The Real Me

Yes, I have procrastinated with this post.  Over the weekend, I read my blog roll and read Jen's post at Denton Sanatorium to bloggers to be honest and "real" in their blogs.  That's a tough one!  But, here goes...

This is me with my sweet husband, Jeff.  This is as close to a self-portrait as I will allow as I am not typically the one in front of the camera.  You can see why, can't you?  ugh...  But hubby makes up for me - he's handsome with a great smile and gorgeous blue eyes!

Reality check?  I need to color my hair, lose weight and find some new clothes.  Ah well, that will all happen in my spare time, right?  (If I could, I'd insert a laughing-out-loud smiley here)

A typical day in our house looks something like this:

I try to get out of bed by 5 a.m., but it's usually more like 6 a.m. these days.  Turn on the coffee, wash my face and turn on the computer.  Allow myself at least 1/2 hour to wake up a bit.  Work for about an hour, make hubby's lunch, get another cup of coffee, hug him goodbye, and get back to work.  I try to work until the girls wake up, which is usually around 8:30 or so.

My girls need a few minutes to wake up too, so I give them about 15 minutes to read and then we get breakfast.  Hygiene, getting chores started, and then we sit down to school.  Sometimes we don't get school started until (a-hem) 10 a.m.!  But that's ok, we get it done and that's what matters.  At least that's what I keep telling myself, a typical Type A personality.  If I could have my way, school would be started by 8 a.m.  Ah well, that's one of the beauties of home schooling... a flexible schedule.  

While the girls work on their subjects, I am usually flitting around the house tidying up whatever I didn't get done from the previous day and periodically answering questions from the girls as I fly by with laundry or stuff in arms.  Sometimes all this is done while I'm still in pajamas.  Sad, but true.

Lunch time for me is at 11:45.  I make my lunch while the girls finish up some things and then I watch "my" show.  No, it's not a soap opera!  I like the show What Not to Wear on TLC.  It seems a bit silly sometimes, but I like it anyway.  It's my "let down" for the day. 

1 p.m. - this is usually when my girls get their lunch (they eat breakfast so late) and watch a short show themselves.  I usually try to get more writing done for either my blog, website, or clients. 

Intermittently when I can no longer seem to form proper sentences, I get up and do more chores or see what the girls are up to.  By around 2:30 or so, I feel that wonderful "slump" - you know, when you want to lie down and take a nap but know you can't so you grab the first thing of caffeine or protein you can find, so I have to keep moving.

The girls spend their afternoons crafting, reading, playing the piano, or playing together.  Or, fighting - you know, it happens!  Right now, Julie, our oldest daughter, is working on Christmas gifts, so she often has her door closed in the afternoon.  It's all kind of hush-hush in there.  Love that!  Heather, our youngest, is an avid reader, so I can usually find her sitting in the living room or on her loft reading and listening to music.

Errands, if we have them, are typically next on the agenda.  I don't know about you, but when I leave the house, it's as if everything else just gets pushed to the side.  Errands seem to take forever, but we try to do them only a few times a week so we aren't out and running every day of the week.

By 4:30, I am thinking I need to consider what to have for dinner and try to get that started.  But, if I've gotten into a craft or have started a project, I will admit many times I am surprised when Jeff walks in from work and I have yet to even begin thinking about what to feed my family!  He is gracious with me, thankfully!   

Dinner, chatting with the girls about their day, showers, and then watching a bit of television before bed.  Once the girls are in bed, I might watch a show I've taped or tidy up some more and then get to bed by 10 p.m. when I can.  

It doesn't sound like much, but there are days when it's just plain crazy around here!  I'm sure everyone has those days, yes?

More truth about me...

• I love a neat and clean house but struggle mightily to get it and keep it that way.
• I let my oldest daughter go to co-op last week with her hair still pink from the soccer game the night before (yes, I worried about what people might think and then I thought, seriously, it's just pink hair and how many times do you let her do this?  Not a battle I thought was worth fighting.)
• My sewing area is a disaster...it must be all those creative juices flowing...uh-huh
• I have piles throughout the house - things I plan to do, things I want to do, projects I want to tackle, or stuff I just don't have a place for and am too lazy to stick it back up in the attic...which is another place that needs cleaning.
• My sweet husband gets to leave for work every day with this image of me in his head - a wife who is still in her pajamas, drinking coffee, and hasn't brushed her hair.  Yes, that's lovely isn't it?  I do get up early so I can work before the girls get up and we have to tackle school, errands, etc. so I don't do much to get ready for my day until after he leaves.  He says he doesn't care...but someday I'd like to be that wife who has exercised, showered, and is dressed to the nines for her day before he leaves for work!
• Sometimes I put dirty dishes into the dishwasher with the clean ones just so I don't have to empty what's left in there and I run it again.  Yes, I know...sad, but true.  It makes for a clean sink very quickly!  That's how I think on some days...get it done!
• One redeeming quality - I do make my bed every day.  I figure if the rest of the house looks like a tornado hit it, at least Jeff and I have one room in the house to which we can retreat at the end of the day.

It's true, we blog about what we think people want to read about.  We put out the best photos of our trips, our crafts, etc.  Those are great!  But now and then it is nice to know that there are other moms and women out there who get through their days by the skin of their teeth and sometimes in their pajamas!  

Scripture Reading Update

Day 8:  Job17-20

Day 9:  Job 21-23

Day 10:  Job 24-28

Day 11:  Job 29-31

Day 12:  Job 32-24

All my best to you today,