Monday, July 25, 2011

Packing...

It brings out the crazy in me.

We're going to be attending a conference this week for pastor's and their families. We're so excited. The girls look forward to the "big New Jersey" church every year. We soak in the encouragement, teaching, fellowship, preaching while the girls have a FaNtAsTiC time of their own.

But today... today is not much excitement and fun. Today is laundry, folding, packing, repacking, squishing, debating what to bring, trying to figure out a way to NOT bring 4 pairs of heels for a 3 day trip (don't ask...). Packing reveals the dark side of my personality.

The side that shoos kids away 'cause their driving me nuts. The side that says "FIND YOUR OWN DINNER!". ☺The side that cleans little girl dress shoes with q-tips and rubbing alcohol. The side that puts the matching jewelry for each outfit in it's own zip top baggie and attaches it to that outfit's hanger. Even the clothes in the suit cases are packed on hangers. So that in the hotel, I just hang everything and for the rest of the trip I'm not digging through a dis-shoveled mess of a suitcase looking for one teeny sock on the bottom. The side that gets out the crevice tool for the vacuum and declares war on every crumb in the ever dirty van. Why I do this? I don't know. It's just gonna to get even dirtier on the trip. But when we pull that van out of the garage, it will be clean and organized and I will know where every single thing is. For a minute anyway.

I have a packing spreadsheet. It's true. A detailed list of everything we'll need. Or might possibly maybe need. Because when you travel with 3 kids 4 and under, you bring it all. You just never know when some one's gonna throw up or wet their undies or come down with a case of TB.

So I'm gettin' back to it now. Because those toiletries aren't going to label themselves.

Love,
 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

McCoy Reunion

After a few days of "just the five of us" at a campground, we headed out to my husband's cousin's dairy farm for a family reunion.

I like farms. Visiting them anyway. I can't say I'd ever be up to running one... but they sure are fun to visit, especially if you're a kid. The huge barn was set up with tables and a big spread of food put out. After a delicious roast beef lunch, the kids jumped on a trampoline, played in the slid-n-slid, checked out the cows, squirted water guns filled with ice water at other, played "Can-Jam" and rode the horses. I did not take very many pictures, because I was busy eating and yapping and enjoying myself. But I did get the camera out when the kids took turn riding the horses.

Maddie was very interested in the horses but too afraid to actually ride them. Maybe next time. Eden however did not hesitate to jump on "Princess" with her cousin and go for a trot.
ride, Eden ride!
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waiting to ride
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My nephew, Eli riding with Grandpa
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My nephew, Isaac, riding, even with a very badly broken arm
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Jack, the big tough guy, was too afraid to ride solo
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Sure you don't want to ride, Maddie?
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Yeah I'm sure!
Love,

Vacation 2011 in Pictures

no sleep....
sleepy car ride
no sleep... ;(
sweet sleep
sweet sleep
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weeeeeee!
fun teeter totter

4 1/2 yrs. oldrelaxin'
DIRT glorious DIRT!
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learning pool =)
dirty girl
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smores!
standing up!?! you're barely 9 months! Slow down!
Mmmmmm.... BBQ chicken!
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McCoy Family Reunion pictures coming soon.

Love,

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I'm back!

From vacation, that is. You didn't even know I went on vaca, did you? Well, I did. We took the girls on our first ever real family vacation... just us 5. ☺We went camping for 2 nights and then joined up with extended relatives at a family reunion on my husband's cousins dairy farm. Talk about kid paradise! Horses, cows, slip-n-slid, lots and lots of cousins to play with, a trampoline, a swing set.... Maddie and Eden would have stayed forever.

I'm uploading all 157 pictures that I took over the 3 days. Yes. 157. Wow. I will be posting some soon. But don't worry... I won't post all of them!

In a nutshell: we had a great time. We relaxed and took our time and felt no rush or hustle (what a feeling... not used to that!) The girls (hopefully) have some fun memories of their first camp out. And it was wonderful to see family that we haven't seen for a long time.

Hope you've all been well!

Love,

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Spring...um, I mean SUMMER cleaning

Spring was too busy. Summer is pretty busy so far too but I had some time today while the girls all were napping and so I tackled some neglected areas.

I was in the library recently looking for a particular book. I did not find the book I wanted, but found myself perusing a shelf full of housekeeping books. I checked several of them out, and have read through the first two (which were small). Can you believe that one of the books I checked out had cursing in it? In a housekeeping book? Seriously? Very disappointing. Now I am in the middle of this huge book, Home Comforts. I love the title, but have a love/hate relationship with the book itself. I love how detailed it is, but I hate how detailed it is. ☺  It is extremely thorough. I partly feel inspired to clean like the dickens, and partly overwhelmed with all that having a clean clean house entails. As I hold the 3 inch thick book, I think who in the world has time to do it all?! I'm too far along to abandon it now, but I will not be ironing sheets. I will not be folding fitted sheets. I will continue to fold/wad them as neatly as I can in 30 seconds, then stuff the fitted, flat and extra pillow case inside the remaining pillow case and shove the whole caboodle in the closet. This book does have me on the look out for microbes and any microscopic bacteria lurking about my kitchen, ready to contaminate my food and poison my family. If you see one, let me know.

I'm exaggerating a bit, of course. The notion creating a safe, comfortable haven for my family is a worth while endeavor, and not at all defined by excessive cleaning. It's a continuing process, with no end. I much prefer the term "home making" to "house keeping", or even worse "house wife". I am not married to my house. And I am not a hired maid putting in my hours for a paycheck. A home maker's salary couldn't ever possibly be calculated. Nor could her duties be strictly listed. They are slightly different in every household. It does seem universal though that good meals and relative orderliness go along way to creating a pleasant home.

So allow me to share some of the helpful info I've picked up, which maybe you already know:

*Ya gotta wash sheets in hot water. It kills nasty little bad guys. I have always washed most laundry in cold water to save energy (and cause that is how my Mom did things, and we do tend to keep house the same way our mamas do, don't we?!)

*Unless your hot water tank is set to reach 180 degrees (which is not likely), that all assuring "sanitize" setting on your automatic dishwasher ain't really sanitizing. So if your husband does as one lady I know did and put the dog's pooper-scooper in their dish washer thinking all would be sanitized and fine, stop him. And put a straight jacket on him before he hurts himself.

*Good pots and knives should never go in the dishwasher. (So wait... I'm expected to actually hand wash some things? Maybe the communists have the right idea about burning books...)

*Peroxide is a great bleacher. (I actually did already know that... it gets blood out super well.)

*The treatments put on fabrics to make them "wrinkle resistant" or "flame resistant" only last through apprx. 30 washings. (I don't know about you, but our clothes stick around for a lot longer than that! So this explains why my husband's shirts need {much} ironing, and why my kids occasionally burst into flame. Okay... that last part isn't true.)

I've also learned many helpful facts about different kinds of fabric and caring for them, but I won't attempt to explain it all. I learned it just well enough to be a little more efficient with cleaning them but not enough to teach it to someone else.
Maybe I'm a dork for even reading such books. But to me, keeping fresh and inspired in my efforts to clean or cook or teach little ones or be a godly wife or mother, or any other responsibilities that I'm privileged to call mine, helps me stay motivated. Blogs are also a great source for inspiration and new takes on old concepts.

Any handy household tips to share?

Love,

Monday, July 11, 2011

Bath Baby

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I know... I just did a post with pictures of Leila. But I don't care; she's cute. So here's another.
Love,

Friday, July 8, 2011

Leila these days

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Leila Christine McCoy

A few days shy of 9 months old.

Crawls, rolls, scoots. Says "da da da da da da" and a funny little growling noise. Wants no binkie, no bottle, no cupie. Only mama. Likes pears, apple sauce and cereal. 6 teeth. Oddles of rolls and squishy softness. 16 lbs. Loves playing in the bath and wading pool. Loves people! Any people... oh if only people would look at her and play with her all day she'd smile all day long. But when the people go away, she's sad.

She's my baby. But she's getting big awfully fast!

Love,

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

My Best Friend

Last Sunday, my Beloved and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I know it's cliche. I know it sounds cheesy. But I really do believe our marriage gets better and better as time goes on. We know each other better, we appreciate each other more, we understand each other more, we communicate MUCH better, we simple enjoy each other more.

Seth is an amazing man. And frankly, I feel sorry for every other women in the world who isn't married to him. ☺ Seriously, he's wonderful.

When I was a teenager, I was so bored that I resorted to reading the celebrity biographies that my mom collected. Along with learning some weird non-useful information about Yul Brenner, I read something I've never forgotten. When George Burns was asked what  was the secret to his long, happy marriage to his wife Grace, he said the secret was being married to Gracie. She was the reason it worked. And that truly is the case with Seth and I. We're happy. We don't fight. We don't argue. We don't need breaks from each other. We don't belittle each other. And it's not because of me. I'm likely to pick fights. I'm pretty good at arguing. I can have a tongue so biting and belittling, you'd be shocked. But Seth just doesn't participate. Ever try to argue with yourself? It's boring. From the very start in our relationship, he has set a tone of peace and loving kindness.

Seth is a man of principle. This is probably his greatest attribute. On matters of right and wrong, he doesn't waver. Do I occasionally disagree on what is "right" and what is "wrong"? Yes, of course. But I'm happy to pass the buck to him, because I know that one day, he will stand before God and give an account for our family. I want him to have a great judgement day. If he chooses to err on the side of caution, I can find security in this. And there have been several instances when I initially thought he was being more conservative than necessary but later came to see a great deal of wisdom in the decision. And on those occasions where I feel like we're doing or not doing something that God would want, he's always very willing to hear me out. We both have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, after all. And then the rest of life's choices... the opinions and preferences... Seth is always willing to surrender his wants to mine, or our children's. Or just about anyone. Seth is slow to express opinions. I'm literally happy when he does so that I have an opportunity to do something the way he likes.


Also, it doesn't hurt that he's such a good loookin' guy. I mean, just look at him... you'd never guess he's had 3 children. ☺
 We enjoyed a delicious dinner out on our actual anniversary. Today, we took up a baby sitting offer from my husband's fantastic aunt and uncle, and went golfing together for the first time in way too long. (Last summer I was way too pregnant!)

As we headed to the course this morning, we both set goals for the 9 holes: Seth was aiming for 50 while I hoped for 90. Yes, I'm a bad golfer. I get the same score golfing and bowling. This is not good. But I do really enjoy golfing... with JUST Seth. I'm too self conscience to golf with other people. For one thing, I take a very long time, and another is that part of the correct golf stance is sticking your hiney out, which I try not to do in front of people, if I can at all help it.
 But after Seth snapped these pictures of me, I now have a new reason to never golf with anyone else. Just look at this expression on my face!
 We need a close up of this monstrosity:
 Wow. Please tell me I don't make this face all the time! I literally had no idea my face could even do this until I got the pictures off the camera. Scary! Wow. I'm abandoning all vanity to even post this but it's so comical yet freaky I must share it with the world. I really wasn't concentrating that hard!

Despite my face's look of consternation, we had a very relaxing, fun time. Not only did I reach my goal, I surpassed it! I got a 61! Yeah!!! This was the best I have ever done. Seth didn't do as well as he would have liked (52)... but he looked happy none the less:
The course was beautiful and quiet, and the temperature was absolutely perfect. By the time the heat of the day began to come, we were finishing up. Golfing is a great date; I highly recommend it. Get a couple cool drinks, snuggle as you ride the golf cart, give each other saucy, inappropriate names on the score card, and pretend you need his help with your swing (wink, wink).

I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries with my best friend!

Love,