Perfect!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.

Dishes must be cleared and rinsed after each meal.

Everyone needs to bring in whatever they took with them during the car ride.

Shoes are always lined up on the rug; coats and bags are hung on the appropriate hook by the door.

Beds are always made before leaving our room in the morning.

Pillows must be fluffed before walking away from the couch.

Closets are always tidy and organized just as the labels say (yes, the shelves are labeled...aren't yours?!?!). Shirts are color coordinated, short sleeve to long sleeve.

Laundry is done the same day every week.

The house is cleaned the same day every week.

What can I say?...I need my routine or I may throw a fit!!!!

I have been discovering that this may not be what most people would consider "normal". There may be a few, crazy people out there who think the same way I do...and boy do we understand each other well!!!

The last couple weeks have found me trying to relax a bit. Not worrying so much if the house isn't cleaned on Monday or the laundry washed, folded, and put away on Tuesday.

Do I really want my girls to remember their mommy as someone who cared more about having a clean and organized house than spending time and making memories with them?!?

I am pleased to say that I have been doing a pretty darn good job of changing this.

I am discovering that the pile of whatever it is that needs to be put away will still be there the next time I walk by it. I am learning that even a few minutes here and there is equal to a million minutes in their eyes.

We have been playing more, reading more, and just taking time out to sit and enjoy each other.

Paint and play-doh no longer make me anxious as I hover over them to keep the mess from getting too bad...instead, I make a mess with them or allow them to be creative while I work on something else. The mess cleans up just fine when we are all done...and, now that I have allowed them to, I have discovered they can even clean it up pretty good themselves.

I am no longer walking around, picking up after the girls as they set something down. I even allow them to keep the crayons and coloring books out for a day or two, just in case they want to go back to them.

It'a amazing how freeing it can be to let go of some of that silly nonsense and just enjoy all the God has blessed us with!

Here are some things that have made me smile latley.



Breck has been very in to wearing her watch and keeping an eye on the time. Evidently, she forgot where her jewelry box was!




I pulled back the curtains only to find these hiding on the window ledge. Taylor loves to hide things around the house...especially if it's not hers!



Taylor and Breck were playing dogs and left out the water and food bowls in case they got thirsty or hungry again.

Blink

As I'm rushing home from my sister's house the other morning, running late to my next "appointment" for the day, this song is playing on the radio.

I listen for the first time....coincindence that I turn the radio up to hear it better as I am forced to sit and wait for the train to pass? and the chorus is repeating "slow down, slow down"? I think not!

I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite song! It speaks straight to my heart!

Airplanes&Memories

I have pondered all day about what exactly to write...


...what exactly is it that I'm wanting to say today?...


With that said, I have decided to just start writing and follow my heart....


In light of his birthday, I took Taylor and Breck to visit my dad today...


Well, not in the way I would have liked to, but we went to the last place I said good-bye...






Kaicee and Brooks were both at school, so it was just me and the little girls. Sadly, neither of them will remember grandpa Housour...Breck was only 18 months when he passed away and we were plesently surprised by Taylor's upcoming arrival two short months later. Their memories will solely be based on the stories they hear from us.

The airplane pictured on his headstone was his personal plane. Anytime I see an airplane, I am reminded of the flights we shared. A couple weeks ago, a great friend gifted me with this....



I love it and I wear it proudly :)

As we spent time at the cemetary, both girls where intrigued by the airplanes...both on his headstone and around my neck. Whenever I wear the necklace, they inform me that I wear it to remind me of grandpa :) It makes me happy that they have these simple reminders of grandpa, even if they don't have the precious memories that I do.




This is a picture of my dad and Kaicee almost 5 years ago...I love to look at it and be reminded that they shared the same special relationship he and I did.

AfterSchoolPlans

I found this movie at the library a few weeks ago but we never took the time to watch it. Kaicee's teacher is now reading the book to them at school so she has been begging me to get it again. I have never seen it but I have heard that it is, oh, so good...so, after school, we plan to curl up and watch it together :)

***I am soo bummed!...and so are the girls. This is so not the original movie :( If any of you own the original and wouldn't mind letting us borrow it, we would greatly appreciate it! I didn't realize that it is no longer available until I go to looking online. My mom still has a VCR (I know, isn't that crazy?!?!) so we would even be able to watch VHS...we just really want to watch them!

NoteToSelf...

Never, ever...no matter what!...do not ever take antibiotics on an empty stomach!!!!

After some much needed rest and a couple doses of antibiotics, I woke up this morning ready to face the day! Agenda for the day:
finish folding laundry
get the girls fed and Kaicee off to school
grocery shopping with the little girls
Epic meeting
get girls lunch and Breck to school
clean house while Taylor naps

Sounded like a great plan...and it was, until I decided to take my antibiotics BEFORE eating breakfast. Big mistake!!! HUGE!!!! I ended up taking a half hour nap on the bathroom floor after giving in to the nauseas (sp?) feeling I felt in my stomach :( Not good. Not good at all.

One good thing...I sure am glad we decided to put heated tile floor in our bathroom :)

Now that I'm feeling better....I'm off to face my day!!!

OnTheMend?!?

It seems that our family may finally be on the home stretch of this nasty allergy/sinus/cold crap that keeps lingering around here! Breck and Taylor are finishing up antibiotics and are feeling much better. Brooks is on round two of antibiotics and hopefully gonna nip this thing this time around! I have finally given in to the drugs and am partaking in my own dose of antibiotics :( At this point, Kaicee has stayed strong and has been able to dodge any bad germs that may have come her way!

Could it really be that after nine, count them, NINE LONG WEEKS of feeling like poo...our family may be starting to feel better soon?!?!? Oh, how I hope so!

SchoolPictures

We have decided not to buy school pictures anymore. They are so expensive!...and let's be honest, they usually turn out terrible! This is the second year that I have opted to buy only the smallest package possible, allowing me to at least have one to put in the girls' scrapbooks. I decided that I needed to at least have one to put in their albums so we can some day look back and laugh at them :) This year, I have to say that I was plesently surprised!







Another reason we have opted to not buy school pictures...last year we finally replaced our point and shoot with a great Canon Rebel! Our plan is to take some family and individual pics this weekend. Anyone have any great locations you can recommend? I'd love to find somewhere that we can take advantage of all the great fall colors right now!

MyWindow

This is the view from my kitchen window. Nothing too exciting maybe, to many of you, but I smile every time I look out. It's amazing how one simple picture can have so many stories to tell.

Brooks and the girls built our playhouse together this summer...we even let them help paint! It was great to watch them work on it together and now it's fun to watch the girls play :)

The little purple slide makes me think of the summer months as the kiddos hook up the hose and scream as the freezing cold water sprays them while they slide down.

The leaves on the ground remind me that fall is here and it is sooo my favorite season ever!!! It's also just exciting to see the leaves...this is the first year that the trees were big enough to actually produce enough leaves to cover the ground! The girls are so excited to have something to rake this year...all we need is a rake ;)

The bird feeder hanging from the tree makes me laugh. It hasn't had any food in it almost all summer, but it still looks great hanging there. We got this bird feeder last summer and loved watching all the birds that came to our yard. We were amazed by how fast the food went...which is why it has been empty :)

The fire pit(which you can barely see in this picture)reminds me of the times we've sat with friends and talked the night away as the kids run around catching lightning bugs or playing flashlight tag. Sometimes, it was just Brooks and I that would sit and talk while the girls were inside sleeping.

The lawn chair brings memories of our family eating supper outside on those not-so-scorching-hot summer nights.

And finally, the stash of medicine that covers the windowsill reminds me that the season I so love brings with it lots of coughs and snot :(

Oh, how I love my window! :)

Popcorn&Icee's

Yep! That's right! This mom allowed her daughters to have a bag of popcorn and an Icee drink for lunch today! Can you belive it?!? What a terrible mom I am! Well, it was either that or make Breck very late for kindergarten...what else was a mom to do?!?

After MOTT's, I decided to head over to Target to take care of a couple exchanges that needed to be made....and Breck got to buy a book since she missed the opportunity at the school bookfair and Taylor got to buy her foam ABC's she's been begging for since discovering the neighbors'. As we are heading out the door, I realize that we only have 25 minutes to get Breck back in time for Kindergarten!...the biggest problem being that we live almost 20 minutes away and I have not fed them lunch yet! We rush in to the food court, only to get behind someome who litterally took 5 minutes to order a hot dog!!!! Hello!!! This mom is running late! Get out of my way!!!

We opt for the popcorn because it's already bagged and ready to go. The girls ask for Icee drinks so I kindly agree...it's can't be any worse than a fountain drink, right?

So, there you have it...the reason why Breck and Taylor were blessed with a delicious, not so nutritious, lunch of popcorn and Icee drinks :)

Oh, and by the way, we pulled into the school parking lot with 1 minute to spare!

WordOfGodSpeak

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your Majesty
To be still and know
That You are in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

Word of God speak
Would you pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your Majesty
To be still and know
That You are in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness
Word of God speak

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

Reading&Dancing

Lucky for me, all of my girls have picked up my love for reading children's books!...I include "children's books" because those seem to be the only ones I find time to sit and read ;) It is nothing out of the ordinary for us to sit and read several books together.

Taylor comes to me, with a book in hand, and plops down on my lap, eager to hear her book for the 100 millionth time...and I don't mind one bit.

Breck is starting to read on her own, so she comes with her easy reader books and proudly reads to me...and I see the joy in her eyes.

Kaicee has been reading for a couple years now, but we still love to curl up together with a good book, taking turns reading...and I realize she is growing up way too fast.

As I watch the girls' love of books grow, I realize that there is also a bit of a competitive streak in Kaicee. When given a challenge associated with reading, this girl goes above and beyond! This year, her teacher has challenged them thru AR (Accelerated Reader program at school) and their weekly reading logs. She has worked so hard to have the most AR points in her class and to read the most minutes each week.

Yesterday was story hour day for Taylor. Normally I allow the girls to each pick 3 books, but I was feeling like a nice mommy yesterday. I decided to throw out the "3 books a piece" rule and just let Taylor choose whatever she wanted off the shelf. We picked some books for Breck (who was home with daddy, sick) and I surprised Kaicee with a stack on her favorite's, "Mr. Putter and Tabby".


Homework finished...Kaicee discovered the books and began reading to her sisters. Breck and Taylor sat for nearly an hour while Kaicee read book after book. As the evening went on, Kaicee continued to sit and read....








By the end of the evening, Kaicee had read 27 books, for a total of 150 minutes! She was so proud...and so excited that I would considering blogging about it :)

As Kaicee read the night away, Breck and Taylor decided to entertain themselves in another way. In addition to reading, they also have a love for singing and dancing. I hope you enjoy the video!




What a great night in the Egolf house! I love my girls!

SickOfBeingSick!!!

I am not sure if we have allergies or what, but Breck and I are getting ready to start week SEVEN of feeling like crap! Brooks has decided that he would like to join us in our misery. With that being said, I'm heading off to bed and praying that I don't have to follow thru with my thoughts of making Dr appointments for all of us :( Here's hoping we are feeling better tomorrow!