Loose Ends

A lot has been going on lately. I feel like I have all of these loose ends to tie up right now.  I feel like I have a ton of projects going on that are not complete and I am trying to juggle them all.  They are all good things, just happening at the same time.

For starters, I am just curious.  If I planted 18 red geraniums and chose one pink one by accident, do you think I should fix it?  Now that they are blooming I just noticed the one pink flower. Should I go buy one red geranium and replace it with the pink one?  I am a little bothered by that. What would you do?  I realize this is very random in this blog entry, but it sort of is a loose end....just not a serious one.....ha ha.

So on to more important things and loose end #1!  We are going through the process of finding an used vehicle.  We will be selling the 1999 Honda (the first car I ever purchased on my own) and upgrading to something that allows the kids to buckle themselves in the car.  I just can't do the three car seats in the back of the Honda Accord anymore.  It is time to move on.  The search for that perfect vehicle is proving to be tedious.  I will be glad when we finally make a decision.  Part of the impatience on my part is that I am super excited to get the vehicle and drive it NOW.  I am having a hard time waiting this process out.  I'll post a picture once we make a decision.  The poor guy at the car lot has seen me the last three days in a row.  I told him to get used to seeing my face for a while.

Loose end #2.....involves our oldest, Mya.  For a long time she has had difficulty going to sleep at night and staying asleep.  When we were in California the family had the stomach flu really bad.  Ever since then she has been terrified of throwing up.  So she says she has a stomach ache every night and wakes up 3 to 4 times a night to check in with me.  It feels like having a newborn in the house.  We are all sleep deprived.  I took her to the doctor yesterday to start the process of identifying how to handle this.  We have tried everything from behavior charts to addressing her fears with compassion to disciplining and nothing works.  The doctor is going to test her thyroid and a few other things to rule out any medical conditions.  We tend to think that she is in such a routine with waking up that she doesn't know how to sleep all night.  So we continue to pray for her and try to find the answer to her difficulties.  There is definately anxiety involved and I want to help her learn how to deal with that too.  We have talked about trying counseling with her too.  Where is the parent's manual when something like this happens?  Hasn't anyone written one yet?

Loose end #3......home schooling the girls next year is official.  I received the letter from the city schools giving me permission to school them next year.  I am very excited, but it is quite a process to choose curriculum and set schedules and fill out paperwork, etc. I will be teaching with Classical Conversations and will get trained in that curriculum this summer, which will be fun.  And we will have Mya take elective classes at the christian school so I have to get all of that set up too.  I know it will all come together, but there are many details to consider.

Loose end #4......my vein surgery has been approved and is scheduled for June 25.  Dan will take me to the surgery, which will be fun to spend the day with him.  I am not nervous about the surgery, but I hope and pray that the majority of the bulging veins will be gone and I will finally wear shorts for the first time in years.  It will be a glorious day!

Loose end #5.....essential oils and learning new things to do at home.  I planted my first batch of cherry tomatoes in pots.  I am very curious to see if I can pull this off.  I do not have a green thumb of any kind.  The only reason my geraniums do so well is because I have really good soil in the spot that I plant them.  And my kids water them for me.  So planting garden vegetables is very new to me.  I continue to learn and experiment with my essential oils.  I love them!  I would very much like to actively sell them....meaning teach classes...and start that business, but it seems like the time isn't right just now.  I have too many other things to think about and do not have the energy to actively sell anything right now.  But I consider it a blessing when people ask about it and I can order the product for them.  It seems like every week I meet someone new, have them over for a play date, and make them a green smoothie with essential oils in it.  And they are hooked!  I have a list of things I want to do with the oils like make my own deodorant, cleaning products and become educated on the business for when I do sell.

Loose end #6.....the kid's behaviors.  It is time to bring out the tomato staking book again and start over.  The kid's have forgotten about obeying the first time, right away, all the way, with a happy heart.  It has become more evident to me that we have fallen into the trap of asking them multiple times to do things.  They think it is okay to do their own thing until we raise our voice and then they know we are serious.  They should know we are serious when we ask them to do something the first time.  Gotta work on that this summer.

There are more little loose ends, but I think that is enough for now.  I think within the next month all of these will culminate....maybe all around the same time.  That will be good.  Just in time for summer and fun with my kids.  We have a great summer planned and I can't wait to enjoy it with them!