Peeps

Peanut is at it again...making me laugh. For Easter, he got this little bug catcher that looks sort of like two ice cream scoops molded into a pair of scissors. On the way to daycare one day, he told me, "Mom, I want to go to the zoo and catch Peeps* with my bug catcher."

*Peeps are what he calls baby chickens.

"Oh really? I don't know if you can catch them in that. Do you know what peeps become when they grow up?"

He thought for a moment and then real slowly he said, "Big Peeps."

I started chuckling and needed to see where else we could go in this conversation, so I said, "No, actually little peeps grow up into chickens."

Peanut: "Ohhhhhhh. And we eat chickens, right?"

Mom: "Yes, we eat chickens."

Peanut: "And we also eat cows."

Mom: "Yes, we eat cows."

Peanut: "And we eat pigs." He was getting into the spirit now.

Mom: "Right. We get ham from pigs."

Then he says with great enthusiasm, "And BACON!!!"

My little carnivore!

What lies beneath...the snow and ice

As the glacier in the backyard of the Northern estate begins to recede, scientists have begun to uncover many strange objects in both the terrain beneath the glacier path as well as the creek that runs along the side of the glacier.

Under the glacier:
1. a red wagon
2. several items of clothing including a red Santa hat, a blue T shirt, a scarf, mittens and many socks that may have been white at one time.
3. several shovels
4. a sled
5. a recycling bin
6. stuffed animals
7. various plastic toys and balls
8. the garden hose

In the creek:
1. a blue and green toy box
2. several pieces of a plastic jungle gym cube-thing
3. a rake
4. a bike with training wheels
5. a white plastic table
6. another sled

What curious inhabitants must have once walked these frozen lands back in 2007. What they have left behind may give us a small glimpse as to what life must have been like in those days before the glacier came. But we are left with many questions:

How did those objects get into the creek?
Did they get pushed by the glacier?
Was it some sacred ceremony or coming of age?
Did they know the glacier was coming?
Did they listen to their Mommy who probably told them to put their toys away "before the snow comes"?

We may never know.

The Moving has begun

We did two trips back and forth between what I now call the "Northern estate" and the "Southern estate". BB was very helpful today. I was really quite floored when he was trying to carry boxes and even roping PH (who now wants to be called Pumkin He 4...It means something to him. I just smile and shrug, "Oo-Kay") into trying to carry boxes out to the van.

Queen of the Post-It Lives again. I went through the kitchen with my blue stickies and figured out where I am going to put all my kitchen items and labeled them as such. That part was kind of fun because I have never before, in my many moves, been able to just relax and plan out the kitchen without stacks of boxes behind me and the panic of "Which box has the "Mac-n-Cheese" pan in it?" or needing something practical like a glass. Today, I could be leisurely and plan my attack.

I brought over my good china and my crystal goblets and put them away. Tomorrow, I will bring over more not-so essential kitchen items (leaving the bare essential items in the North).

I have high hopes of getting all of this fussy stuff that takes a lot of time and a lot of boxes taken care of during my week off, before my crew of friends comes to lug the big pieces of furniture into the U-Haul and then out again at the Southern estate. I would like the big moving day to be more relaxed and fun and not take up the WHOLE day for my friends.

However, tonight, my bones are creaking. My neck is tight and I feel muscles complaining that are usually very quiet. So, I don' t know if I will be able to handle moving a lot of this stuff alone. Even with BB's help. He's only 52 lb 9 year old and weighs about the same as some of the boxes I am packing (If you are one of my crew reading this, I'm just kidding about that...most boxes are under 49.9 lbs :) ). And I am counting down the minutes til I can take a Flexaril, my muscles turning into wet noodles and floating off to sleep.

So, I would say my packing plans are fluid at this point. I will do what I can, shuttle what I can to the south and re-use as many boxes as I can because I really do not feel like bugging the grocery stores or lurking behind the liquor stores and dumpster diving for cardboard. I kind of like the pack and unpack approach...more work on the front end, less work on the back end.

If I survive, that is.

Getting in touch with the panic within

In 1 week, my kids and I are moving out of a house and into a townhouse. It's a really cute townhouse and I am excited about it. I signed a year lease yesterday and did the walk-through, got the keys and the garage door opener. But now I am sitting here at "Oh too early in the morning", practically in a cold sweat, freaking out about how I am going to fit my furniture into that townhouse without making it seem like we have just shoved everything in and we are climbing on top of each other. And I will admit, I'm panicking a little.



Tulip, take some deep breaths. It will be ok. It will work....In with the good...out with the bad...Deep breath in, and exhale.



I bought a pad of graph paper and tonight I am taking my kids and my parents over for a tour, so I am also going to bring a measuring tape. That will help ease my mind. My mom will also have some good ideas on how to use the space without feeling cramped. It is good that I have the next week off to pack and sort, and get rid of stuff that we really do not need. And perhaps some things will just need to be stored in the garage for the next time we move.



This townhouse was for rent or for sale. Some have asked me if I will buy it. I think that the answer is going to be no. It will be nice for the time being. I will share a bedroom with my daughter and we will be ok. We did that for 4 years before. But I know myself enough to know that at some point it will wear on me and I am going to need more space, personal and private space. But I can handle it for a year.



I know it is going to be fine. I just have to see it to believe it. And then, being the worry-wart that I am, I am already thinking a year ahead and worrying about yanking my kids out of their surroundings again...



RELAX....deep breath in.....exhale....

This is the verse I am going to think about and meditate on:

Matthew 6:24
"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. "

The Lord is guiding my steps and leading me along this path. I don't know what will happen in year. All I have is today and even that is not a guarantee. However, I can plan for today and do what I need to do for today. And I can plan for what I will do with this lovely shelter the Lord has provided. It is an opportunity to simplify things, so that is good. The last thing I need to do is to panic. Perhaps that is why it was good to wake up at "Oh so early" and put some sanity back in amidst the panic that can occur in the throws of that half-awake dreamy state.

I feel better now. Calmer and more relaxed. I would like to go back to bed and dream of Prince Charming on a white horse, carrying me off in to the sunset to live happily ever after but I haven't had that dream since I was a girl. And it is now about 4 minutes before my alarm would be going off, so I guess I will go and take care of things for today like making lunches and getting dressed...maybe unloading the dishwasher and personal hygiene so that I am fit for presentation in society.

Thank you Lord for grabbing my attention. It seems like my life is so chaotic and noisy that the early hours of the morning are the only ones where I am quiet enough to hear you talking.

I am truly blessed

I am just scratching my head but praising the Lord because there is no other explanation for the events that have occurred this week. Just His blessings upon my life.

I'm going to back up a little and set the stage because I think it does explain why I think these blessings are happening now at this very precise moment in time.

Managing finances has not been a very strong area for me. I used to blame my ex-husband for my inabilities in that area because he managed the money but gave me all the blame. However, it has been well over 5 years since I have been doing my finances alone and I have made many, many mistakes. Some were extremely expensive and poorly timed. I shed many tears over them. However, I do have to say that I have never been without a roof over my head or food on the table.

But I have made it a personal goal to improve how I manage my resources because it is the Lord who supplies me with a good income. He also has given me a brain and expects me to use it. But I let fear get in the way and fear leads to shame and embarrassment and this has sent me down a spiraling path that creates more problems. So, part of my resolution is to face my problems head on and not cower in the corner in fear. The other part was to begin to tithe regularly. My church began doing an automatic withdrawal from a checking or savings account. I had mixed feelings about that because I thought perhaps I would not be a "cheerful giver" if the money was just taken out of my account each week.

The Lord continued to press on my heart about it and I decided I really did want to do it, so I prayed and asked the Lord to tell me what amount I should tithe. So, at a business meeting, the ACH forms were on the tables and a number popped into my head. I filled out the form and turned it in. What I didn't know was that I would get an email notice every week saying that the amount was withdrawn. And each time it happens, my heart is filled with joy. And I am looking forward to a time when I can increase my tithe.

So, that is the background. It was a leap of faith and courage because money was feeling extremely tight but at the same time, I knew that I needed to be obedient and trust that the Lord would take care of me and my family.

Since that time, my Grandmother offered to help me with money I needed to move out of my current living situation and into a new place. That was something she said she had been praying about for a while because she felt that it was not going to be good for me to stay in the situation I was in. And she was right. That all fell into place in a matter of 3 days time. It was amazing.

This week, it was Easter, and I usually do something for my kids like hiding easter eggs. But I got Strep and didn't feel well but also with the upcoming move and trying to pay down some huge heating bills from the winter and BB's cell phone larceny...I was feeling the pinch. So, I didn't do anything. I felt bad about it later so I promised the kids a treat. Easter candy is so cheap the day after Easter!!

Monday night, I got a call around 9:30pm. I recognized the voice, sort of, but the man said, "From someone who cares, there is a package for you on the front step." It sort of freaked me out a little bit. But when I opened my front door, there were 4 bags, each contained an easter basket with some toys and candy for each of my kids, with their names on them. At that point, I definitely knew who it was but for the kids, I told them I found the baskets on the front step. They were so giggly and happy about it. It made my day to watch them. That was blessing #1.

Blessing #2 came today. In the mail, I got a note that said, "Use these for what you need. God Bless!" No name. No return address. I don't recognized the handwriting. It was a gift card to Cub for $100 and a gift card to Target for $100. I was floored. I just kept looking at the note and looking at the cards. The timing is perfect. I am moving in a week and am renting a truck, feeding a crew of people and I want to treat them well, plus gas for my van to run back and forth all week. I was going to scrape by. I had been running my budget for the two weeks between paychecks and I could do it but it was going to be tight. But these gift cards will ease the burden.

I am blessed. And I am humbled. Thank you Jesus. Thank you to my anonymous friends who have blessed me this week.

Making Friends with Technology

I have mastered many things in my cube world. I can make collated copies, even with staples. However, at the county, there are office managers who like to do that for me, so I don't get to play with the big copier very often. I can even make things that were on two pages come out onto one page. I actually acquired that skill working as a tech, before I became an RN. I kind of had a knack for sweet talking the sassy copier that was always giving the office problems. So, when I came on I would hear someone say, "Ask Tulip, she's good with that thing..." So, I have been sad that I can't put that skill to more use. But I don't want to make the secretaries feel useless either.

In fact, one secretary has been complaining that she doesn't have enough to do and she is bored. So, my two teams have been trying to come up with odd jobs for her to do. They keep coming to me and asking me if I have anything I would like to delegate to her. I really can't. What would I do with my down time? Plus, some of it would require a lot of training and explanation, so it is more hassle than helpful.

Today, I had a lot of office time. I made out my daily "To Do" list of phone calls, follow-up items, and medication orders to update. I have put those off because they are boring and kind of putzy. But I need to do them so I started pulling client charts out and making sure the medication orders are updated and correct. Then I have to make fax cover sheets for the doctors. Those are word documents.

One friend I made in technology is learning how to make forms in Word. I'm proud of myself for that one. I figured it out on my own. Pretty soon, I made everything into a form and saved all the forms in folders on my desktop.

Today, I made each client a fax cover sheet for their doctor. Then when I had the 5 different doctors faxes ready to go, I strolled over to the fax to make another friend. I have gotten to know the fax machine quite well. Most of the time, I just have to fax one set of documents to one place. It's fairly simple. I'm a quick learner. I caught on in a 5 minute demo on my first day. Today, I faxed 5 documents to 5 doctors at 5 locations one after the other in less than 3 minutes. It was almost flawless. And the fax machine did not spit any sheets back at me saying "transmission error". Woooo Hooooo.

The other technology friend I made today was not nearly such a graceful start. It was my phone. I have mastered the features such as accessing my voicemail, changing my greeting. I have not successfully transferred messages to other people and I have yet to transfer a live call to another phone without losing the caller some where in space. Thankfully, I don't encounter that need very often and I work around it. (I use a pen and paper and call them back!)

Today, my phone was not working right. I was sitting at my desk all morning and it never rang. It isn't unusual for that to happen. Not too many people call the nurse. But I would be working at my computer and then look at my phone and notice that my message light was blinking. Sometimes that happens when other people transfer messages or just leave messages in voicemail. No big deal. Except when I would listen to the messages, the time stamp was a time when I was sitting right there. Odd.

It happened several more times. Finally at lunch, I asked a co-worker who I should talk to about this problem with my phone. She told me. So, after lunch, I went to her office but she wasn't there. So I fired off an email and asked her if it would be possible to get it looked at today because I had a client who may think I am blowing her off by not taking her calls.

So, this staff person breezes over to my cube, smiles graciously and looks at my phone, then smiles at me again but in a very "knowing" way and pushes a button and says, "This button here sends all your calls to voice mail. You probably bumped it. It happens to everyone."

If the floor could have opened and swallowed me up right there, I would have been happy. I have been at this job for a YEAR and did not know my phone had an "All Forward" feature or what that feature did.

My phone and I are back on good terms.

Another episode of Larceny

Today, I was really in the groove. I was running ahead of my usual schedule which is " Ten Minutes Late". I laid things out last night including lunches so all I had to do was make 3 PB&J sandwiches and put in a piece of fruit. I was in the midst of waking the school kids and gathering my stuff for work when I started looking for my cell phone.

Deja vu.

I could swear I left it on the kitchen counter on the charger. But it was no where to be found. Today, I was determined to defeat the Matrix. I grabbed my house phone and called my cell phone and started walking toward BB's room.

As I came down the stairs and walked in his room, I could hear my phone ringing but it was kind of muffled. I had been pretty sure BB had it but maybe I had put it in my jacket pocket. But then I saw BB leap out of bed and toss my cell phone across the floor and try to scramble back to his bed and look like he was still asleep.

I said, "BUSTED!"

He buried his head in his pillow and did not come upstairs for several minutes. Apparently, he had taken my cell phone during the night and had fallen asleep on top of it. He was sound asleep until it started ringing but he quickly woke up and knew he was in big trouble.

I wish I had this on video tape because I would absolutely send this in to America's Funniest Home Video's.