Carnival

Last year we were in town and saw this carnival but, like all things "down town" we didn't know what was going on and didn't want to get caught in the tourist crowd.  We're not crowd people.  People throw trash on the ground, cut in line, I get mad.  I worry that the kids will get lost or worse. 

This year we met a cute set of twins selling ride tickets outside of Pbx and were intrigued by the 50% off nature of the tickets.  We researched it and found that adults had to pay $5 a piece, but kids were free.   So for $20 our family could go and would have 20 tickets.  Hopefully each child could go on a few rides.

 Gotta love a carnival...

sponsored by the catholic church.

 Was she really that naked?

 The car ride that whipped around the corners was perhaps the most fun.

 Or maybe the spinning dragon.

 Or was it the free swing ride we had at the Mission grounds later with our pizza picnic?

 Dad makes a great pillow.

Look I really was there too!

OK, the low down on the Carnival is that it was totally worth it.  I wish I had made a paper for the kids to write down what rides they wanted to ride so they could budget their tickets.  For us the 20 tickets bough 3 nice rides for M and G.  There were rides the kids couldn't go on because they were too small.  We got there at 12 when it was starting and  were able to park for free on Old Mission and it was about as close as you can get.   We brought our picnic and walked out to the waterfront.  It was lovely.  I think if a child had 20 tickets they could ride every ride they wanted to.  In many ways it was as nice as our Legoland trip in December.  Legoland was great but so far away.  And even with $5 tickets, its still a long way to drive.  I think I'll vote for paying $10 a kid to go to the local carnival.  Thank you local diocese for bringing the carnival to town!

The blue hat

actually there are 2. I am wishing I had had each of L's children take a picture in a blue had while they were visiting. Last year M got this wonderful ball for her birthday. When it popped a month later, we kept it around because it felt so cool. I cut it in half and we had alien hats. The novelty has not worn off. Not only is it a fabulous fashion statement, but it feels like a little hug on your head. Can't beat that.

making the neighbors worry

So P hasn't been going to work lately. His car sits in the driveway all day. Don't you think that's going to worry the neighbors that we've lost employment and are now going to be another foreclosure in the neighborhood? Luckily, P is actually working from home now with his new job for Florida Virtual School. Hurray! He's super excited to not have to commute. He's super excited to teach. He's super excited for our closet to get retrofitted as his new office.

I feel so anti-climactic telling this good news. I've known for weeks, but P didn't want me to shout it from the roof tops. Then the day of announcement came and went with meeting with the AC guy and the phone guy and the plumbers that came to investigate the wet spot in the office/closet. So here we are a week later.

I'm struggling with my emotional neediness for him to be available if he is home. But the wonderful thing is that he's making money and supporting our family. I think that a lot of marriages could benefit from appreciation of that simple reality, when it exists. Who needs flowers when there is money in the bank. Heck no, not me. Please don't waste money on things so fading and fleet as flowers.

It is rather amazing to me in this current hub-ub of the Mommy Wars, how often the "stay at home" mom is touted as a luxury. It's like you're only aloud to be a stay at home if you have no financial worries. How about some props to moms who stay at home even though things are tight. And dads too, who stay home for the benefit of the kids even though having them in day care would bring home a little more money a month if there were 2 parents working.

Having parents raise their children is an ideal, like having parents not get divorced. But it's not some golden, unattainable ideal for the independently wealthy. Actually, it is for the independently wealthy. Like us. You know, that don't have to buy things just because they are shiny. Use it up, make it do! P is giddy to be getting an iPhone after 5 years of not being able to justify the expense. He decided to be independent of his wants. That is wealth.

Primary President

One of the most interesting things I have found being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the practice of lay Ministry. The Church comes under a lot of fire because of Polygamy which at least makes sense from an economical point of view.

I am now serving as the Primary President and when I was called there were more than 20 other women as qualified as me and at least 5 who had actually served in the calling before. So what am I that I should have this opportunity and responsibility? This shows that callings come from the Lord. If the point were to provide the best possible manager to run the program, we would have career callings. But instead the point is for me to learn. Learn!

So as I bumble through conducting the primary meeting asking everyone in the room if we're supposed to have a closing song, I tried to learn. When I stopped by the nursery to see how our fearless leader is doing, I was humbled to learn that she has been a Primary President. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of the precious nature of this time. I probably won't get to serve in the Primary Presidency again. This is a sweet season of my life like the infancy of each of my children. It is hard, it is hectic, and it will pass so quickly and leave me wishing I had appreciated what I had then.

L visits

I haven't seen my sister L in almost 4 years. The fact that 4 years can have gone by makes me feel like I must be getting old. We both have more children that the other has never met. Between us we have 9 children under the age of 9. It's wild. Yet the visit has been surprisingly easy as we take turns cooking, cleaning, and pacifying crying babies.

I got sicker than the mild sick (that I have been for about 2 months) on Sunday and went an Urgent care Clinic. They put me on Azithromycin and Prednisone for the Bronchitis they found. (see how I decline responsibility for letting it get to bronchitis). Anyway, I had a HORRIBLE reaction to something in the medicine and my body rebelled in a major way. I received a priesthood blessing of healing from my husband and brother in law. I believe I would have died without it. I was so out of it I couldn't even ask P to take me to the ER. Soooo bad. But I'm mostly better now. I went back to the clinic on Monday and got a prescription for good old Arrithromycin that you can get for Free at Publix.

And I got this picture of G which is my new favorite picture of him. It's just the colorful buckets. It's not the most cute picture of G. So let's just call this my favorite picture of buckets.