Weirdness about me--the Nomad

I've decided to reveal more weird things about me. I am finding that I am trying to fit into the "mold" of the typical Christian homemaker/blogger, and I just don't fit. I really don't fit into any one group, and maybe that's why I have a hard time making friends. So I'm just going to "let it all hang out" there, come what may. So little by little, I plan to reveal all the strange and weird things about me that make many people, I suspect, shake their heads in confusion. ;-)

First thing is...I sometimes suspect I am some kind of "closet hippie." No, I am not against war (well, I don't like it, but sometimes we have no choice) or shaving my armpits and my name isn't Rainbow Star or anything like that. But I have some strange interests. I envy people who live on the go. When I was single, I dreamed of traveling around visiting the many wonderful places throughout America. Not in your typical fancy motorhome, but in a unique way. Of course, if I won the lottery, I'd probably go for one of those custom made tour bus type of motorhomes...they actually make them with a second floor you can raise or lower once you reach your destination! But since that will probably never happen, I would have loved to travel in a homemade RV. Kind of like a converted schoolbus or housetruck. I know, check out the pictures. Total hippy-mobiles. But so cool.


I would read books about it and dream of travel. I even lived in a semi- converted bus I bought for a while. It was very rustic living circumstances, but I loved it, because it was the one time I completely "owned" my home. I could do what I wanted with it, live anywhere I wanted. If I didn't like my neighbors, I could just drive it away. Of course, since I was broke, I rarely took it anywhere. It stayed on the property of someone I knew, and paid them a little money for the privilege. It was pretty cool.

Now that I have five children, though, that dream has fallen pretty much by the wayside. We could never live with our kids in that small of a vehicle comfortably. Not with young kids. If they were teens, that would be different, but small kids need more space, and just try to get five small children to sleep when they are all in one room...not possible! Or at least it's not worth the hassle, to me. My husband also doesn't have a "portable" type of job. But again, if we ever win the lottery when my kids are older, you just might see me in one of these.

Hoping for a New House!

We've been having landlord problems lately. I HATE renting! I've never had a home that was all my own, and I'm really ready for it. I can't stand worrying about every scratch on the wall, what the neighbors think of our "long" grass (barely an inch longer than theirs), or the fact that I can't even paint a wall. Not to mention dealing with landlords who never want to fix anything. This landlord hasn't been too bad in that department, but we're having thermostat problems and it's WINTER, so I'm pretty frustrated with their lackadaisical attitude in finding a repairman for it.

I didn't think our credit was anywhere near where it needed to be to get a house, but as it turns out, the guidelines for lending have loosened quite a bit over the years. I didn't realize it's much easier to get a home loan than a car loan! Unfortunately because of the upswing in foreclosures, the rules are tightening up again, so we want to try now. It's definitely a buyer's market right now, especially at this time of year.

Our credit took a big dip a year ago, which is frustrating. Apparently before that, we had good enough credit to get a pretty good rate. Grrrrr! Why didn't I know about that? Now we're two points below where we need to be to get into a loan. It will be a little iffy even if we raise two points soon. But it's definitely possible. We went up a couple of points in just a few days this week. (I am SO glad we got the new car, it's helping our credit a lot.)

We're looking for 5-10 acres about a half hour from my husband's job. That is our ideal. We could really use some prayers for this. We need to get financed, find a house, and move very quickly. Either that or find a temporary rental and take our time looking to buy a house. So if everyone could remember us in their prayers this week, we would really appreciate it. Also, pray that I can pack up this house full of junk, and keep my patience and sanity!!

Thanks!

Read a Book Today!

Lately I've felt like I've been under a lot of pressure. My lack of homemaking talents and inability to keep up with the house has really started to get to me. I think a large part of the problem is that I feel that I have no social outlet. I have no family or friends nearby, and haven't been able to make any new friends. I also don't have any hobbies like I used to. When I was single, I really enjoyed dancing, singing, reading, and going to social activities with other Catholic singles. Now that I'm married, I don't do any of those things.

It's not that my husband doesn't want me to or won't let me. They've just all fallen by the wayside, especially since I became a traditional Catholic. I used to go to country bars and dance. I loved to dance. Now I just don't feel that it is appropriate...not to mention I would feel like a total cow trying to dance, at my weight. I used to sing in the church choir, but with four little ones under the age of five, that is NOT possible! I would love to find other couples to be social with, but my husband isn't very outgoing with people he doesn't know, and even if we knew of a babysitter we could trust (which we don't), we couldn't afford it. Kind of hard to make friends when people realize that inviting you over means inviting ALL your kids, lol.

So I've decided I need to somehow "find myself" again. No, not in a feminist way (ugh!), I just need to rediscover some of the things I used to like doing. So this past week I started by buying a novel to read. I used to love reading novels about true crime, especially if they had to do with forensics (this was way before the CSI craze). When I became traditional Catholic, I stopped reading these because it just didn't seem right...a lot of these novels had things in them that weren't that appropriate, or were graphic (in regards to violence) beyond what was necessary to tell the story. Before I got married, I just substituted many books on the lives of the saints, older Catholic novels, and sometimes other spiritual works, like "Humility of the Heart". But books like those, for me, take a lot of concentration...something a mom of four little ones doesn't have! Some saint books I've read are good enough to really capture my attention, but the rest take a lot of peace and quiet to read. (Insert laughter from all real moms here.)

So reading has completely fallen by the wayside. Instead, when I need a break, I use the computer. The problem is, I tend to lose track of time, and spend too long on it. Not a good thing when you already don't keep up with your household duties! So I bought a book that is fiction, but doesn't have bad language or get overly gruesome. It's an easy read. In fact, I can actually read it while spending time with my kids, which is a lot better than leaving them to play while I get on the computer in another room. It has really helped me cut down on computer time. My husband and I used to read in bed together, so I'm hoping we'll start that again (if the poor man can keep his eyes open--he's been so tired lately).

Granted, I'd feel a lot better about it if I were reading something more spiritually beneficial, but I'm hoping this gets me into a reading habit again so that I can concentrate better on something religious. I've been wanting to read the Acts of the Apostles, and a bunch of books on the saints that I have by my bedside. The only bad thing is trying to read while I feed the baby--she loves to try to tear up and eat paper!

Got a New Van! wooo hooo!

We got a new car! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! (See shoutbox in side bar for super-happy smilies.)

Okay, it's new to us, anyway. I'd never pay for a new car, especially a mini-van. They depreciate at least $10,000 the first year, worse if it's a Windstar. We got a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. It is sooooo nice! We got a good price on it. It comes with CD and cassette (I wanted both, and that's not always easy to find), Sirius radio, a DVD player with wireless headphones, TWO sliding doors (yes!) and a lot of other great features. It has 29,000 miles on it, a lot for a one year old car, but over 6,000 miles left on the warranty. It runs so smooth and quiet.

I don't think I ever posted about my old van. Ugh! It seemed nice at first, it was a 1995 Oldsmobile Silhouette. After we got it, I realized it wasn't as roomy as we thought. I couldn't even comfortably cross my legs in the passenger seat. And the seatbelt would tighten up on me, and I'd have to undo and redo it to get comfortable--not very safe. There was NO legroom. And the floor was littered with diaper bags, purse, etc. so you couldn't walk to the back. Plus, worst of all, after we got it, it seemed like every month there was a bigger and bigger problem cropping up. Rotors, ignition coil, burned out tail lights, fuse problem, etc. etc. It felt like it was going to fall apart any second. The new car was an answer to our prayers...literally. My four year old son prayed with me every night that we could get a new car.

There was another T&C we wanted in a beautiful blue color, with EVERYthing I wanted, including power sliding doors, power rear lift gate, back up alarm, and a remote starter, which would be nice in the winter times, to warm up the car without it getting stolen. But they wouldn't come down on the price, and it was two thousand more, plus 4000 more miles. *sigh* But the car we got is really good. All I really wanted was a roomy comfortable van with two sliding doors, CD and cassette, and a DVD player. The DVD was crucial to me. Try going on a cross-country trip with a four year old, a three year old, a two year old, and a newborn. We've gone cross-country waaaay too many times! Anyway, the DVD player was for my sanity. I'm not very patient when the kids get loud all at once in the car. But the best thing is, the wireless headphones. They can listen to their movie (and not yank on any wires) and we can listen to the radio up front.

Oh, and another great feature is the dual zone climate control. The driver and the passenger can each choose the temperature level on their own side. Great if one person tends to like it cooler than the other. Plus there's a rear climate control for the kids, for when they get older. This car is also really roomy. Being overweight, when I cross my legs, I'm really putting one ankle on top of my other knee, so you need a lot of room width-wise. This one has it! And the seat belt doesn't lock up and strangle me, praise God! I can't tell you how much that bothered me. I was seriously praying after we bought it that it wouldn't lock up, because I forgot to check. It didn't, and the seat belt is a nice soft kind, not stiff.

But the best feature is the Stow-n-Go seating. All the rear seats fold down into the floor, which is great because I'm always hauling something home from a yard sale or something. I can just pull out the safety seats, stow the van seats, and stack the safety seats in a corner. But better than that, when the van seats are all up in place, you can use the compartments under the floor as storage. Major storage! Now we keep a large diaper bag full of diapers, extra clothing, etc. under the floor, and a small bandolier style diaper bag under a seat for trips into church or the store. Plus I keep phone books, road atlases, extra toys, etc. under there. Sooooo nice. And the van is big enough to easily crawl to the back to buckle the kids in, which is great when you're a larger size. Or pregnant. Or both! (No, I'm not pregnant yet, lol.)

Can you tell I'm happy? Wheeeeeeeeeee! I'll update this post with a pic of the van. Too dark now to take one. If you're looking for a new van, I'd recommend it. We're so happy with it. :-D The only downside is that I am seriously doubting we'll be able to add a third car seat in the back row. It doesn't look like there's much space between the two that are there. We'll probably have to invest in the slimmest booster seats on the market. I guess we'll see.

Belated Father's Day

This should have been posted last weekend, but I thought it was important not to forget all together. How was your Father's Day...more specific, how was your husband's?

Sometimes we forget to take the time to show our husbands how much we appreciate them. I know I do. My husband is a wonderful father who loves to spend time with his children. He would like to develop friendships with men outside the family, but he hates the idea of spending his precious free time with anyone else but his family. He loves teaching things to them, and reading to them, and playing on the floor with them. I knew before we married he'd be a good father, but I had no idea he would be this good. It means so much to me that he loves and takes care of his children so well. He's so willing to help out, change diapers, look after them so I can take a nap. He's completely "tuned in" to their lives.

The children all looooooove Daddy. He's the man. It's so funny that even though my children are kept close to me all day, and were all breastfed, they are still so attached to him. But I guess it's not so surprising, since he's so much fun for them, and he's so patient with him.

This Father's Day I had a lot planned, but unfortunately relatives came to town, so the plans were pared down a lot. But I made him a card on the computer (I didn't like any store ones, and this one was much more personal) which included pictures of the children and little scribbles by each of them. I also bought a carrot cake, his favorite. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to do more. Next year I plan to do a lot more. I can't tell you what, though. He doesn't read my blog, but you never know if he might decide to someday. ;-)

If things got crazy last weekend and you didn't get a chance to tell him, let your husband know every single thing that you love and appreciate about him as a father.

I Did It!

You may have noticed that beginning with my Memorial Day Tablescape post, I have FINALLY added pictures. After figuring out how to upload pictures from my camera and add them to my blog, I am extremely embarassed that I publicly posted that I didn't know how to do it...it was easy, once I spent the time to figure it out!

The hardest part of the whole thing was finding the stupid port to plug the USB cable into on the camera. I knew I had the right wire, but I spent five minutes looking all over the darn thing for a hole to fit it into. I finally found it under a hidden panel. Okay, not-so-hidden...it was marked AV/DV plus a USB symbol, but it was hard to notice. ;-)

I will be updating some of my old posts with appropriate pictures, and the next post will include pics of the apron pattern. I will also add pictures of my family. However, they pictures will be blurred or altered to protect my family's privacy. I am a big advocate of maintaining privacy on the web, particularly if you have children.



Too bad though. My kids are so cute! :-D Maybe I can let a picture of the baby slip by. They change so much in a few months, anyway. Here is a picture of me holding my three year old daughter at the zoo, as we look at the tigers. My three month old daughter is in a carrier on my chest. The white blob is her bonnet.

Party Update

Journey to Homemaker

My wonderful husband stayed up after I went to bed last night, and cleaned my dirty kitchen, tidied my messy living room, did all the dishes, baked me a cake, and left a present (chocolates), a card, a nice note and a dozen roses for me. He was up til 4:30 am, the poor thing! I felt bad because I accidentally woke him up this morning, and he got up to make me and the kids pancakes.

It turns out we had a hundred dollars in the bank we'd forgotten about (thanks be to God!) so he got me the flowers, card, and chocolates, and we still have money left over for a little gas and food. And I think my mom is sending me a birthday gift, which is a check (now that I live far away, that's what I usually get), so I'll use that for food and gas too, then replace the money for a gift when the paycheck comes this week. It always amazes me how God provides!

Even though it's my birthday (observed, lol) today, I plan to finish folding all the laundry and try to bake some muffins and whole wheat bread, now that my kitchen is clean. But somewhere in between, I'm going to take a nap!!

Pity Party!

Journey to Homemaker

I admit it. I've been slacking off big time lately, and in many ways. One way is that I'm feeling sorry for myself way too much, which makes me let everything else slide even more.

Today is my birthday. There was no cake, no party, no card. Well, my aunt sent a card yesterday. But my mom forgot, so hers is coming late, and my husband forgot I think, til my aunt's card came. He did say happy birthday right before he left for work. So I was feeling sorry for myself in a big way.

As I detailed in the previous post, we're really tight on money this week, so there's nothing in the budget for even a card. Since I was feeling moody this morning, I went and bought myself a small pan of frosted brownies at the store in lieu of a "birthday cake". I figured I would celebrate my little pity party by eating most of it myself, and give some to the kids.

I was feeling rather upset with my husband because he didn't do anything to make my birthday special. He did say he'll bake me a cake tomorrow and get me a present when he gets paid next week. But to me, it was the thought that counts, and he didn't seem to put any thought into my birthday. He could have made me a card on the computer, or written me a note. So I felt pretty depressed.

But after reading some other blogs where the women talked about accepting adversity (which I'm well aware of, but choose not to think about when I'm in a mood) I decided to cancel my pity party. Don't get me wrong, I still ate half of the brownies, lol! But I'm saving a couple of pieces for my husband, making him dinner, leaving a nice note for him, and going to bed early to avoid the risk of starting to feel sorry for myself again. I'm also going to clean the house a little before I settle down to relax tonight, because I know I'll be in a better mood if I do. I may also make some refrigerator dough so I can make some bread tomorrow morning. If I get the kitchen cleaned tonight. :-)

And when St. Valentine's Day rolls around, if he forgets again, I'm not going to make a big deal about it. You see, we had decided when we married that we didn't want to celebrate St. Valentine's Day as a lovey-dovey holiday. But two years ago I changed my mind. I figured I could use another day to be treated special, lol. Then last year he forgot that I'd told him that, and I ended up getting him a card, balloon, and special chocolate bar, and brought it to his work. Even after that he didn't get me anything on the way home! (Gee, take a hint, lol.) I was sad, but I tried not to let it bother me. So if he forgets again, I'm just going to let it go. Most of the time he's a great husband, and helps me out a lot around the house. I can't complain just because he's not perfect ALL the time!