Running...

Okay, so I am officially addicted to running! I never, ever, ever, ever thought I would ever say that. In fact, I was pretty sure if someone was actually chasing me that I would just give up and let them have me. I never liked running. So a couple of months ago, I started running because, well...it is the best form of exercise that fits into my life. Going to a gym is pretty much not an option since I have all four kids with me and...let's face it...that is just too much work. So, I started running. I had to force myself to do it. And do it again and do it again and do it again.
So, this past weekend, after some strong encouragement from a friend of mine, I decided I would run in an 8K on Thanksgiving Day. Um, yeah...now is when I need to mention that while I have been running regularly for a couple of months, I really had no idea how far I've been running. I would run around my apartment building and would just run for about 30 minutes. So, this morning, I got in my van and drove out a route in my apartment complex that was a half of a mile. And then, I ran three miles! Yes, I had to walk a little bit of it, but I ran at least 80% of it and I never stopped. It was a huge accomplishment for me. I am very proud of myself. It also made me realize that I will be able to finish the 8K next week. Adam has promised to bring the kids to the finish line to meet me when I finish. Now I am very excited. I have never really been an exerciser at ALL. When I was younger, I never had to exercise. I was always small and underweight. Aaaahhh...four kids later and I am no longer small or underweight. So, I decided that I needed to exercise. And, I always eat better on the days that I exercise. I mean, who wants to kill themselves running for 30-45 minutes and come inside and eat candy? No way.

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

So, in the past week, I have said things to my children that I never thought I would say...

To Jude (who tends to have a "potty" mouth, meaning he literally calls people toilet heads):
You can call people watermelon head, but you cannot call anyone a diaper head.

Also to Jude, who was shooting me with a toy machine gun while I was trying to cook supper: (If you don't believe I should let my boys play with toy guns, feel free not to share. Take it up with James Dobson )

Please don't do that to me...Go shoot your brother with the machine gun!

And, yesterday...I was having a real conversation on the phone - you know, the kind where you are talking to someone at an office with a real job, who may or may not have children, who cannot block out the incessant "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" in the background...you know, a conversation with a real person. Fortunately, the person who I talk on the phone with most has more children than I do and is very understanding when I have to put her on "hold" while I deal with whatever life threatening situation my children only seem to find themselves in when I am on the phone.

Anyway, so yesterday I was on the phone. During the seven minute conversation, EACH of my four children interrupted me at one point or another. Yes, that includes the ten year old. I managed not to change my tone of voice while I was talking. I hung up the phone with my children completely oblivious to my intense anger. I began...um...projecting my voice to explain that I was serious about not being interrupted when I was on the phone. I must have had a crazed look in my eye because Sebastian ran under his bed (this is not unusual) and Annabelle and Jude exchanged a look that clearly said, "Oh, man, we have pushed her too far. We really have pushed her over the edge this time!" It was pretty funny to me because I really wasn't yelling very loud and I didn't really say anything except that they absolutely could not interrupt me when I was on the phone. But apparently my eyes said all of the things that I was thinking - You people drive me crazy...why can I never be alone?...Can you not see the phone to my ear?...-but all I really said was,
When I am on the phone, and you see me hold my finger up, that means you cannot talk to me!
And, then I said a very intelligent comment to Annabelle, who was the most persistent while I was on the phone-
Annabelle, don't ask me for anything ever again!

A Brief Update

So I am having a hard time trying to homeschool, keep up with the house work, try to get a decent supper on the table every night and have time to write a blog entry! It is so hard to find the time to write on here!
Let's see...we went to Gulf Shores in September and we had such a great time. It was the first time any of my children had seen the ocean and their reactions were priceless:

Zoe: "Oh my goodness...God is bigger than this?!"
Sebastian: "Awesome"
Annabelle: "Wow!"
Jude: "This is the best day of my life!" and then he began singing the Spongebob song "Best Day Ever!" and skipping around on the beach.

We spent four days on the beach and went out to eat at night. Aside from Adam getting a little sunburn (he hasn't spent a great majority of his summer at the pool like the kids and I did!) we had a wonderful, relaxing vacation.

And, I am still running! I have been able to more than double what I did at the beginning. When I started, I did six laps around my apartment building, but I would walk one, run one...die...breathe...walk one, run one...die...breathe...walk one, run one...come inside barely able to speak and collapse on the couch until I could muster the strength to drag myself into the shower. Now, I am consistently running all six laps (without the dying in the middle) and this morning, I was able to run a seventh lap. I am loving it too...I never understood why anyone would want to run if no one is chasing them. People kept saying it was addicting...I didn't believe them. It is! I am trying not to be frustrated at the slow process, but I have some awesome thigh and calf muscles and other parts of my body are tightening up as well.
I haven't been as diligent about my diet, but now that I am running consistently, I find myself eating better to not destroy all my running! It is getting better, though. Slowly, but surely, I am seeing changes in my body. They are very subtle changes, but I am trying to be very patient.
Other than that, not much else is going on. Adam's practice is going very well and he is enjoying every minute of it. I am enjoying the homeschooling and I was able to take a leave of absence from my job at Target. I like that because I can still go back if I want to, but I'm not working right now.

6 Weeks of Homeschooling

So, we are in our 6th week of homeschooling and, as you might imagine, there are pros and cons to everything. So, here's my list:

Cons: I get very little alone time. I talk all day long, answer questions all day long, and break up fights all day long. I also have to make four people breakfast, lunch and dinner and my house is never clean because there are people in it at all times! And, yes, school age children fights are much harder to break up than preschool fights. I also sometimes get overwhelmed at the thought that their education is up to me. If something gets missed, well, it's my fault and my problem. That's a bit unnerving...

Pros: I absolutely do not miss the morning chaos. "Zoe, put your shoes on!" "Sebastian, eat your breakfast!" "Hurry up!! We're late!" Don't miss that at all.
Everyone gets to sleep until they wake up, so they pretty much wake up in a good mood.
I don't have to sit in car rider line, which always occurs in the middle of nap time!!
I also love how when we're working on something, if they get frustrated with it, they can take a break and come back to it later. This has been a new concept for Zoe, who has been in school for five years until now.
I like being in control of what they are learning. In the week leading up to the beach, we studied beach stuff. They loved it and were excited to see some of the things we learned about while we were at the beach.
I like that I get to tailor the way I teach them to their different learning styles. This has proven to be especially helpful with Sebastian. He is so different from Zoe and he has learned so much in these 6 weeks. He even read his first sentence! And, he now wants to learn to read. Huge strides. And, I get to monitor those strides.

So, my pro list is longer than my con list and, for me, that means we are doing the right thing. I'm not sure this is a permanent situation, but for now it is good for our family.

So, I'm a terrible Blogger!

I haven't blogged in so long...we've been having school and getting ready to go to the beach next week and I've been so busy! School is going really well...Zoe is doing great and we are making some pretty big strides with Sebastian and Jude. Everyone is learning and I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.
Adam's practice is going really well. He is so busy! God is so good!!
So, life is pretty good right now, just busy.

I'll try to blog after the beach...

Our Trip

So, last Saturday, the kids and I got up and headed out to Nashville to meet Adam's dad. We met at a Shoney's and he took Sebastian and Jude back to his house for the week! Then the girls and I headed to Hendersonville to visit my college roommate, Cari. We had such a good visit! I have not seen Cari in almost 10 years, but it was like we'd never been apart. It was great. We ate lunch and spent lots of time there with her three precious children.

Then, we drove to Memphis to see my brother and his family, where we stayed until Wednesday. On Sunday, we got up and went to church at Faith Baptist, which is where I grew up (back when it was just a little country church, but now there are 3,000 people there) , but I love going back to church there. Then we went to lunch with my friend, Heather. It is always wonderful to be with Heather. She is just one of those people who are so easy to be friends with. I just love her. We went back to church Sunday night (just me and Zoe because Annabelle was asleep when we left) and went out for ice cream with Heather afterwards. Again, so much fun.

On Monday, we had lunch with a very dear friend. In my testimony I mentioned my Dad's best friend, Ernie, who gave me away at my wedding, who also passed away in 1998. Zoe, Annabelle and I had lunch with his wife, MaryAnn, who was just as important a part of my upbringing as Ernie was. I have known her since I was 10 years old and my Dad went to work at a small church software company called Shelby Systems. The company literally had 14 people in it when my Dad started working there. Now, they have a huge building with over 100 people working there! After we had lunch, MaryAnn took us over to the office. I got to see people I have not seen since I was in college...early college years. It was so much fun and the girls were so good. I got to visit with them all. It was so much fun.

Monday night, we went to my niece's gymnastics and then we went to Heather's house for pizza. And, our other friend, Amy, came over too! We had fun visiting and the kids had fun playing. It was great.

On Tuesday, the girls and I didn't have any concrete plans, so we decided we would go out to the cemetery where my Daddy and Ernie are both buried. I hardly ever have time to do this when we go to Memphis. We bought flowers and cleaned both of the markers and put flowers on the graves. It was a neat experience. It took us over an hour to find them, but after wandering around and a phone call to my mom, we finally found them. Then I took the girls to a playground and we played for a while.

On Wednesday, we loaded up and headed back towards Chattanooga. We stopped in Alabama to see my friends Don and Faye, who my kids call Papaw Don and Grandma Faye. Faye worked with me at PlayCore and Don worked with me at the church here. They are just special people in my life and so they are special to my kids too! We had lunch with them and then came back to Chattanooga. Daddy was glad to see his girls!

Then, yesterday morning, we went to Clarksville to get the boys! So now we're all back together and it feels good to have everyone back!

Our First Week

So, we started school this week! I had thought I would wait until the 24th, but decided to go ahead and start. We had a great week! I ran everyday this week, too! Zoe took her first math test, Sebastian did subtraction, Sebastian and Jude each read a book each day (one of those starter readers) and all three of them wrote or drew in their journals each day. It's been a very productive week and I'm so proud of all of them. We are going to start again on the 24th because the boys are going to Adam's dad's house next week! I am leaving tomorrow with all of the kids and meeting his dad in Nashville and he is taking the boys to his house. Then, Annabelle and Zoe and I are headed to Memphis until Wednesday! I'm so excited! I will be seeing college friends and other people that I haven't seen in years! I cannot wait!!!