Lots to tell, but not right now

I have so many things I should be blogging about. New pictures to post, exciting things that happened over the weekend, funny things to share. But right now I am just so very tired. So many other things have been sucking up my time lately I just have not felt the urge to sit down and regularly post like I usually do. And I just can't seem to shake this exhaustion that's been following me around like a new puppy. It's there everyday and though I get a few spurts of get up and go here and there, I am mostly just so very tired. This is not normal for me. Yes, I get the occasional "I've been up with babies and kids or just couldn't sleep at night" type of tiredness, but this feels heavy and hard to shake. I feel like I've just been in a fog the last week or so.

I'm hoping that it's just the crazy whirlwind we've been wrapped up in the last few weeks at a constant sprinting pace that is catching up to me and this good slow week can work some magic on me. I know I overdid it working in the yard yesterday, but it felt good to get a lot accomplished while I could. I stayed home from Kendle's game tonight with the twins and now have lots of mom guilt about that. I just could not summon up the energy to go and wrestle the twins around during the game. I know it's fine since Riley and Morgan are there, but I just hate missing things like that. I'm hoping a hot soak in the tub tonight and an early night's sleep can give me a little pick me up for tomorrow. Mom's don't get to take time off and I know my family needs me back at 100%. Summer is coming and there's lots of fun in store.

This and That

**So I've started counting how many times a day I load my four kids in and out of the car. Yesterday it was about 8 times, so far today 6 times. Isn't that just craziness? Two toddlers, two car seat straps to finagle with, two older kids climbing over the seats to get in the very back and hopefully not fighting with each other. My car is seriously a wreck no matter how many times a week I try and dejunk it. Just this morning after getting home from taking Morgan to preschool I did another clean out and it's amazing how quickly it accumulates. My car is in need of some serious TLC.

**Kale had his first emergency room visit yesterday after pulling a heavy wooden dining chair down on top of his head. It made me feel like the worst parent having to explain over and over to all of the different nurses and doctors that yes, we had our chairs upside down on top of the dining table because he and his twin brothers are climbers, and jumpers, and would gladly swing from the chandeliers if they could. Now those same chairs are laying on their sides underneath the dining table. We'll see if that is the better alternative or if they just use their plotting and scheming little minds to find a new way to do things. But I digress, so Kale received two big stitches after being wrapped in a sheet like a burrito by the doctors assistant, screaming and fighting until he had nothing left, and I nearly passed out. Yes, I can't believe it. Usually I am fine with stuff like that but the doctor had me take a look at how deep the gash actually was after he flushed it out and I felt that light headed feeling coming on. Luckily I had some cookies with me and chowed one down to get some sugar pumping into me and that did the trick. Poor little Kale fell into a completely exhausted sleep on my shoulder two minutes after they unwrapped him from the sheet and claimed he was good to go. The chair also hit his eye pretty good too and it is all just a big swollen lump today. I've just been watching him like a hawk and cringing every time he comes close to falling down, but his spirits are much better today.





{Kale pre-stitches.}

**Last night we sat out in the rain to watch Kendle's game. I thought for sure they would call it half-way through (or that it would have been cancelled) but they stuck it out and even played an extra ten minutes at the end. Kendle has been making some great fielding plays recently and had an awesome double play last night. She was playing third base, caught a line drive/fly ball and ran it back to touch the bag at third. I can tell that she's thinking and knows what's going on during the games and it is fun to watch -- even in the rain! She has the makings to be a good ball player and I hope she sticks it out even though I know she'd rather be playing spring soccer.

**This is Morgan's last week of preschool. I am so sad it is almost over for him. He has loved everything about it and I know he will miss seeing his teacher and his friends during the summer. I can't believe how fast this school year has flown by. I love hearing his little stories about what happened that day and what they all said and did and played.

**I have probably eaten more fast food in the last month than the whole last year combined. We have been so busy and constantly on the go and I have just not been cooking dinner like I usually do.  It is totally disgusting, I'm so sick of it and even my kids are sick of eating out which is really saying something. The crazy thing is, I've actually lost more weight! Go figure on that one. I haven't been running or working out very much and eating horrible. I just can't figure it out. Maybe all the stress and constantly being on the go has made me burn more calories than normal?! Not that I'm advocating for going on a fast food diet (although I usually try to pick the healthiest choices possible). Just kind of one of those weird puzzling things. I thought for sure I had gained back a ton of weight. Kind of puzzling........ 







On the Run

Here's what's been going on:

Thursday I was able to accompany Morgan on his preschool teddy bear picnic. They got to take pictures at the park, play on the toys, have a snack, and do a science experiment. We also saw lots of wildlife including squirrels, geese, and bugs. After arriving back at Miss Molly's house, they set free the butterflies they had been raising and we watched them fly away. It was a super fun morning.

Friday night I was able to get away for a few hours and be treated to a belated birthday dinner by some great friends. It is always so fun to catch up with everyone on what they have been doing and we always seem to have three or four different conversations going on at once. I love these "mini reunions". I think the people at the restaurant were glad when we finally left as we can tend to laugh and talk kind of loudly I'm sure. So fun though, and can't wait to get together with them again.

Saturday night we sat out in the big old storm to watch the Southridge Boys come away with their first ever win against Pasco and also their school's first ever boys soccer regional championship. It was so awesome, who cared that we were all soaking wet! It would take too long to write about just how crazy that game was -- but it is enough to say that it seemed like mother nature and everything else in the balance of the universe was throwing everything they had at those boys and they still came out on top. They play their first state playoff game tomorrow night, it's loser out so we're hoping it's not going to the be the end of the road for the boys. Just so happy for the way the boys played and kept it classy.

Do you ever feel like you are on a never ending sprint? This week is going to be another crazy one. Kendle has her piano recital tonight and another game on Wednesday. (Luckily she doesn't have a game tonight like they usually do.) She's been practicing her songs for a while and I think she will do good, and I'm ready to hear some new songs. Ha! If Riley's team wins again tomorrow night, I *think* they will play at home again this weekend.  Add in some field trips for Morgan's preschool, softball and soccer practice, and some visiting teaching and I think we have multiple things going on just about every day this week.

The other night while being a taxi driver for Kendle to and from practice, I realized that I really do enjoy the hustle and bustle to some degree. It can get a bit much some days, but for the most part it feels good doing productive things with our time. I know otherwise I would just be bored or forced to spend more time cleaning my house right?! Quite often I feel like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland singing,

"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye - I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

My house and our dinner times really do suffer this time of year, but summer will be here soon enough and the long lazy days will stretch out in front of us with time to kill. Hopefully..............

Mother's Day Weekend

 {One of my Mother's Day gifts, new running shoes}

We had a great weekend here at the Dodson household. Friday afternoon Morgan and I went to the doctor, got some prescriptions that would help us feel better, and Friday night I got knocked out and slept the best I had in weeks. My body needed a serious reprieve from all the coughing I'd been doing and I felt so much better Saturday morning after getting a full nights sleep. Saturday morning we all got to work cleaning the house and working outside. Riley took down our poor play set that was falling apart and got that area all cleaned up and Morgan and Kendle hauled the scraps and the wood to his truck to be taken to the dump. After that the twins went down for a nap, Kendle and Morgan went to my mother-in-laws for the afternoon and Riley went to go scout a game to see who they would be playing this week. I was really tempted to go rest up and take a nap while it was quiet, but I put on some work gloves and decided to go do some weeding instead. I got all of the front weeding done and most of the back. There is something so satisfying about pulling weeds and seeing an instant effect of everything looking nice and clean. Later that afternoon we got to work on our new "fire pit" area, which was really pretty simple. We just raked all the peagravel to smooth everything back out and clean out the debri, assembled the fire pit, and I planted some cute little trees in some bright green pots to put around it. I'm still looking for some better chairs, but anything is an improvement from what it looked like before, trust me. Now all that's left to do is to frame the edges out with some wood to contain the pea gravel better. This is definitely everyone's new favorite spot. I'm trying to convince Riley to try and make us some cute benches to go there.

Sunday I woke up to Riley making me a delicious breakfast. Granted the kitchen was a mess and the whole house smelled like a diner, but the food was really good. He had gotten up extra early to make me bacon, scrambled eggs, country hash browns, english muffins and orange juice. It was delicious. At the table were also some beautiful roses and some cute gifts from the kids. It was a great way to start Mother's Day. I wanted to take a picture with all the kids before church and of course at least one of the kids has to start crying. Don't ask me why this always happens, but it does. This time Morgan had a whole bunch of stuff in his hands and in his shirt pockets and I made him take them out (because he couldn't take them to church anyways), so then he totally started crying and he was the only one NOT smiling for the picture, but I love him anyways and it keeps it real I suppose.

And here is one of the funny out takes.....



So as you can see, we took what we could get in the two minutes we had to spare to snap a few pictures.

Church was wonderful, there were so many good speakers and inspiring thoughts that were shared (not to mention the chocolates and cheesecake we were treated to). It made me remember more than ever to be grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and that this is what I wanted in my life so I need to choose to be happy and make the best of whatever comes along, and also I need to be the type of mother my children deserve to have. It was one of my most enjoyable Mother's Day Sundays I've had in a long time.

Last night after putting the twins to bed, we gave in to Kendle and Morgan's begging and tried out the new fire pit. We sat around and watched the sparks fly into the dark sky and listened to the crackling fire. We watched Riley stoke the flames and add more wood.  We stayed there until it was way past bedtime and my feet in my flip-flops got cold. It was one of those rare moments in time where you could just soak in the contentment and see it mirrored in your children's faces. It was the perfect way to end such a wonderful day. I'm grateful to my little family for making me feel so loved.

Week in Review

This week we had two games for Kendle. Her game on Monday night was very cold and windy. ( I read somewhere that the weather is supposed to be cooler than normal this month). She is hitting so much better now and really knocked a few hard. Wednesday we had much better weather and the girls didn't have to worry about wearing lots of layers of clothes, some were even in shorts. Kendle had another really powerful hit and some good plays that almost made some outs. Their team is improving a lot and Kendle is having lots of fun with it. It is funny to hear them do the one cheer they know, over and over again. We are liking the week night games and having our Saturdays free.

{Kendle's playing catcher.}

Rileys high school team played Kamiakin on Tuesday night. It was another freezing cold and windy night at Lampson stadium. The game would decide if Southridge would be out-right league champions or share the title and be co-champions with Pasco. So needless to say, there was a lot on the line which just added to the heated rivalry between the two teams. It was a very crazy game, I've never seen so many yellow cards handed out and one of the refs lost his composure and grabbed one of our players, but ultimately the Suns pulled off a 3-0 victory to become Southridge's 1st ever boys soccer league champs. Pretty exciting, emotional, and satisfying for everyone present and who has been involved with the program. A lot of the younger players have really stepped up and proved themselves. Now we are waiting to see who they will be playing next week for their first playoff game. This has been one of the worst years for injuries as well with three players out. Even though they can kind of be knuckleheads (like most teenagers) Riley is really proud of these guys.

Morgan this week has been loving the sunshine and getting dirty outside. He thinks that it is hot enough to start turning on the water and trying to get wet. Really, then all that happens is that he gets covered in dirt and grass and turns into a walking mud pile. But I love him anyways. He always asks to have zip lock bags so he can collect and keep his treasures from outside. We currently have a bag of grass and a big stick sitting on the kitchen counter that "must be kept safe". At preschool yesterday they painted cute flower pots with a flower planted inside for their moms. He was so proud to bring that home and have me show everyone. He keeps running around shouting "Happy Mother's Day" at random moments.

The twins have been loving the nice weather as well. I've been opening up the sliding door and letting them go play and they love to go in and out and are amazed I'm giving them some freedom. Mostly, they love to dig in the rocks and I just cross my fingers that they don't eat too many. Something new they've been doing is when they find random things on the ground (which happens often because my floor needs to be swept a gazillion times a day) they'll pick it up and bring it to me and say "Uh oh". It's cute because they think they are helping me by picking it up and then I tell them to go throw it in the trash. They are also starting to get the doodling/drawing bug and wanting to scribble on anything they can get their hands on. I better stock up on some Magic Eraser's.

This week I've been battling a horrible cough that just won't go away. I'm going to try and get in to the doctor this afternoon and see if they can help me. I don't think I've ever coughed so hard in my life and my back and ribs are so sore. I feel like once I get going I can't stop. It's been pretty hard to get some sleep this week and I'm really glad it's Friday and today is a laid back relaxed day. I just got a new book I'd been waiting for in the mail and I'm looking forward to a fun weekend and hopefully getting some more yard work done. I've been needing to plant some flowers in my pots and do all of those type of things that I usually have done by now. I just don't want the wind to come along and tear them to shreds! Last year it was warmer and most of my flowers were already blooming. I did look the other day and I have some big peony buds that are waiting to blossom, so those will be pretty. They get really huge. Hopefully we can get our broken play set taken down this weekend and get working on our fire pit area we're going to replace it with.

Well, I'm hoping for Mother's Day all my children will be obedient, get along with each other, and just be overall good. A mom can dream right?

Happy Mother's Day Weekend everyone!

Monday

{Happy breakfast eaters}

Today was an extra quiet morning. Everyone was worn out I suppose. The twins slept in until 8:30 and Morgan didn't budge until 9:15. Everyone (but mostly Morgan) has been battling some sort of sickness or another, but none the less, we herded everyone outside yesterday to indulge in the magnificent sunshine and weather we had and we are all the better for it. It was just one of those gloriously beautiful days that was perfect in almost every way. It was our first real day of warm weather, the kind that makes us believe it's actually "hot" outside and is a little tease for summer. We took full advantage by grilling some burgers after church, having a picnic outside, the twins ran around with drippy popsicles, Kendle enjoyed big slices of watermelon, we played some softball, and topped it all off with root beer floats before we had to bathe and shower the kids who were completely dirty, tired, and bursting with contentment as we rolled them into bed. Riley and I looked at each other more than once with big smiles and remarked about what a great day it was. It was just what our busy family had been needing after the last few crazy months we've had and before heading into another hectic week. That kind of family time is priceless.