My Messy House Mystery

Today is Monday and my house is a mess.

My entire house was professionally cleaned last Tuesday.

I pay for this service twice each month to save my sanity and ensure the whole house gets clean and sanitized all on the same day at least every two weeks!

The kids were on Spring Break last week, so early Thursday morning, a mere day and a half after the complete cleaning, we drove out of town.

We were gone until Sunday evening at approximately bedtime.

So how is my house a mess today?

I'm not just talking bags that need to be unpacked and wash that needs to be done kind of a mess (although there's all that, too), but dirty.

Actual dirt all over the kitchen floor.  Crumbs on the table.  All the toilets obviously need a wipe-down and literally every trash can is full!

What in the world?

How does this happen?  

No really, when did the house get so dirty?

We were not even here!

I've finally figured it out folks!  

The source of so much frustration in my daily life.

My house MESSES ITSELF up!

I've always joked about wanting a self-cleaning house and instead I'm afraid I have a self-dirtying house!

Sigh.

I do realize this is a huge 1st world problem and I'm thankful for my messy house.

And the vacuum, mop, washer/dryer, trash bags, rags, and ability to clean it!

Now to make the time . . .

Sharing the Dream!

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr.

I share in your dreams, Dr. King!

Is This Thing On?

So, blogging.

Do I remember how?

Not really.  

And where to even begin after nearly 9 months of quiet?

A picture, maybe?

Yes, that would be good.

Our most recent family photo:

I'm Back and a Triathlon!

April has had me other places besides here on this blog, but I do hope to be back more.

There is no way to even begin catching up, so I'll just post something recent that I'd like to have saved here on the blog, otherwise known as the only scrapbook my children will ever have unless they create their own!

My girls completed a triathlon!

My 9 year old daughter did it last year and loved the experience and her 6 year old sister was eager to join the fun this year.

It was a 100 yard swim, 3 mile bike ride, and 1/2 mile run.

The event is huge, so the logistics are CRAZY and this year there was tons of mud so that made things more interesting, but no rain during the event so we were happy about that.

The outdoor pool constructed just for this kids triathlon (you can see the crowds of people in the background to get an idea of the size of the event):

 

Little Girl running into the transition area after her swim (parents are not allowed in transition so the kids must switch between activities all on their own).

 During her run:

And after finishing!

Big sister doing the bike portion of her race (love that huge smile on her face):

And again with the smile walking her bike back in to the transition area (all riders have to get off their bikes and walk them at a certain point):

Crossing the finish line (The time on the clock is not her time since there were staggered start times, that is the total time since the first racer began.  My girls both took around 33 minutes to complete the triathlon) :

So proud of my strong, brave girls!

P.S. Now that their sisters have done it, my boys thought the triathlon looked like so much fun that they want to do it next year!  I think chasing 4 kids around the triathlon course with my camera will definitely constitute an athletic feat for me!

Beautiful Spring Flowers + My 4 Children Does Not Equal Good Pictures

The azaleas in our front yard have been blooming beautifully for a few weeks and as usual I've attempted pictures of the kids in front of the flowers and failed.  It's like I'm in denial about the impossibility of this task.

Sure, I can get a decent picture of 1 kid + flowers:

2 kids + flowers:

Even 3 kids + flowers:

But not 4 kids + flowers!  Nope, not gonna happen!

And my favorite:

The 9 year old daughter fussing at the 7 year old brother for not cooperating for the pictures.  That is real life right there, folks!

City Kid Goes to the Rodeo

I just love my 7 year old's look of utter (udder -- ha!  couldn't resist) confusion here.  "I have to do what to get the milk out?"

Hip-Hip Hooray

Many have asked me this year how Little Girl is doing in kindergarten.

And I have to admit that I, too, looked to the milestone of her starting kindergarten with some worry.  Worry that she'd be too far behind the other kids since she just began speaking English as a 3 year old.  Worry that some of her personality quirks learned from life in an orphanage would play out badly at school.  Worry that her hyperness and loudness would no longer be as precious as it was in preschool but become annoying and problematic.

BUT, as she tends to do, my little Ethiopian has BLOWN US AWAY with how well she's done in her kindergarten class!

One huge key to her success is the behavior chart system that our elementary school uses.  Each child begins each day on Green or "Ready to Go!" and they move up or down the chart according to their behavior.  Well, thankfully Little Girl is even MORE competitive than she is loud or active.  And she wants to be at the top of that chart (the "Hip-Hip Hooray" level) and can amazingly reign in her behavior to get there.  

This past week she even earned the "Hip-Hip Hooray" level every day of the week, and was the first child from her class to achieve that this whole school year!  Her class did a big cheer for her which she totally ate up and her teacher is making her an official "Star Student".

Here she is, proudly showing off her chart:

Rock on Little Girl; you are awesome and amazing!!!!