need some brain cells? go elsewhere…

Aug 13, 2014 by tracy

Confession: my brain does funny things. It jumps to insane conclusions and runs a mile a minute pretty much 24 hours a day. It also misses things that are fairly obvious to others…jumps completely over the obvious to some ridiculous explanation.

(Mom, want to share the license plate story?)

Well, while I was camping I had another of these crazy brain explosions. I have eyes that are a bit unique – one of them is near-sighted and one of them is far-sighted. I had lazy eye as a child and my right eye, the far-sighted one, still doesn’t work all that hot. Even though we did the whole ginormous-patch-covering-the-whole-side-of-my-cute-two-year-old-face-thing, it is still lazy as every and lets my left eye do all the work. While we were camping I went contactless quite a bit. My eyes needed a break and since I wasn’t driving or anything, I decided to let my eyes breathe. The few times I did put my contacts in, my vision was all screwy. When I would close my left eye, the whole world would go blurry. I would take out my contact, clean it, try to figure out what was going on, try again, and be surrounded by blurriness.

I knew my contacts weren’t switched because I could still see out of my left eye. If my far-sighted contact was in my near-sighted eye, I would be nearly blind, only being able to tell light and darkness.

So, my ridiculous brain jumped to the conclusion that my right eye had suddenly changed. Dramatically changed. Like maybe now that I am forty, it was becoming more near-sighted. Or maybe it was a million times more far-sighted than it had ever been before. I kept telling people, “Something is wrong with my vision. I can’t see out of my right eye!” and “I am going to have to see the optometrist right when I get home! Something weird is going on with my eye.”

Well, when I got home and attended church, I couldn’t see they hymn numbers or the clock or people’s faces, and I thought, “Oh my heck, it is even worse than I thought!”

BUT THEN MY BRAIN FINALLY TURNED ON TO RATIONAL THINKING.

When I took my contacts out, I took the left one out and put it in the case. Then took the right one out and put it in my left eye and VOILA, I could see just fine out of my left eye.

So, I had somehow taken two left, near-sighted contacts with me instead of one of each. And instead of thinking it through like a logical person would, my brain jumped to the crazy conclusion that somehow, overnight, my far-sighted eye had dramatically changed.

Yes, my brain is full of crazy sauce. It makes the adventure of living with me a gazillion times more zesty.

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to the mountain

Jul 27, 2013 by tracy

This is calling my name. This mountain gives me strength and right now I need that strength. My foot is broken. My hip is ever so slowly healing. My ability to endure is sometimes not as strong as I wish it were.

And so I go. I go to the mountain that whispers strength to me and delivers God’s courage to my soul.

Hasta la vista.

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i am alive

Jun 6, 2013 by tracy

Soooo, it has been awhile since I posted. Sorry about that – I’m sure my loyal readers have been completely lost without me that past many days *snort*!

In the past fourteen days we have had piano & violin recital, the last day of gym, an amazing day at the temple, a visit from my mama, a week of Swim Camp, a visit from my Tami (cousin and dear friend since about 1986) and six of her children, a huge move-the-puppies-out-of-the-garage project, a hike and fishing along the Snake, physical therapy, a loose tooth, a trip south on which I lost my phone, a book-sorting party for the Read-A-Thon, and piles and piles of laundry.

But, I am alive and well and hope to be able to post about our adventures soon.

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the list

May 23, 2013 by tracy

• Cleaned out the camper, check.
• Figured out my four meals for swim camp, check.
• Survived physical therapy, check.
• Made it through the Cultural Literacy Bee, check.
• Made it through the Girls’ Camp Meeting, check.

Now, I can move on to the next gazillion things I need to do in the next few days.

• Do a frillion batches of laundry.
• Clean my whole house before my mom gets here in a few hours.
• Find all the stuff we need for swim camp.
• Buy the rest of the food we need for swim camp.
• Find a lovely gift for my mama’s birthday.
• Fix the spreadsheet with all the participants’ information for swim camp so registration can go smoothly on Tuesday morning.
• Figure out what is wrong with Sadie.
• Mow the yard.
• Help Kez finish her math book for the year.
• Clean my filthy bathroom.
• Get rid of the hornet nests in the camper.
• Find a rug that will fit in the camper.
• Find a cleat/pedal system for my bike that won’t hurt my hip.
• Make our favorite granola.
• Make cookies and other yummy treats.
• Prepare my lesson for Sunday.
• Teach my last gymnastics classes of the year.
• Take my girls to recital rehearsal.
• Take my girls to recital, take lots of pictures, and clap with polite applause (I don’t think my standard wild applause is appropriate at a music recital, is it?
• Call all the swim instructors to remind them about swim camp.
• Finish cleaning out the garage (my project from two weeks ago) and put all the stuff back in that has been sitting on our driveway since I started the whole thing.
• Pray away the rain clouds that are threatening to be ever present during our week of camping.

Ahhh, so much to do. Not enough of me to do it all. Time to get to work.

 

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a new chalkboard

Apr 2, 2013 by tracy

I am kind of really tired of all these dreary posts, so here is a cheerful one. Mikelle and my mama were here visiting last week and boy howdy, did we have fun! On Thursday we spent the whole day craft store shopping. First we went to Mini-Bazaar to check out their new spring arrivals and I fell in love with a red chalkboard…as in, I MUST HAVE IT RIGHT THIS MINUTE fell in love. Do you ever do that? See something and want it so badly? Well, I do. I saw it and wanted it, but was absolutely not willing to spend $47 to buy it.

So I stared at it.

And went back to look at it several times.

Finally, my mom looked at it and said we could make it so easily. Me, being completely craft challenged didn’t really believe her, but jumped at the chance to put her crafty skills to work.

We ran over to DI, a local thrift store, and bought an absolutely ugly, pink framed picture with a nice wooden frame for $6.00. Wahoo! First mission accomplished. Then we ran to Home Depot to get some MDF and chalkboard paint, but instead we found some MDF that was already turned into a chalkboard. Mom quickly had the cutting crew sawing it to the right dimensions and out the door we went with a perfectly fitting piece of chalkboard for our new frame.

Now all we had to do was find the right color of red paint. Not too bright, not to dark. After looking at twenty plus shades, we picked out the one we thought would go best with all the other reds in my house.

We (and be “we” I mean mom) sanded the frame down, primed it, let it dry, then painted it with two coats of red. But I didn’t like it. I thought it was too bright. So Mikelle tried to mix some red with a teensy-tinesy bit of black, but it didn’t turn out right either. Mom wasn’t too happy with our experimenting and said we were going to ruin it, but we kept trying to solve the problem. Finally Mikelle decided to put black right on to the painted frame and have me immediately wipe it off to antique it.

It worked! I love it! I can’t wait to get some chalk markers and have Blythe sketch us something lovely every week. After reading gobs of reviews, we are ordering these lovelies. I hope they are as wonderful as the company says…and that they erase off my board.

My photo-to-computer cord is missing therefore I can’t upload any photos, so you’ll just have to trust me on how cute it turned out or come for a visit and see for yourself.

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yes, they are that wide

Mar 18, 2013 by tracy

I have hobbit feet. Not hairy hobbit feet. Not super long hobbit feet.

Super wwwiiiiiiiiddddde hobbit feet. As in Triple E wide. You know, on those metal foot meausurer thingys, I am a Triple E.

See the width measurer on the left side? It goes A, B, C, D, E. Then the second E line. Well, I am a Triple E. The line that isn’t there.

My hobbit feet make shoe shopping and shoe wearing fairly difficult.

I have only found three brands of shoes I can fit my hobbit feet into – Chacos sandals, most styles of Keens, and some styles of Danskos (not the clogs, my high arches can’t get inside of a clog unless I size up a gazillion sizes and what is the point of wearing shoes several sizes to big, it’s not like I can walk in shoes that are flopping all over the place).

But I have been dying for some little casual Converse-y type sneakers. I have tried on gobs of different pairs and either can’t get my feet into them or as soon as I do my feet have a full-blown panic attack from being squeezed to death.

But Saturday was Kat’s birthday and she wanted to go out to eat and then go errand running (she is somewhat anti-consumerism, so she can’t really call it shopping, but shopping is really what it was) for whatever we needed.

Well, what I needed was a pair of cute, comfortable shoes.

And hip-hip-hoorah, we found some! They aren’t Converses, nor are they Keds, though I tried plenty of both of them on. They are Dr. Scholl’s in the Jennie style in the wide width, which sounds a bit like orthopaedic footwear for the elderly, but they are actually cute! Kat, Jen, and Amy all said so, so it must be true. They insisted I didn’t look like a geriatric patient and after walking around the store and being sure my feet weren’t going to be strangled to death, then checking online on Jen’s fancy phone for a better price (the in store price was better by $15!), I bought them on the spot.

 

I am in love. I want several more pairs as well. Like these polka dot ones.

The problem I am now facing is I can’t find any wides at any of the online shops. ARGH!

For those of you who don’t know, women’s shoes are sized to be a size B-width. Wides are sized to be a size D-width. These shoes are extra wide because many of the online reviews said the regular width is too wide for people, so I think that is why I am able to wear the wide width, they are sized wide to begin with.

If anyone sees the Jennie or the Jamie in a wide width, call me stat. I need a size 7 and would love some of the super colorful ones. Wanna join the find-Tracy-some-wide-shoes team?

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a new do

Feb 19, 2013 by tracy

This morning I wrote to my friends and said “Sooo, I have been feeling dumpy, lumpy, frumpy, and grumpy. I am thinking of getting my hair done like this…including the color. Thoughts? Am I pixie enough to pull it off or is my face shape all wrong? Or am I just too old to be cute anymore and I need to start looking at matronly styles? If so, what are your suggestions?

Here is the hair cut I was considering…I am in love with it. I love everything about it. The cut, the color, the girl’s beautiful skin. Couldn’t I just pay someone a bajillion bucks to transform me into this?

My friends responded with encouragement and tips on color (keep it dark, they all said) and suggestions for stylists since this NEEDED to be done today and my darling stylist, Mikelle, has moved herself four hours away from me.

Jessica, however, gave me a whole earful of helpful advice. I can’t stop laughing hysterically over it and must share it with you all because you might need some hair help (matronly OR not) just as badly as I do.

“Top L-R: 1. The first one is always nice, you don’t even need a clip on hair wig to create the minimal, conservative beehive with flip. 2. For the next one, you’ll need a perm, but just think of the low maintenance. And you’ll have a soft pillow wherever you go. 3. This one is just perfect for the younger mother, just crossing over into matronly-dom. All you need are some side wings and some light as air, teased bangs. 4. I know lots of moms just love the Donny Osmond helmet head. It’s a great option, and keeps your forehead and ears warm through the winter.

Middle L-R: 1. The queen of all matrons everywhere. What could be more classic? 2. The wanna-be queen of matrons everywhere. All you need is a pixie with a mullet. Hot diggity dog. 3. An impressive beehive always says ‘matriarch’ to me. 4. I had this haircut when I was six. My mom must have gotten confused, because surely donut-heads are only for mothers of advanced age.

Bottom L-R: 1. Lucy and Ethel. Matrons everywhere still copy this hairstyle. It requires a weekly trip to the salon to sit under the heat, and then sleeping carefully on a satin pillow in a hairnet. Perfect for your active lifestyle. 2. When all else fails. 3. Because his lipstick and hint of some denim apron something or other makes me laugh.

So. Just pick one of those, and I’ll get you a floral housecoat and pink fuzzy slippers and you’ll be all set to sail into your old, matronly, non-cute world. Since you’re only what, like a year older than me, I’ll prepare to retire my rainbow assortments of jeans and prepare to crop my hair as well. Perhaps I should do the Mrs. Brady since I’ve already got the mullet length. Does this mean we’re signing up for Bingo next year?

All silliness aside, including your email, how could your face shape be wrong? That looks just like the a-line cut you and I both had. I love your hair dark, too, but I’m biased. Whatever makes you happy, and that haircut is cute on both of us, Annesley and B. agree, remember?”

Isn’t she the funniest person ever? Oh, she brought a smile to my face and made me not feel so lumpy, dumpy, frumpy, and how could I ever be grumpy for long when she is around?

Well, it is now cut…not colored…though I really want to highlight the heck out of it just like in the original picture. Here are the pics…taken on my Mac in terrible lighting and a messy school room in the background.

I guess my hair is too thick to pull off the wispyness of the original, but this is an improvement over the lifeless, heavy look I have been sporting for the past few weeks.

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mostly done

Aug 15, 2012 by tracy

Hallelujah! Twenty-four long hours after my last post, this new theme is pretty much done. I have a few more things I need to figure out, but it is two in the morning and surely time for sleep, don’t you think? Jessica cutified some things for me tonight and I want to throw a million bucks her way for making everything spiffy here at Wet Oatmeal Kisses. I can’t wait for her web design services to be widely available again so lots of other people can be cutified too.

The really fabulous news is Fix The Connection is back up! After fixing and fixing and fixing and NOTHING being fixed. I finally turned it over to God and told him I cannot figure this out and neither can anyone else. Please, please, please make this site work so people can find out about Richard’s business and he can help more people. Please.

And He did.

Just like that. He is amazing.

I still need to fix the Make It For Maggie site, but that can wait until my children are loved on, we finish unpacking, all the laundry is caught up, and I get some sleep.

Tomorrow I will get our camping pictures up…and Blythe’s sixteenth birthday…surely you are dying to see them, right?

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i’m back

Aug 13, 2012 by tracy

We have been gone camping to our favorite place, Green River Lakes, since August 2. I have a whole post I need to write about our camping adventure, but for now, I will just say one thing: grateful.

Right before I left, my host decided to stop hosting and I had to work for hours and hours AND hours to transfer five websites to a new server. After many assurances that all was well, I set out on my trip, but unbeknownst to me, four of my sites crashed. The amazing Jessica resurrected our iFamily site, though it still needs quite a bit of work, but the other three sites have been down for quite some time.

I have been washing laundry, getting Blythe ready to go to Canada, and working on these websites all day long. The good news is, this site is back up. The bad news is, Make It For Maggie and Fix the Connection are still down and I have almost given up hope that I will be able to do anything about it. Yes, I am about to scream!

Anyway, since I lost my site and my theme customizations, I decided to try something new. I am still tinkering around with it, but it should be improving every day for the next little while. In the meantime, enjoy tracking the plethora of changes coming your way.

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the new site is up!

Jul 26, 2012 by tracy

I survived the descent and have been working on my computer ever since, creating the new iFamily website. Check it out, I think it is coming along smashingly. It never ceases to amaze me how much time it takes to get the website ready for each semester. I think iFamily should throw wads of cash my way, but of course, that isn’t how we operate in our little Mom School organization – we volunteer our time to create this magical learning environment for our families.

This fall I am teaching Hullabaloo, an outdoor game class where we will learn and play all the old games our grandparents played when they were young along with some new games from our day and age. What were your favorite games growing up? Please send them my way. I am making my list of finalists!

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quick update

Apr 5, 2012 by tracy

I have a labral tear.

I need surgery.

Expensive surgery.

I am trying to hold on to faith and not slide over to fear…but some moments the fear takes over.

Tomorrow is Passover.

Yippee-Skippee!

Passover is my very favorite holiday of the whole year. I cannot even tell you how much I treasure this celebration of God’s love and mercy for his children.

We have invited my Worldviews students and their parents to share our Seder with us.

This is a lot of work.

I think Keziah has been working all day long washing the special dishes, setting the table, making sure everything is just right.

I haven’t figured out how to lay down at the table yet. The table is about 14 inches off the floor and everyone else will be sitting on the floor. Unfortunately, I can’t sit. At all. Any ideas?

In spite of this ridiculous injury, I have decided to do a nationwide Home School Read-A-Thon. It is a lot of work. It is going to make a difference in the world and right now I feel like I am being served and served and served. This is an opportunity for me to help give back some goodness and bless others. If you would like to participate, just leave a comment and I will send the forms. It is open to everyone…not just homeschoolers, but I created it for home schooled students to be able to do something super cool, read a lot, earn books for themselves, and earn books for an organization in their area that needs books. Our local area is donating books to a homeless shelter. So excited about it!

Fisher and Annes are fascinated by the human body right now. They keep finding books about it and having me show them every.single.part.of.the.body. They love figuring out how their poop gets out of their body and where I am injured. Cracks me up to see how interested they are in anat and phys!

Brain spill done. You may now go back to your regularly scheduled lives.

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777

Apr 2, 2012 by tracy

Posts that is. Yippee-skippee!

When I noticed a string of sevens turn up on my blog dashboard last night, I wanted to do a happy dance. See, I love the number seven. It is the most holy number…ever. It means covenant, perfect, complete, promise. To me it symbolizes God’s majesty, goodness, and perfect plan for His children.

And now I have written 777 posts in the past three years of blogging here at my little home on the web.

Seeing all those sevens brings joy to my soul.

Fun facts about me and the number seven:

I was born on the 7th

At 7:00

After seven minutes of pushing

I weighed 7 lbs.

My first child was born on the 7th.

And weighed 7 lbs.

My second child’s middle name is the number seven in Hebrew.

What is your favorite number and why?

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the good news and the bad news

Jan 30, 2012 by tracy

Today has been a day of doctor’s appointments. All day long.

Two hours this morning at the chiropractor and another hour this afternoon at they eye doctor.

And a house-full of company is coming tonight. I need another week to get ready for them, but another week I don’t have, so they will get us as we are and not spiffed up or spankin’ clean.

The bad news is Blythe is struggling with the same weird hormonal issues I am struggling with and she has a tipped uterus. The good news is maybe we can turn it around for her and she can stop the estrogen-dominance before it gets completely out of hand like mine is. So, the pain and moodiness and excruciating cramps aren’t all in her head and there is really something wrong with her. Good to know, but I wish I had paid attention sooner.

The other bad news is my ligaments are really struggling. Those of you who are long-time friends know what a huge issue keeping my joints in place used to be. I have been pretty well for a few years, but now the pain is back and getting worse each day. Some weeks at gym my femur head dislocates and someone has to put it back in place. Other weeks my shoulder or elbows just won’t stay put. Right now my shoulders hurt so bad that I have to lay flat on my back to sleep; if I am on my side they pop out of place. I don’t know if this is related to the hormone issues or what, but my doctor seems to think so. He worked on my shoulders, pelvis, and jaw today and now I am really sore. So sore it hurts to lift my arms up to type. I hope this settles down as the muscles reposition after the adjustment.

The other bad news is Keziah’s eye complaints weren’t a case of “I really want a pair of glasses so I am going to tell you my eyes hurt until you get me some” like I half-way suspected, but instead she is indeed far-sighted and needs glasses so the muscles in her eyes can relax. The good news is we live in America where glasses are readily available and she can find some funky frames to suit her personality.

Blythe’s play is this week…all week long. It is going to be fun and exhausting and fun and busy and fun and I might need to sleep all next week. It is a whole bucketful of work for a whole lot of people, but it is also incredibly rewarding to see these youth grow as actors and performers and I hope we have huge crowds come out to see them (shameless plug…if you are local, please COME!).

In a few minutes a friend is coming over for me to teach her how to use a baby carrier and then I need to work some magic with my sourdough start. I didn’t make bread last week when the gnomes were here so I have gobs of start that needs dealt with. I think I will let it grow for a day and then make loaves and loaves AND loaves of bread (I should end up with 16-20 loaves!) tomorrow to sell at the concession stand at the play. Lil’ bit crazy if I do say so myself.

I am also going to have eleven extra children and four extra adults at my house…busy, busy, busy. The good news is (not that the previous sentence is bad news, just a lot of people news) my Tami is coming!!!! She is coming to see me before she leaves for Australia and we get to laugh and work and play and have a blast together before she moves to the other side of the world. The other good news is my sister (anybody need a haircut?) and my friend, Boo, are coming as well and then at the end of the week my mama is coming as well. Party time at my house!

Suffice it to say, you might not hear much from me this week…

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sleep, real sleep

Jan 24, 2012 by tracy

Last night I slept. Actually slept. I didn’t toss and turn and have my shoulder come out of its socket or have my pelvis ache or position pillows all around me to keep my spine in some semblance of alignment. I just slept.

Miraculous!

How did this change come about?

Well, I don’t really know.

What I do know is when I got home late Friday night I found a mattress and box springs in the front of my house. At the time I was completely baffled. They were quite wet and I couldn’t figure out why they were there.

After thinking about it for awhile I figured out that someone must have read my blog on Thursday where I said I was grateful for my bed…that even though it was uncomfortable, I was grateful for a warm, safe place to sleep. And that same someone must have decided to be hero of the year and give us their mattress and box springs. I don’t know if that is really what happened or if whoever is involved in this bed miracle even reads my blog. Who knows? Maybe God just prompted someone to do this? I don’t know. All I know is someone out there is wonderful beyond words and has changed my whole life. When Richard and I woke up this morning, I said, “Wow, I actually slept! I didn’t toss and turn” and he said, “I know, amazing isn’t it! I slept as well and feel more rested than I have in years.”

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

We will pass on your good karma!

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the gnomes are back

Jan 23, 2012 by tracy

But this time they feel like larger circus gnomes doing forward rolls through my lower intestinal tract. I spent the whole day in bed yesterday which would have been lovely if I hadn’t been so miserable.

On the good side of life, I read a lot of interesting things, got a little bit of sleep, and lost enough bodily fluids to lose a few pounds. On the bad side of life, my back feels permanently contorted by my mattress that sags in the middle. On the really, really super-duper good side of life, some amazing Bed Angel brought over a mattress on Friday while we were gone to gym!!! If we can get it onto our bed before tonight, maybe my back will be able to un-contort and start resembling a normal spine again.

p.s. If you are the Amazing Bed Angel, THANK YOU!!!! I laid on your wonderful present this morning for a few minutes and it is a million times better than our concave-in-the-middle mattress that turns me into the letter “u” in a matter of minutes.

p.p.s. There are really no words that can say thank you enough for the bed. I wish I knew who you were, I would do something delightful for you. Since I don’t know, I will try to spread your goodness to everyone I meet.

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randomness

Jan 16, 2012 by tracy

My head is full of a million little thoughts. Full. To the brim. I want to write or talk or cry or laugh or DO SOMETHING to get them out of my head and into my heart, but I can’t even form a coherent thought about any of them, so my writing about them isn’t going to make a lick of sense today. Prepare yourself for random thoughts with Tracy.

I just found out one of my friends is at the hospital to see whether she is miscarrying. Oh, the pain in my heart. I learned something about myself this morning. I would rather miscarry than have this friend lose hers. I can hardly even focus on the tasks of the day because I am so worried about her and hurting for this baby that might not come.

I am making collaborative class books for my Zing! class and, of course, I want them to be cute, so I am covering composition notebooks up with paper…and now fabric as well. Crafts and I do not get along and so this is proving far more difficult than it needs to be. Yes, I have watched several YouTube movies on how to cover books. Yes, I have read umpteen tutorials all with different ideas and suggestions on how THIS idea is THE way to make this process be the fastest AND easiest AND cutest way out there. It doesn’t matter. I still can’t do it. My dining room looks like a bomb has gone off; I have piles of fabric, paper, Cricut stuff, spray adhesive, glue sticks, ribbon, paper cutter, scraps, markers, paint, and who knows what else all ready for me to do something cute with them, but instead I just keep ruining my composition books. Good thing they were only 8 cents.

My word-epiphany-bookmarks I am making for Zing! aren’t going that well either. Hopefully the copy shop will be able to solve all my problems on that front today.

On the good side, Fisher and I had a great learning session this morning. He cheerfully worked on his sounds and writing and math and narration with me, we read our new FIAR book and he giggled all the way through it, and I remembered for the gazillionth time how much I love teaching my children at home.

My heart is also breaking for another friend. Breaking right in half. I wish I could fill her up with truth and love and acceptance and peace. But I can’t. I can only pray that she will turn to her Savior and allow Him to fill her.

I am mildly addicted to Pinterest.

Keziah and I are starting a new read today: George Washington’s World. She is taking a Heroes of the Revolution class at iFamily this semester and we thought this would be a fun read-aloud for us for the next little while. We start this afternoon…as soon as we get our book back from Miss Liz.

I am craving jicama and peppers.

We listened to MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech this morning and I tried to paint a picture for them of what life is like in a segregated world. I don’t think they can really picture it.

I think I need a nap. No, I know I need one.

Sadie has gas. Bad gas.

My dad’s birthday was on Friday. I still haven’t called him. I need to remember to do that when Blythe gets home from play practice.

I am loving Momastery. Just click on over and read about Glennon and her path to motherhood. Her words connect with me. I laugh so hard at her life and then I find myself crying. All in the space of thirty seconds.

I am also craving ice cream. I think I am always craving ice cream.

I started reading one of my favorite parenting books again. Liberated Parents, Liberated Children is full of effective strategies to help children solve their problems, learn emotionally health ways of interacting, and help parents stay sane AND calm. I love it. I want to teach a class on it and spread the goodness ’round the world.

I need to work on my blasted composition books. Is there anyway I can succeed at this? Probably not, but as I told my mom yesterday when she lovingly tried to explain to me that this project was not worth my time, “Maybe not, but I am goin’ to die trying.” And just so you know, I really might. The fumes from the spray adhesive are hurting my head and my fingers have been completely glued together more than once in the past 48 hours. Yes, I am that crazy.

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a little bit of a whirlwind

Dec 15, 2011 by tracy

I have been a bit busy the past few days and I just want to crawl in bed.

And sleep.

For. a. long. time.

Friday was gymnastics and a youth colloquium on To Destroy You Is No Loss.

Saturday was my 4 hour Adult Worldviews class.

Saturday was also Bella Cantanti’s (Blythe’s vocal group) Christmas recital.

Sunday was church, choir practice for Blythe, and a community-wide choir performance and Messiah sing-in.

Monday was our fun night at the Lamoreaux’s (returned to our home around 11 p.m.).

Tuesday was The Christmas Carol at a local community theatre (returned home around 10 p.m.).

Wednesday was an early morning performance of The Nutcracker, a day full of errands, and then a night performance of The Nutcracker (left at 8:30 a.m. and returned home around 11 p.m.).

Today I was the driver for play practice, ended up staying late to pick up as well, accidently missed Activity Days (Keziah’s rehearsal for a Christmas day performance on handbells), and Blythe had karate tonight. It is now 9 p.m. and I am exhausted physically and emotionally.

Each of these days has also been filled with important conversations with clients, friends, and family, which is good, really, really good, but I am tired and I have no idea how I will actually teach six gymnastics classes tomorrow.

Buck up Tracy! You can do it! (what I am going to keep telling myself until I can fall into bed tomorrow night).

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the gnomes are still here

Dec 1, 2011 by tracy

But I’m no longer on death’s door. I wish the abdominal cramping would go away.

Maybe I will try some charcoal?

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excuse the mess

Nov 7, 2011 by tracy

I am changing themes…who knows what I will end up with. Feel free to look around, but please be patient while I clean up all the dust and get everything spic-n-span again!

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changing things up a bit

Nov 5, 2011 by tracy

I have been dying to make some changes to my site for awhile. I am so ready for something new. Must be a theme lately…new hair, new dining room, new learning room arrangement, new habits and patterns…hungry for some changes in my life and since my blog is such an extension of my life it makes sense that I would need to make changes here as well.

Soooo, if what you see is crazy for the next couple of days, be patient, I will eventually figure out what I want to create and this will be lovely place to look at again. In the meantime, it might be complete and utter chaos!

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one week to go

Oct 22, 2011 by tracy

Make It For Maggie is in one short week! I can’t wait to rub shoulders and give warm, smooshy hugs to our attendees! I have a list a mile long of what I need to do to put the finishing touches on our event. I also have laundry up to my eyeballs. Literally. I also have a ton of work to do for both of my Worldviews and You! classes.

Today I must focus on my list and not let myself get distracted! Quite a task for someone like me who goes from thing to thing to thing all day long.

If you want more information about Make It For Maggie or would like to donate, check out our lovely website.

Off to fold the whites, design the cover for the Handout Booklet, write a letter to our attendees, start another batch, make breakfast, do the dishes, make signs for the classrooms, find some awesome girls for the nursery, and figure out all the prizes.

See you later, alligator!

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so ready for a change

Oct 20, 2011 by tracy

I needed a change. I have been sporting an A-line for the last 25 years or so, with a few short departures of perming it, growing it out, and Demi Moore’s Ghost haircut, but I always go back to the chin length A-line. It is a great cut on me. It looks fabulous with my face, is super easy for me to do, I only have to do my hair about once a week with it, and I can tuck it behind my ears which for some reason is my default hair position.

Having said all that, I needed a change. On some deep level, I needed something else. I was hoping for a Meg Ryan You’ve Got Mail look, but it ended up shorter than that and I’m okay with it.

Last night I took off and drove a few hours to my sister’s house and we stayed up till midnight cutting and coloring. When we were halfway done, I decided I had made a huga-mongo mistake and couldn’t believe I was looking at myself in the mirror. Mikelle clipped and thinned and colored and styled and then I styled it some more and then I thought it might possibly work out.

This morning, I got ready for my cousin’s wedding, (why do I always do things like this the moment before big events?) and I started liking it. And by the way, the wedding? One of my favorites. The look on Josh’s face as he looked at his bride melted my heart…such adoration, respect, and protection in his eyes. Love him!

After a day with it, I think I made the right choice. I was feeling congested in my standard haircut. I needed some new energy in my life and I sure as heck have it.

Thanks to Mikelle for putting up with my I-need-you-to-make-me-cute-no-matter-how-long-it-takes insistence – you are a hero!

Unfortunately, I think I’ll have to do my hair every day and may need to invest in the company who makes my pomade – I’ll be needing a lot of it!

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yes, i am alive

Oct 2, 2011 by tracy

Although I haven’t posted for days on end, I am alive and well. All of us are.

Sad to say, my computer is not.

It has been making grinding noises for months and has been running a fever of a gazillion degrees, probably from the 4000 unread emails and numerous other undealt with stuff that is suffocating its life right out of it.

Thanks to the oh, so lovely Jessica with her brain chock-full of all things computery I think it will live. She has given me lists of things to do to take care of the poor thing and once it is back in the swing of things I have a ginormous get-my-files-deleted-or-filed task list.

I am hoping to be back in contact with the world tomorrow…we’ll see what miraculous healing she can muster up this time!

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a new do

Sep 8, 2011 by tracy

I have had twenty-five bad hair days in a row.

Twenty-stinkin’-five.

It was one too many for me and today I made a hair appointment with a shop I’ve never been to and a stylist I’ve never met.

One word:

SCARY!

My sister has cut my hair for the past several years and I trust her completely. She knows me, she knows what looks good on me, and she will spend as much time as it takes until we are both satisfied.

Well, Mikelle is recovering from a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus and she is in no position to be cutting hair right now. I thought about driving down to Logan this afternoon and having her give it her best shot, but I didn’t think it was all that wise.

Desperate times require desperate measures!

This time the desperate measures worked out and I love my haircut!

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i’m drowning

Aug 27, 2011 by tracy

My bedroom is a war zone. Literally.

Well, except for the fact that there aren’t all that many angry words said in there…and definitely no deaths, although there have been several casualties from tripping over piles of stuff.

I know I need to clean it. I have known it for months (years?). Really. It is terrible. Day after day I somehow manage to put it off, to find a gazillion other more interesting things to fill my time. But now, I really, really know I must clean it and then keep it clean. I have a schedule full to the brim for this fall and need space and order to allow my brain to think all the big thoughts I need it to think. It’s like I need my space to be organized in order for my brain to have a chance of becoming organized. I have been reading the posts over at Habit Hacker. I downloaded the Home Routines app. I have thought and thought and thought about how to help the housekeeping part of my life run more smoothly. I have been working on organizing other rooms in my house. I have done gobs of laundry. I have contemplated cataloging every book in my home. I have sat in my room and made plans for it. I have tried to visualize the finished product (albeit a nearly impossible task!). I have started the task over and over and over. I have made piles. I have cleaned one corner. I have brought in boxes to fill with stuff to giveaway.

BUT I HAVEN’T CLEANED MY ROOM!

I am grumpy about it. I don’t want to do it, I just want it done and I want it done now. I have no more time to do it. I need to be reading and preparing for my Worldviews class. I need to be savoring the last days of summer. Instead, I am grumpy and overwhelmed.

Have you ever had a task like that?

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for my friend

Aug 20, 2011 by tracy

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rearranging

Aug 16, 2011 by tracy

I am feeling some major urges to rearrange. I want a whole new blog look…desperately. I want to rearrange all my kitchen cupboards. I want to dejunk, declutter, and turn my laundry room topsy-turvy (I have just taken back the stewardship of doing laundry from Blythe and I cannot handle spending hours of my life in that room in the state it is currently in!). I am dying to completely rearrange our school room to make it so our study area is over in the sunniest part of the room. I want to read, write, and discuss with the sun shining on our faces and lighting up our hearts with joy!

Problems with these ideas?

I can’t use my right arm very well after the lumpectomy, I have a stack of deep-thinking, rigorous-reading books I need to devour for some upcoming colloquia and my Worldviews class I am teaching this year, I cannot even express to you how many iFamily Leadership Academy emails and phone calls I need to deal with on a daily basis, not to mention all the background work that no one ever sees. Meanwhile, I want to be outside enjoying the gloriousness (yes, that is a word!) of an Idaho summer.

Some people have spring cleaning urges…I have decided I must have mine a bit delayed because this urge has come pretty strong the past several years right about this time.

Quite the quandary!

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flashbacks

Aug 4, 2011 by tracy

I won’t be posting for the next little while, but just in case you are addicted to reading my words, I thought I would leave you with some of my favorite posts from the past. You can read one a day until I am back on the computer. Perhaps for some of you newer readers, it will help you get to know me a little bit better.

Wondering why my site is called Wet Oatmeal Kisses?

Wondering who I really am? Here is a list of 100 things to help you figure me out.

Wondering if God can clean up your life? Yes, He can…I promise.

Have you ever run out of gas?

Have you ever wondered why an LDS family celebrates Passover?

Would you like to find some great math books to read with your children?

Looking for some powerful home birth stories? Mine are all right here.

Wondering what my favorite blogs are?
Check out A Path Made Straight, Balancing Everything, Seedpod Craft, Segullah, By Small Means, The Flourishing Mother, and Hop Skip Jump. I know I have lots of other favorites, but those are the ones that popped into my head right this minute.

Would you like to hear about a few things I’ve learned during my mothering years?

Readers who know me in person have certainly heard me wax nostalgic about my grandma. I can’t even begin to describe what my grandma means in my life. Here is my post about her nine months after she passed away.

Last, but not least, if you would like to know just how crazy I am, here is a post for you…one of many such incidents in my life, unfortunately.

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catching up

Jun 20, 2011 by tracy

After pouring my soul out a few days ago, I haven’t had anything left of me to share…so I haven’t written. I am not one of those “write on command” types that write just because another day is here. I have to have something to say, something of myself to impart to the world…and after Thursday’s post, I had nothing left in me.

I’ve also been busy, busy, busy. On Friday, Jodie Palmer came and stayed with me for the weekend and brought her three little munchkins…remember Miss Maggie of Make It For Maggie fame? On Saturday, I attended a class on Parliamentary Procedure and learned gobs of useful information. My head has been somewhat swimming since then with the little filing guy in my brain trying desperately to get all that info stored away into its proper folders and filing cabinets. Then, that night we had an extended family party to honor the fathers in our family and we didn’t get into bed till about midnight. Sunday was church, nap, planning, studying, pondering, and loving on my family.

Now we are to Monday and a new week of mothering, schooling, loving, learning, and becoming. What will I become this week? What will I improve upon. Whose life will be better because of me? Weighty questions that hit me hard each week.

The only things I know right now are:

1. I am starting my new scripture journal today.

2. I am starting my 21 Day Standard Process Purification Cleanse tomorrow after I go grocery shopping today for oodles of vegetables. I love vegetables…in fact, I was a vegetarian for about two years back when Blythe was a baby…but I cannot even imagine how I am going to live on only vegetables and a little fruit for the next 21 days. This is surely going to be an adventure in willpower and creativity.

3. I am going to focus on nurturing my children each day…filling their souls up with my love for them.

I should find out what Dr. Jones’ decision is in the next few days. Until then I feel like I am on pins and needles. I have been praying she will be guided in her decision and will be able to have an open mind about thermography. If you are the praying type, I would appreciate your prayers for her as well.

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and the winner is…

Jun 13, 2011 by tracy

I put all the names in a bowl and had Richard draw for me tonight…and the winner is

drumroll ::::::::::::::::::::::::

drumroll ::::::::::::::::::::::::

drumroll ::::::::::::::::::::::::

Melissa!!!

I will let the conference organizers know you won and have them contact you to give you further instructions.

I am so hoping that everyone that commented will find a way to get there. I wish I had a gazillion golden tickets! Thank you for sharing your journeys with me…loved hearing from you!

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one guys take on modesty

Apr 19, 2011 by tracy

Read this today and loved it. I have been fighting this fight for a long time…good to know someone in the mainstream press is joining in!

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new commonplace book

Apr 14, 2011 by tracy

I finally found my new commonplace book! I have been looking for a few weeks and nothing has spoken to my soul. Choosing a book to write my thoughts in is a pretty big emotional investment for me. It has to be just right. It has to have paper that feels good on my hand, colors that I love, materials that connect with me…oh, so many things have to be right about it. I invest a lot of time writing in my commonplace book and I will be keeping it forever. I can’t stand the thought of spending so much time with something and not adoring it.

I went a new direction this time and am hoping it sparks lots of creative thoughts within me. Each page is artsy with different sizes of lines, different types of lines, and vintage prints interplayed throughout. It is so fun to look at! Thinking of filling up those pages is a tad bit daunting because I feel like my thoughts needs to be as creative and enduring as the pages are. I decided I was up for the challenge and am hoping it will free me up to be more creative in my thoughts and doodles. I love the colors of red, slate blue, and green…they all speak to me and I love how “old” the cover feels. It is fabric covered and calls out to me from another simpler and more beautiful time.

The most important thing? I can’t wait to start writing in it!

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popcorn popping…free!

Apr 9, 2011 by tracy

No, not actual popcorn and not apricot blossoms either, but popcorn music! I am laid up for the second day in a row with an injured foot, so I am only going to stay and chat for a minute before I crawl back in bed with a pile of books, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share a rockin’ deal with y’all.

Marvin Goldstein…an amazing pianist…is offering his album Popcorn Popping for free! I don’t know if this is a one-day special or what, so you may want to click over right now to make sure you get it. Popcorn Popping is full of delightful children’s music played with whimsy and playfulness. I especially love his version of Follow the Prophet…sounds super-hebrewy to me. Annesley and I are listening to the whole album right now and it is adorable. I think you will love it too!

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that’s what friends are for

Apr 7, 2011 by tracy

I have THE BEST friends in the world. I have friends in my life who teach me to be gentle and kind by the way they mother their children. I have friends who give me hugs when I need them. I have friends who call and chat while I clean my kitchen. I have friends who study and learn and teach and edify. I have friends who stay up all night with me. I have friends that rescue my sewing projects. I have friends who bring me meals when I am sick. I have friends who love my children. I have friends who are insightful and able to give me just the advice I need. I have friends who give my children rides. I have friends who bring me smoothies. I have friends who make me laugh. I have friends who love me and keep loving me on the dark days.

I love my big circle of women friends. I cannot fathom what my life would be like without them. My family’s life is so blessed by the friends we have. I found a poem today that I fell in love with. I want to shout it from the roof-tops to all of my friends!

That’s What Friends Are For by Jan Miller Girando

When life’s being lived at hurry-up pace
With hectic things happening all over the place,
A friend understands and allows us our space…
That’s what friends are for.

When we’re feeling grumpy and scowly and cross,
And not quite succeeding at being the boss,
A friend cheers us up so the day’s not a loss…
That’s what friends are for.

And when there’s excitement and joy in the air,
Occasions to celebrate, good news to share,
There’s one you can count on to always be there…
That’s what friends are for.

They give us advice that we’d do well to heed,
Gently suggest the “fine tuning” we need,
Then join in our happiness when we succeed…
That’s what friends are for.

We’ll always be friends as we have from the start,
And when we’re together or when we’re apart,
Our friendships will always be close to my heart…
That’s what friends are for.

Thank you to all my friends for your presence in my life. Thank you for being God’s hands and hearts and helping me see the goodness in the world. Thank you for your love and support of my dreams and my crazy ideas. Thank you for your smiles, your tears, and your hugs. They have blessed my life more than you know and I wrap myself up in them on the days that are hard.

You ladies are the best!

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my bed is calling me

Mar 3, 2011 by tracy

I am so tired. Tuesday’s trip to see A Tale of Two Cities at Hale Centre Theatre was so, so fabulous, but 15+ hours of being in charge of 80 people’s behavior did me in. Then we had our home school classes yesterday and got to bed later than I wanted. A friend came over to borrow my vehicle this morning and it was all I could do to talk to her, I was so exhausted. I’m trying to figure out a way to squeeze in an afternoon nap and things aren’t looking good in that department.

Saturday sounds like a good day to sleep…all day long.

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i know i’m silly, but i’m crying over sloan

Feb 10, 2011 by tracy

Silliness. Pure silliness, but I am crying over Jerry Sloan leaving the Utah Jazz. I grew up watching the Jazz and pretty much worshiping the ground John Stockton walked on. Jerry Sloan has been an institution at the Utah Jazz. Watching him pace the sidelines, holler at officials, and smile at fabulous plays has been a large part of my life.

It’s not a big deal, but it is change, and I have decided I am just not very good at change. I want things to stay the same forever.

They don’t and somehow I need to learn that lesson. Sloan leaving is one more opportunity for me to learn it.

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mucus…finally

Feb 4, 2011 by tracy

After days and days of hacking and dry coughing while my lungs were rattling, I finally have mucus coming out of me.

Gobs of it.

Pretty gross, but I am quite sure its the only way I am going to feel better. The stuff filling my lungs has got to come out somehow.

I am curled up in bed reading Ender’s Shadow, Crucial Conversations, Tale of Two Cities, and doing Ken-Ken puzzles. If I weren’t so miserable, I would love having days on end to do nothing.

I can tell my oxygen levels are pretty low because I can’t do any Ken-Ken puzzles that are out of the “Light and Easy” range and normally I devour the “Difficult” ones. Pretty frightening when the ones I give to Keziah are stumping my brain.

I am covered in oils, taking oregano, GSE, Vital Ion, ALJ, garlic, and drinking lots of water. My bed is covered with tissues, rice socks, and books. My house looks like a tornado hit it. My nose is red and raw. My face is swollen. On the good side, my voice is a little bit better than its non-existant version of yesterday.

I am so blessed to have had friends bring over delicious foods! Kari and Tasha have both made immune-boosting soups and last night, Jennifer W. brought over super-yummy enchiladas. I think my children will be kissing the ground she walks on for years to come.

Come on mucus…keep coming out!

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now to my throat

Feb 2, 2011 by tracy

The congestion has moved out of chest, which is good because I no longer feel like I have a 10 lb. weight pushing down on my sternum.

However, my throat is now a mass of scratchy-clawing-horribly-painful-to-swallow-swollenness.

If you need me, I will be in bed…covered in ImmuPower and Breathe Ease and taking Grapefruit Seed Extract, Vital Ion, Oregano Oil, ALJ, and Hydrogen Peroxide. Trying to decide if I want to gag myself with my homemade Anti-Plague. I wish there was a whole foods restaurant with home delivery of extreme-garlic-kale-chicken noodle soup. Surely, that would chase these bugs right out of me!

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to bed

Feb 1, 2011 by tracy

It is 7:08.

I am going to bed.

Congestion in my chest is growing by the minute and I must stop it in its tracks.

I have no time to be sick.

I have children who need me.

I have two babies ready to come at any moment.

I have a Read-A-Thon to conduct.

I have a Math Alive! class to teach.

I have gymnastics to teach.

I have friends who need love.

I have books to read.

I have a lot on my plate. I have known for months that February was going to be a crazy month and it is only the 1st of the month and already I am starting to sink.

This cannot be! Good thoughts, good karma, good everything needs to come my way to help me get better lickety-split and get me through this month of many-good-things.

So, I am off to bed.

Only call me if you are in labor…love to you all!

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the skirts…pics

Dec 28, 2010 by tracy

I finally posted pics of the cutest skirts you ever did see…they are down below in my “Blessed Day” post.

Aren’t they stinkin’ cute!

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