhere around this tea cup. not so much as a ring underneath it when i picked it up. (gross.) and this pee had been in there for a day or two (trust me, it just was). so i was never privy to nor invited to this pee party, which is uncharacteristic, because elias is the kid who's like "guess what i did mom!" or "yes, i hit piper"...secrets and lying are just not his forte.

so i'm puzzled by this pee/tea cup, and i'm also kind of impressed. not that i should be, i should be mad or something, but i was. i was just impressed. and a little mad at the peeing in places other than the toilet. we've been peeing in the toilet for a long time now, so i wasn't sure what to make of the peeing in random things. the thought of it started to make me a lit-tle nervous...

a couple of days go by. still no magnets, which is killing me because i can't stand it when i can't find something. i'll look all day and in every spare moment to find it. but no luck on the magnets yet. so i'm cleaning up again one night, and i pick up the tea kettle and i hear something clanging around inside. i look inside and there i find the three missing magnets...

and some more pee.

awesome. i guess when your mom says "no more water" in the tea set (since it was rusting), you have to find other ways to make believe. and, of course, now i know how he had such amazing accuracy- his pouring skills are fantastic.

anyone for pee time, i mean, tea time?!

(new to me) music

so i wanted to let you in on the cd's that were my saviors during our road trip to new york state. i love having new music on long trips because it makes them somehow more memorable for me. these were an old list of cd's i wanted. now, with your help, i'm compiling a new one. awesome. so this is what i've had in rotation in my car for the past few weeks:

kenna make sure they see my face. this entire album is fantastic. his music in in the same vein as coldplay, U2, and radiohead, but with splash of electronica and funk. his newest album, which i can wait to obtain, new sacred cow, is produced by chad hugo of the neptunes. looking forward to that one, too. buy this album. it's so good.

wilco sky blue sky. the more i listen, the more i like. and i hear their latest album (wilco, the album) blows this one out of the water. so i think i want that one, too. the voice of lead singer, jeff tweedy, reminds me of ben folds for some reason.

radiohead in rainbows. great album. if you're one of those tech savvy ipod people, download tracks 1, 4, 7, and 8. track 1 is just so good.

mat kearney nothing left to lose. i like mat kearney's voice, and i saw him live one time and really liked his music. but most of the songs on this cd sound the same. heard one, heard 'em all. the "rapping" is not my favorite- especially when he has such a great singing voice. his newer album is supposed to be better- anyone heard it/have it?

ryan adams easy tiger. i LOVE this album. the more and more i listen to it, the more i adore (most of) the songs on it. a couple of them have a bit to much twang for this girl. download tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 (is folky, country-ish), and 12.

robin thicke something else. this album has a lot of soul. every time i listen to it i love it more and more. his cd's are like that. this cd has a catchy r&b throwback feel. i like it better than his last album, actually. download tracks 3, 6, 8, and 9. and if you want to laugh a little about white guys singing r&b, watch this ;)

ray lamontagne gossip in the grain. haven't fit this one into the rotation. he'll work his way in this fall, i'm sure. his music isn't jammin summertime music, so he's gotten back burnered.

black eyed peas the E.N.D.. this one's okay. just okay.

so if you're looking for new music, even if you don't know what you're looking for, there is this website that will help you find similar artists based on bands/cds you like. for example, if you like ben folds, click here to see who else you might like.

and THANK YOU for all your great music suggestions. i'm really looking forward to doing more investigating and listening :)

updates, edition 2: our backyard

the amount of dirt in my backyard is literally overwhelming. and so is trying to write about it or post pictures about it, really, because there have been 10 wheelers in and out of my backyard constantly, and the project itself is ever-evolving, almost 3 years in the making, and it's JUST epic. but i WANT to. because if it's going to consume my life, it's going to have to consume at least a few minutes of yours. it's only fair ;)

yesterday was our last load of dirt, and at some point (soon, i hope!), an operator is going to hop back on the bulldozer in my backyard and do some smoothing, again, but for the last time. in the past few weeks, i've just realized God is so good! he really cares about us, and provides for our needs, whether our needs are dirt or rest or wisdom. it's encouraging to see him work in the everyday things. like seeing how he's orchestrated hundreds of yards of dirt being trucked from quincy (why? ask my dad, right kris?) for free, and a company who has for some reason cut us an AMAZING deal on a bulldozer, and are allowing us to pay them back as slowly as we want. WHO does that?!

we've been trying to get rid of the cliff in our backyard for 2 and a half years, until recently, we'd collected dirt slowly. it's really not a pretty sight to look at every day when your washing dishes. but i have been trying to be patient and not so "results" driven. and FINALLY! *angels singing* we have enough dirt. and it's A LOT of dirt.

truthfully, the very thought of having not only a flat-ish backyard, but one that may have GRASS...it's altogether too much. i'm elated to not have my son digging in mud and dirt constantly, though he will be bummed, and i'm really going to love walking around without shoes on.

and that's a really really abbreviated version of what's been happening at the stratton construction site. it's exciting, and noisy, and dirty, and inconvenient, but AWESOME.

and now, a trip from 2006 to present:

here is our backyard when we moved in. you'll notice trees (all of which are gone), and behind that fence is a 25 foot drop off...it was like having 2 seperate backyards.

yup, we cut these trees down, too. still burning the wood in our wood stove, too, which is sweet. they were ugly and grubby, so i was glad to see them go last year.

another angle

here is what the yard looked like about 2 weeks ago. still a little yard to speak of...

and here it is now. juuuusssttt dirt. and yes, that's elias on top of that pile.

my yard is closing in!

a view from further back in the yard (that's a little bit of the back of our house on the left)...

and here i am almost to the back of our property (notice how low i am. and yes, that's all you can see of our entire house)

a little perspective from the room above the garage into the backyard

(this was after they flattened the first piles. now there is that much dirt and more...again!)

potential...that's what i see!

this is all we have left to play on. it's hilarious. or depressing. depends on the day...

and the sky's the limit! i can't wait for it to be DONE! some day i'm going to be able to see the house from the back of the yard! YAY!

the madness.

you all know about the madness, right?

the kind of times in life where you turn around and it's been an entire week? and you don't have any idea where all the time went, exactly?

well. this past week i've been living in the madness. and currently, the war of madness wages on. between not sleeping, because my daughter likes to cry about 6 times every night (get her OUT of my room!), elias getting sick last night and this morning, throwing up...well, everywhere, having play dates (yesterday at monkey joes with ams! and tuesday with lee), trying to finish piper's room, and having dinner guests or plans every day since friday...

i'm spent. more than spent. and i'm sitting here feeling nauseous, just like i have for the past two weeks (oh no, i'm not pregnant...i checked.) and wondering if it's because i'm blimey exhausted or because elias is lending me his sick germs. time will tell :)

(side note: eli calls pukies "mukies" which is about the only cute thing about kids throwing up.)

on the plus side, elias slept through the night last night, even though he still got sick twice already this morning. piper, on the other hand...she did not. what happened to my 2 month old baby that slept through the night!? somebody find her and give her back! and truly, it's been a great week, despite the exhaustion. don't let me fool you with my downtrodden inclinations.

we had a great couples group meeting friday, elias played with our friends (and his obsession) drew and deanna saturday, which gave me a nice break, we had a some really honest and meaningful conversation with our friends jeff and savannah sunday night, we made some progress in piper's room (room is painted, crib is almost painted) on monday, eli and piper got to play with cadence, jaxon, benjamin, and baby lucas this week, i got to take the kids shopping with my mum to find her some new shorts (i love shopping for other people. i considered being a personal shopper at one time. seriously.), and we had dinner with our friends (and eli's infatuation) beth and matt, AND i've sold a couple things on craigslist.

and in all the madness of having piper's room strewn about, now i have pukey laundry, bedding, and the like scattered everywhere. not to mention piled up laundry, and the fact that my daughter, who i've deprived of naps because, darn it, i want to be social, is awake upstairs after a 45 minute nap. grrrr...not gonna cut it. c'mon, piper- SOMEONE'S gotta sleep around here!

but you know what? i'm no defeated mama!

it doesn't matter what our circumstances are, does it? we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. i can't do weeks like these alone. i can't find kind or good words to say in the midst of exhaustion and puking kids. but i CAN with Jesus strength! i can say positive things, i can rely on him instead of myself, and i HAVE to, because if i don't, the madness gets hopeless and suffocating and heavy.

and despite this past week, and if you can see through any of my complaining, i am trying my best to tell myself that sleep will come, wellness will come, and my house will eventually be put back together. and what matters the most is how i can act in and through it.

so i'm gonna hold my boy and snuggle the heck out of him, and i might even brave the outdoors with him and piper so they can get some fresh air! because mamas hold it all together. and i can serve and take care of my little love doves EVEN if i don't feel like i can...or that i want to ;)

as mums, maybe our trials aren't 40 days in a desert, but they are challenging. what do you all do to make it through the madness?

1 Peter 4:11 says "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

one of those days

i didn't even get to finish this blog. it's now thursday, and i'm laughing at this, so i'll definitely share.

in the realm of motherhood, good days are sprinkled amongst bad days. that way mothers can maintain a small percentage of sanity and children don't get hurt.

today is one of "those" days. one of the ones where you want to rip your hair out. and yell and scream. and you can't seem to get anything accomplished, and the one thing you try to do manages to be aggravating or becomes a debacle of some sort. anyone out there familiar with this day?

it's 11:40am.

my son has not yet has his diaper changed. i just ate breakfast. we are, all 3, in our pajamas. i look like i didn't sleep. oh yeah- i didn't. piper is miss fussypants and is down for her second nap of the morning. must be nice. she won't eat, and i am tired of fighting with her to meet her basic need of nourishment. what an outlandish concept...trying to feed my child.

there are dishes everywhere, laundry is piled high. didn't i just do, like 4 loads of laundry? hmmm.

i'm tripping all over toys, aimlessly wandering around the house, trying to get something done, and i realize:

i am accomplishing something.

silly.

i am raising children.

and that is enough.

as i change the third diaper of the day, i say a quick prayer that goes something like this: "Lord, i want to scream. SCREAM. please help me to remember that ALL things are for your glory. even menial, trivial, lackluster drudgery. i am blessed to have two beautiful children, and it's okay if i do nothing else but take care of myself, my husband, and them. mothering is an important job, and i'm grateful for it. even if sometimes i don't feel like i am."

and from that point on, i felt better. not that it was all roses. it's now two days later, and i have yet to get a good night's sleep. i'm, again, in my pajamas at 5:15pm. so i just laugh. what else can you do?!

(that's legal, anyway...)