Mommyhood Max-Out

I’m feeling out of sorts today. I think everything just kind of came crumbling down around me at once, and I got a little overwhelmed. Thank goodness for Ryan, who helps keep me grounded. :-)

We spent most of yesterday shopping for the perfect “Cinderella” costumes for Ryley’s school play. I am usually pretty driven when I have a goal in mind, but there’s only so much that Ryan and Ryley can take. Neither of them like errands too much, and I have to be careful how far I push my little family.

But after visiting a party store, a bridal shop, and two thrift stores, in addition to running several other errands, we found the perfect dress in the back of a spooky, dimly-lit little costume shop with boxes stacked high, masks and wigs hanging from the ceiling, and mannequin arms and heads scattered all over the floor. I hope I never have to go back there again.

But here’s our take on Cinderella….

Ryley’s favorite part is the hoop skirt!

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This afternoon, I had promised Ryley and her friend that we could go around the neighborhood with Girl Scout cookies. We only sold four boxes of cookies in the 25 houses we visited, but it was a really good experience for them. And they were adorable.

The funniest thing: After they had rung the doorbell to a friendly-looking house with an American flag waving, they suddenly freaked out and booked it down the driveway in pure fear.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“There was a sign that said, ‘Trespassers will be shot!’” they said.

Oh my gosh. It was hilarious!

“I think they’re kidding,” I reassured them.

But they could not be convinced to return. :-)

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Ryley and three of her friends have decided they want to put together an act for the school talent show. No information or communication has come home about the talent show, however, so I’ve been pretty confused about what exactly we’re shooting for. But being the mom that I am, I told Ryley I would help her organize a time to practice, and since the try-out is Tuesday apparently, we chose this afternoon at our house, since the one friend would already be here. But none of the other parents returned my calls or e-mail, and since I don’t really know any of them, I was pretty frustrated. I burned CDs of the song they wanted and typed out the words to all the verses. We were ready, but nobody came.

This is where Ryan disagreed with me. He felt I was going too far and being “that mom” that takes too much control. My argument was: “With 3rd graders, you have to help them or it doesn’t happen.” Ryan’s rebuttal to that was: “What’s the harm if it doesn’t happen?” ;-)

We have very different philosophies when it comes to extra-curricular activities. My thing is, it was Ryley’s idea to do it. She and her friends came up with the act themselves. I want to encourage that spirit in her. If she comes up with an idea, I want her to know she can do it.

So anyway, here is what the girls, or ahem, the “Fruit Hoops” have come up with:

It’s definitely unique! Haha! I want to reiterate: this was all their idea. :-)

So with Girl Scout cookies, Cinderella, and the talent show try-outs, it was all just a little too much for me today. Maybe I was getting a taste of the medicine I so generously dole out to Ryan and Ryley on a daily basis? Not sure. But around 5:00, I was just done.

We have a busy two weeks ahead of us. We are still waiting to see if our van is totaled. Ryan works almost every night this week, and I have just gotten way too used to him being home. I do better when we’re together.

He gave me the most wonderful compliment the other day. Ryley and I were goofing around with hula hoops in the living room, and Ryan told me later that he noticed that I am always trying to do things to make sure Ryley is enjoying her childhood…just like his mom always did. It was the very sweetest thing to say. :-)

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I always feel like I am late to the party on so many things. But I’m becoming more and more confident in sharing my discoveries. Because though some of you may be like, “She’s just now discovering that?”, others of you may not have heard of it, and I want to make sure to share the joy. And when I discover something, I DISCOVER it…meaning, I wikipedia and google the heck out of something until I know everything there is to know.

1. Desperation Band…  God has been doing a lot in my heart regarding worship. I used to play keyboards/piano for worship in my youth group in high school, but it has just been so long since I have felt “good enough” to even think about being on a worship team again. Until recently. There’s something about our new church that has revived my love for worship, and I’ve actually found myself seeking out good worship songs and picking out the chords in my free time. Here are two that have been on my worship playlist for several months and I just recently realized how much I love them… Both are by Desperation Band:

Highest Place    and    Everlasting God

So worshipful. I could listen to them over and over again. The version of “Highest Place” on my phone is acoustic and is slower than this.

2. Completely switching topics, I’ve discovered the wonders of baking bacon. I have always, always fried it, but I hate cleaning the mess afterwards, not to mention that I have a horrible habit of burning it. Also, I hate how frying bacon makes our house smell for days afterwards. I feel like I go to work on Monday mornings with the smell of bacon permeating my clothes. “Ah, you made bacon this weekend?”, I imagine my co-workers think. I got to thinking that restaurants must do it differently to get it to turn out so perfectly every time. Ryan said, “Of course, they bake it.” Aha! And so we’ve been doing that, and suddenly it’s no big deal for us to casually stick some bacon on a baking sheet in the oven whenever we want. I love it!

3. The show “Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge” for kids. I believe it’s on the Disney Channel. Ryan likened it to Double Dare. Remember those days? Anyway, it’s fun, and I am completely fascinated by the host’s unrealistically deep voice. We discovered it Saturday morning, and we plan to watch it henceforth. :-)

Off to bed now. Morning comes early, and I covet a better disposition tomorrow. :-)