Lent: Give up your sister?

An amazing day!  I didn't get a nap, but made it.  That alone calls for a celebration!  I've been so absolutely exhausted, but today, I made it.  Weirder, I made it because I was cleaning during my lowest point.  I really get into cleaning.  I cleaned my pantry and the pantry in the laundry room-I knew it'd work since I'd get pretty immediate satisfaction, thereby giving me more energy!  Yes, weird, but it words for me!
I vacuumed the entire downstairs and the stairs, washed all my bedding (even the crocodile quilt!), did all the laundry, put it away (biggest shocker), cleaned my bathroom, vacuumed out the refrigerator (you know, the crumby and fruity bits, if yours is perfect, just play along), and got my nails done, made dinner, and read lots of books to Ethan!  Hi-Ya!  (that's a Success Karate Chop!) and then I did flash cards with Clay, and helped Mary Claire write her story summary for the week (too bad it was due today, I'm pretty sure, since they don't have school today, which I didn't remember till bedtime last night).

Well, Lent is officially here.  We went for our ashes Wednesday morning, then took the kids to their schools.  Ethan wanted very much to rub mine off to make me "clean"!  It was hard for him to understand.  Clay didn't mind (but he has bangs on his forehead!), but Mary Claire wanted to rub on hers too.  I get it-it's hard being in a public school with ashes.  No one understands, and they think you have dirt on you (or toner if you are an adult!).  It's funny-as I was out running errands, I could tell who was Catholic (or who'd been to Ash Wednesday services!).  Only in the South are they few and far between!


Anyway, we've been talking with the kids about what they'd like to give up for Lent.  We abstain from something we like, or do extra volunteering, etc. as a "penance".  Clay has finally decided to give up tv in his room.  He wanted to give up only channel 41 (his favorite, Animal Planet), or only DVD's (that he never watches), or his bed, or his room, or his sister (yes, after she wanted to give him up for forty days, haha), but finally he made a decent decision.  Mary Claire gave up gum.  Same thing she gave up last year, but she REALLY loves gum, and chews at least 3-4 pieces a day.  So for her, it's a sacrifice.  She offered to give up brushing her teeth, but we settled on gum, again.  Ches said he was going to bike to work every day (HaHa.).  I told him how lame that was, and he argued how cold it was today.  The priest gave some ideas on Wednesday, and this was one of them.  What Fr. Melnick doesn't realize is that Ches LOVES to ride his bike to work!  So, I said it was Lame-O.  He decided to do extra stuff-coaching baseball, helping at the scout dinner, etc.

I have now decided, after much thought, to give up Facebook-ing.  We get a reprieve on Sundays, so I'll check in, but I think it'll be a good break.


Girl Scout cookies will be here tomorrow evening.  I'll pick up my cookies, then quickly get them out!  Maybe they'll all be out by Monday or Tuesday?  I put tags on them last year with their names, so I'll try to do it again this year...that means I need to make the tags and get them printed tomorrow morning!


Ches wants to take the kids to the Stations of the Cross tomorrow night, and it's right in the middle of the pick-up-the-cookie-time, so I'll have to work out the logistics.  My life is a logistics specialty.


I found out today that an amazing friend is pregnant too!  I am so thrilled.  Really.  It is hard to have all these feeling swirling around, and be doubtful, but excited, and scared for the worst, but really hopeful, and am I too old? and what are the chances? and what will the next few months hold, and now I don't have to do it alone!  All my friends now seem to have bigger kids-not babies.  I do have Sandra, who has precious Rose, that I haven't gotten to hold in two weeks-I need more practice!  It seems like even if you've had three kids, every time is like a first time!  I'm excited and nervous, and I know it'll all come back to me, but still.  I'm just so glad that I have a partner to obsess with!  I'm sure Ches gets tired of all my questions and neurosis, so now I can split the crazy with two people!  Heehee