Gettin' Away

It sounds like a scene out of a crime movie...the getaway car.

Well, last week my husband suggested that we might be going somewhere this weekend. This weekend was our "getaway" weekend last year...San Francisco. Ahhh, the memories. I asked him point blank if we were going to New York City which has been a hope of mine for some time. He told me not this time...it just isn't financially wise at this moment. NYC is not a cheap place to be, even for a few days. Disappointing for sure, but understandable. But he did mention that we might go...somewhere. That is all he gave me. If you know me at all, I am not a surprise person. I am the one who reads the last chapter of a book first. The only time I handled surprises was with pregnancy...I didn't want to know the gender of our babies until they were born. Anyway, I digress...as usual.

So, as the week has gone on, I have waited for more details...anything. Someone asked me about going to watch a show in Tulsa. I had to admit I didn't know what my schedule was like. Finally, yesterday morning, I woke up and read Facebook and saw this on Mark's profile...

Mark Cloud is looking forward to a "end of summer" weekend get away with Rebs.....

Of course, I asked where, I got nothing but more teasing. Torture, pure torture.

A little while later, I spotted another "update" on his profile...

Mark Cloud is hoping Reba's ankle is well enough for our weekend excursion.....

So of course, my mind was racing. I was thinking about several places around the U.S. which would require alot of walking until he informed me (via phone) that we were not flying anywhere. That narrowed it down quite a bit. Mark doesn't like to drive so if it was more than a few hours away, it was out of the picture. :)

Next message...

Mark Cloud doesn't have much time to pack for our trip tommorrow. Luckily it doesn't take long to pack for a couple of nights....especially when it's just comfortable clothes and a pair of tennis shoes.... Maybe bring one pair of bluejeans and a decent shirt.... You never know....

Do you see the torture I was dealing with? He was having way too much fun with it. I did a little detective work, like asking my mom if she knew anything. (She didn't) And I checked American Idol concert spots...none close by until the end of the month. (I have been secretly hoping to go to one and living vicariously through all of my friends who have!) But I didn't pull out the big guns (checking credit records)...why ruin the fun?

At that point, I had a few places in mind. Branson, Tulsa, Dallas, Kansas City, and Mount Magazine. I even thought it could be a local bed and breakfast. We don't get time alone around here often. Well, the next "update" gave me the final clue...

Mark Cloud just saw a great looking MOUNTAIN in this MAGAZINE.... I should go there someday with Rebs.. :)

Why Mt. Magazine? Well, I have a couple of friends who have told me how beautiful it is. (It is a mountain here in Arkansas...has the highest point in Arkansas, fairly new lodge and cabins, supposed to be very relaxing and beautiful) And we have been talking about hiking more as a family if we can ever have free weekends. In fact, I looked at staying there for a couple days over spring break as a family but they were booked. And apparently, Mark and I are just on the same wave length. It happens after almost 13 years of marriage. :)

The final update...

Mark Cloud has decided, God willing, that Reba and I will always take weekend trips this time of year.....sometimes it will be San Francisco and sometime Mt. Magazine....as long as I'm with the love if my life, it's all good.....

I know, I know, he is a sweetheart, other than the whole torture thing. (Of course, in the midst of all of his "updates" there was a lot of banter with me and others...the fun of Facebook!)

So, I may or may not post this weekend. Who knows. I am looking forward to some time away. We always have a good time...we are like little kids, free from responsibilities. We do plan on doing some hiking; I am hoping my ankle is up for it!

Oh, if you haven't done so, please stop by and visit Bonnie's blog. Today is her wedding anniversary...it would have been their fifth. It is also the first one without him. Today is going to be a hard day. You don't have to know her to say, "Hey, thinking about you today" on her comments. I don't think you even have to do a word verification which I always have trouble with. Just type up a few words and click. Even if you don't do that, I know praying for her comfort and peace today makes a difference.

For now, I am off to do some school supply shopping with the kiddos...have three to buy for. Ugh! Should be fun. Or more torture...not sure which. :)
Reba

Best (and Worst) of Both Worlds

I have been thinking about the two divisions of moms. There are "working moms" (which we all know means working outside the home because by virtue of the fact you are a mom, you are already working...kind of redundant) and "stay at home moms" (which we also know is not really a true label because if you are a mom, you likely would LOVE to be at home but instead are running here, there, and everywhere).

I guess technically I am a "working mom". I do work outside of the home ten months of the year. But if you look at my contract, I technically am only contracted for 185 days (I think) which is really just a tiny bit more than half of the year. So in a way, I am in both worlds...

When I was growing up, there were three things I wanted to "be". I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be a wife. And I wanted to be a mom. In my mind, there was never any question that I would have to "pick and choose" a role.

When our firstborn was a baby, I didn't question at all that I was supposed to be in the classroom. For one thing, he stayed with my mom. I figured he was getting better care there (experienced mom) than being with me (inexperienced mom) all of the time. Plus, and it is hard to "confess" this at times, I love being in the classroom. It is just a very natural "home" for me.

I did face some criticism for continuing to work. I will never forget one Bible Study where someone asked me point blank how I could as a Christian continue to work outside of the home as a teacher. Of course, I remember thinking, "Who do you want in the classroom teaching your kids?"

Like I said, I am technically "home" half of the year. And I do believe God put the desire to teach in my heart. If He wants me to be at home, I feel like I will know differently. That hasn't happened yet.

So, having both roles, I can give you a little insight into both of them...


Working Mom:

• Quality Time...I know that sounds funny but when I am with my kids, I am truly with them. In fact, I have mine (part of them) with me from 3 o'clock on. It is a rare thing for us to be out without kids nor for me to get out by myself unless they are in bed. I don't participate in Wednesday night church activities because of the little ones...they have been away all day; I just cannot put them in the nursery for the night. So we do have alot of time together. Not to mention, I am with the older kids(this year it will be three) pretty much all day. They aren't necessarily WITH me but I can see them anytime, check in with their teachers at any given moment, and know what they are up to.
• The house actually stays somewhat cleaner because we are not here as much!
• One of the benefits of working is that we pay someone to clean our house (the deep cleaning stuff) regularly so that is one less thing we have to do on the weekends.
• Mark really steps up when I am working. He does as much if not more laundry than I do and is good about helping with keeping the house cleaned, running to the store, etc.
• I am actually a bit more organized when I am working. We lay out clothes the day before, shop for a couple weeks at a time, and have a pretty good system for keeping up with paperwork. During the summer, some of that falls to the wayside.
• I get good "time" with the youngest. Really, between meals and naptime, I don't miss many hours of his playtime.
• Thus far, my kids don't seem too traumatized by childcare. We have done the gamut....my mom took care of all of the kids at least for a while. We have also been with daycare centers and in-home babysitters. All have been fine for what we needed at the time. I am thankful for the kids' preschool especially (which they can start at 3)...it gives them a good start to school.
• We actually spend less money during the school year (other than Christmas/birthdays) because unless I really need something, I try to avoid stores! No energy for it.
• I get to do something I love. I really love my job. I love watching little minds learn. It makes my heart smile to make a difference (or hope that I am). Not to mention, each day is a learning experience for me too. I am learning different cultures, different personalities, and different perspectives. I am hopefully becoming a better person because of it!

Stay at home Mom:

• More time for cooking...that is difficult at times throughout the school year
• Fitting it all in. It isn't easy, and I am in no way saying that I have tons of spare time on my hands in the summer, but I do find I exercise more if I fit it in during the day before my energy is gone. The same holds true to Bible Study and even just the mundane household chores. When I am at school, I come home and have a short window to fit it all in. Then I stay up later which cannot be good for my health!
• Seeing my children in all times; instructing them throughout the day. Just this summer I have been able to teach my older kids how to empty the dishwasher and fold dishtowels. I gave Child 3 a "computer lesson" not long ago, and Child 4 has been learning the fine art of cleaning up the house. Even just teaching manners is a bit easier since I have multiple opportunities throughout the day to explain that when someone is on the phone, it is rude to talk to them...
• Freer weekends. During the school year, weekends are used for running errands, organizing/cleaning up (the "surface stuff"), and catching up on paperwork. When it is summer, I can work on that throughout the week and have freer weekends to just relax and enjoy the time with kids.
• More time to minister. It is harder to help out people during the school year just because time is so limited. But during the summer, if someone needs a meal in the middle of the day, I am able to help out that way.
• More social activity for the kids. During the summer, we can go on playdates or swim dates. We limit those activities more in the fall since again, our time is so limited.
• Staying home is not an easy task! I know some people think staying at home is eating bonbons and watching soaps all day (we rarely turn the t.v. on and I cannot compromise my weight with bonbons), though I doubt it is anyone who actually stays at home. I laugh when people ask how my "vacation" is going. It is not a vacation being at home. I am on duty 24 hours. There are some days being at school (with 20 kids) is easier than being at home all day (with 4)!
• Staying at home can be a struggle at times to NOT overfill our days. I am very protective of family time during the school year and will limit activities. But when I am at home, it is easier to fill up our days with activities since we have the "time"...suddenly our "stay at home time" involves very little stay at home time (which may benefit one child but not all of them).
• Less guilt. I don't feel as guilty taking a nap or having a night out for myself when I am at home all of the time.

So there you have it...the best (and worst) of both worlds. I am glad and blessed to be a part of both of them. It has always bothered me that there has to be a division among moms or that anybody feels like they need to defend their position, whichever it may be. I do feel some people are called to be at home full time, some are called to work full time. Or like me, some of us get to "straddle" both worlds. In the end, are we really that different? I imagine no matter where you are called to spend your days, you love your child and hope and pray that you are being the mother he/she needs you to be. Our lives may be different but our role is the same...mother to our children. Instead of arguing about who is right, I think we need to support one another. Motherhood is not an easy career, no matter who you are.

Reba

A Couple of Links

I wanted to share a couple of links for you...

Bonnie's anniversary is coming up on Friday. It would have been their fifth anniversary. My heart just aches...Friday is going to be a really hard day. Please pray for God's comfort for this day. And I would encourage anybody reading to stop by her blog and leave her a message. It is okay if you don't know her. Even just saying, "Hey, I don't know you but I am thinking of you/praying for you on this day..." would mean so much.

The other link I wanted to share is Care Calendar. Someone set this up to provide food for Bonnie shortly after the accident. I cannot say enough good things about it. It is a free service to help coordinate meals (and other needs) for anyone dealing with trauma/difficult circumstances or even the happy moments of a new baby. Once the calendar is set up, people just need a password to log in and "sign up" for a date to provide food or a service. The part I like (so much better than passing e-mails around) is that once you log on, you can see at a glance what days meals are still needed. There is also a place to show what people are bringing so you don't have six people deliver lasagnas in one day. I would definitely encourage anyone who finds themselves in a coordinating situation to visit the website. (There is a lot of information just on the homepage)

Okay, I am off to nap. More later (I hope)
Reba

Put Your Right Foot Forward...

Okay, so you may remember in June (4th to be exact), I tumbled down the one and only step of our home in the garage (well, other than the front steps that I don't actually go out/down most of the time) on a toy a small child had conveniently played with in the garage. Ever since then, my dumb ankle as I not so lovingly refer to it has not been the same.

Now my husband is a sweet guy. He can be very romantic. He is very loving. He treats me like a queen...well, most of the time. :) For whatever reason, twisted ankles do not turn him into Florence (or the male equivalent) Nightingale. Because he was and is athletic, he has had a few of these messed up ankles in his time. Apparently they are a way of life for him. In my defense, I am not athletic. I have had only two true "injuries" (one knee, one ankle), and they were a really long time ago when my young body could heal faster. And the same holds true for him...he was much younger when he dealt with his injuries. He also didn't have four kids, one being a very busy toddler, to chase after. So while he was sweet to bring me ice, the sympathy has been a little lacking...he is just matter of fact. Like I said, I love the man and think he is an incredible husband...just not a great nurse. I can only hope that if for some reason I were seriously injured or ill, he could learn...

Well, fast forward nearly two months. The ankle is still swelling. It still hurts. I feel like an old lady when I get out of bed...I hobble the first few minutes of the day due to stiffness. And for whatever reason, Joshua has a real knack for accidentally kicking my ankle, then the cycle begins again. It doesn't keep me from moving. I am pretty stubborn. I do most everything regardless of the pain. However, I have slacked off in the exercise department a tad. Certain things are really painful.

I finally decided it was time to see a doctor. I don't go very often, so that was a big step for me. My doctor's office has on-line appointment scheduling so late last night I put in a request. This morning when I woke up, I found an e-mail with an appointment time for later in the morning.

We attempted a leisurely morning, though nothing around here is truly leisurely...at least for me. Then we drove over to my mom's house to visit with my sister, her kids, and my cousin's son. The kids got to go swimming all morning long. After I got everyone settled, I drove over to the doctor's office. (Note: driving uses your right foot a LOT...)

It took just a few minutes to get into see the doctor. I was a bit surprised since the waiting room was packed. When they weighed me (why must they do that every single time???), I turned around and refused to look. Again, my exercise has been lacking due to the "injury".

After a few minutes, a doctor came in. For sick appointments, I just see whoever is available. That was the case today. He was a nice enough fellow, but guess who he reminded me of? My dear husband. He poked and prodded for a very short time then pronounced that I had a sprained ankle that was likely being re-injured regularly. I will not lie. I wanted there to be something wrong...something that sounded bad but wasn't too serious...something I could tell my dear husband was truly wrong with me. No luck...just a "sprained ankle" diagnosis. (Just for the record, I still think I tore something)

I left with orders (verbal) to wear the brace all of the time and a prescription for an anti-inflammatory medicine. It is a lot like taking Tylenol, but I only have to take it once a day.

Now, as I drift off to sleep, I am acutely aware of this foot/ankle. It hurts, though I have the brace on.

What is your second opinion? :)

Behind...as usual

I am so behind on blogging. I have not gotten to put up pictures from Swim Ranch or the weekend festivities...hopefully later today. It was a wild and wooly kind of week last week! This week's plans: as little as possible! I have one appointment this morning, and we have football/cheerleading practices in the evening. Other than that, we are chillin' over here!

I am finally going to the dr. today for my dumb ankle. I am afraid they are going to tell me nothing is wrong, but it is actually hurting more now than it has in weeks! I find myself wishing it will swell up just so I can show the dr. what I am dealing with.

The "back to school" panic is setting in. It really isn't panic, it is just that nonstop thinking of "What am I going to do about...?" Yesterday at church, I tried so hard to pay attention, but my back to school hallway display was just a constant thought in my mind. It is one of the many things teachers ponder this time of year!

I have been thinking about this time last year...our trip to San Francisco. Such a wonderful hurrah at the end of the summer. Sigh!

Okay, I better go get started on our lazy day. I will try to write more tonight.

Oh, please keep praying for Jeremy who just started his chemo. The side effects have NOT been fun. :(

Okay, really, gotta go. More later!
Reba

Stick a Fork in Me...

I am done.

With garage sales that is. And swimming lessons. :)

I will post some swimming pics later. I will say it was a good week after the initial shock of finding out we HAD lessons this week. I am so thankful I didn't show up this coming Monday thinking we were having them. :)

Okay, the garage sale is done. And before I do or say anything else, I want to say thanks to some people. Thanks to my mom for keeping the kids Friday morning. The sale was so busy that morning, I don't know how I could have done it while keeping up with kids, especially the youngest! That is a full time job in itself. And a big thank you to my sister for helping me with the sale on Friday. I could NOT have done it without her. We were going to close at 10:30 because of swimming lessons; we got a rush of people around 10:25. She stayed by herself until my mom could come help close up so we could get to lessons on time. She also came last night to help me re-organize and set out some more things. I wish I had asked her the night before! Also, thank you to our neighbor at the end of the street for letting us put a sign in his yard. Thanks to my hubby for picking up the permit for us as well as getting some tables for us to use. And thank you to my school family who were having a sale at the school (I had too much to do it there this year :() and directed people our way too.

Now that those are out of the way, here are a few lessons I learned this week. I am saying up front that I am NOT a garage sale expert. I try to have them as little as possible. :) And I don't make thousands of dollars. This was our most successful sale yet though. And I did learn a few lessons just in case you too decide that you need to torture yourself and have a sale yourself... :)

1. Fridays. I have always heard to have sales on Fridays. It is hard to do that for me during the year, so we have always done Saturdays only. The only reason we did it this time was because my very sweet little sister offered to help. I am so glad we did. I made 5/7 of the money on Friday. It was busy pretty much nonstop. Today was fine but nothing like yesterday.
2. Craigslist. I don't know why I just found Craigslist, but I had been told "You have to put your garage sale on there..." And I am glad I did. It is free advertising. I never asked people how they found us but I know that it didn't hurt at all to have it out there!
3. Prices. I had "fixed" prices for clothes so I didn't label them. Next time I may not label anything but "big ticket" items (for us this time, our biggest ticket items were only 10 dollars :). People usually ask anyway, the tags never stick, and it was much easier to just say, "All clothes for a dollar".
4. Value. You cannot think about the true value of your items. I save my "best" of the "best" for consignment sales. Garage sales will typically not yield a lot of money. To me, if I get rid of it and make a little money, it was a success. As today went on, the prices dropped. By the end, everything was a quarter. EVERYTHING. People were leaving with bags of clothes (lots of kids' clothes) for just a few dollars. I was happy to see it going. They were happy to get a bargain.
5. Getting ready. It is going to take a lot longer to get ready than you think it will. I had most of my things sorted in trash bags. We had bags and bags of stuff. I decided to pin two piece outfits together, which for kids' clothes, is most of them. :) And I am glad I did. But it took a long time. I wish I had done that ahead. I stayed up until 3:30 on Thursday night/Friday morning, then I had to get up early on Friday. I still didn't get a lot of things out. I ended up sticking bags under the table to get out when there was a "lull" in our sale...there weren't many. Guess what? People didn't care. They happily went through the bags! I wondered why I had put anything out in the first place. :)
6. Free box. Sometimes you have stuff not really worth much but somebody else might appreciate. I put a free box at the end of the driveway and throw that stuff in. Toward the end of the sale, we added a lot to it. People loved it, it all went to new homes, and best part...I didn't have to see it anymore!
7. Garage door. Friday morning I was trying to wake up from my "nap", running around finishing up. Mark was taking the kids to my mom's. We were going to start the sale at 7, once my sister was there. As Mark and the kids were leaving, they chose to go out the garage door for some reason. He opened it up, and suddenly I had people IN my garage. Now I had tables in there that needed to go out. It was crowded. I had planned on moving them at opening time. Suddenly it was opening time (early) and I couldn't move anything...too many people. It was a rough start to the day. The joys of sales. :)
8. Valuables. We didn't really have any "valuables" but we did have a few technological things. I kept those close to me. Apparently some people will steal from garage sales. I don't know that we have had that problem but I have heard stories. I am all for prevention...
9. Memories. It is hard to not attach memories to things. As I folded those baby clothes, I was flooded with memories of my children IN them. If you focus too much on the memories, you end up keeping things you don't really need (and that others can use). You also have to be careful to not attach value to those things...it is easy to want to "overprice" just based on the value to YOU which will not be the value to the rest of the world.
10. Change. I have learned to always have 20's ready...almost always someone will pay with a large bill. (This time is the first time that didn't happen). You also need a lot of 5's and 10's...we got several 20 dollar bills that required change. Oh, and as for the money, I wear it in a fanny pack on my waist so I can keep up with it and have it on hand.

Sorry, not exciting stuff today. Just lessons learned.

In a couple years when I decide I am going to do this again, direct me to this post so I can remember what to do and what not to do! I am a slow learner!!!

Reba

Garage Saling

I only have a few minutes because I need to get to work...we are having a garage sale tomorrow and Saturday. (I decided to go ahead and have it for just a few hours tomorrow since we have swimming lessons...my sister is here to help and I need to get it done) We have a LOT of stuff to pass on to others who might appreciate it more than us. :) I have a feeling it is going to be a long night. (Not to mention, tonight is gymnastics and football...plus swimming lessons earlier today)

Last night Mark and I had the privilege of going out for a "date night". I really wish we did it a bit more often, though it can get expensive to do. One of our interns from my school last year came for a few hours...the kids LOVE her. I am sad that in just a few weeks, she will be leaving for a nanny position in New York. I already have asked her though to come sometime next week so I can go work at the school without any "helpers" with me like I usually have.

Anyway, it wasn't a majorly romantic evening (by the world's terms), but I always enjoy a night out with Mark. We stopped by to pick up some clothes racks for the garage sale. Then we stopped by my school and visited with some friends there who are getting ready for a garage sale there this weekend. We also measured for a loft for my classroom. We did enjoy a yummy (but too filling) Italian dinner at a local joint, then we did a little shopping. Nothing fancy, but it was a nice evening. It is always nice to have a little time to just talk (and eat) without interruptions.

Swimming lessons are going well. The youngest has learned a lot. Today I was so proud of Child 1; he got two more "flags" (accomplishments), one being his diving flag. I think he has five flags to go. He won't make it to his "fish" this year (like "graduation") but I think next year we will get there. He has worked so hard. Child 3 is loving the jumps off the diving board, and Child 2 is starting to dive off the board. I will have some pics tomorrow from the week.

Quick prayer update on the two young men I have mentioned. One Jeremy was finally released from the hospital. He is still dealing with some lingering issues from his cancer, but I know it must be good to be home! The other Jeremy started chemo today. He just had a PET scan and the results were positive. Please continue to lift them both up. They have both been on my mind recently.

Okay, I must get to work. Sorry for such a blase post (I know that isn't spelled quite right but I am too tired to check the right way). It has been a hectic week, and honestly today has been a bit of a challenge...some challenging kids here today. :)

Reba