Year 2009 Resolution Updates

1. Learn some new hairstyles.

No progress whatsoever. I am still very much that 7th grade girl who tried to understand the stuff on top of her head.  But I did add bangs. Whoohoo!

2. Learn to preserve jam.

No jam. But pickles, yes. I'd love to say that "I'm a natural" or "It's so easy" but I'm not to that point. I did feel very domestic.

3. Grow an honest-to-goodness producing garden.

Oh, it's producing. Some beautiful tomotoes. Some struggling cabbage. A bit of weeds and some very hot leaf lettuce. (Who knew leaf lettuce came in flavors of fire?)

4. Memorize the Ten Commandments. In order. Verbatim.

Okay, I've memorized the KIDS version of this. (They don't say "adultery" for commandment 7... they said "Be faithful in marriage".) Am still learning the verbose big person version. :) But they're important, so it's worth it.

5. Give knitting a whirl.

Notice I said "a whirl" and not "become a master knitter". Well, I'm whirling. I'm knitting something that is beginning to look scarf-like. 

6. Make family first:
1. My household family.
2. My siblings/parents.
3. My "family-ish" friends.

This isn't really a measurable goal. What was I thinking?

7. Make Dan more of a priority.

Ditto.

8. Show hospitality in simple ways. (Dan wants to showcase his beer... Beer and Chili dinners?)

Oh yeah... I had a baby... what was I thinking? I've shown hospitality to two little girls and that's all. :)

9. Use my decorating abilities to make the house feel more like "us" and less like the last owners.

This one is coming along okay. I'm getting there. Will post pics as progress occurs.

10. Show my gratefulness for health this year by doing physically fun activities. Canoeing? Biking with the fam?

Recall early comment about having baby. Survival.

First Day of School

"Dad, I'm nervous."

"About what?"

"What if I don't get any trophies today at school?"

Huh?

Like my backpack?

Posing...

More posing...

Note: Morgan's mother is not crying.

Because she cried in the shower the night before.

We Dykstras like to keep it real.

Real weird.

We're walking... We're walking...

Why I forgot the Baking Powder While Grocery Shopping Today

"Can I choose the snacks, Mom?"

"What does 'ish' mean, Mom?"

"I wonder what human flesh is..."

(Times a hundred.)

Away.

My husband is away on business. 

Eight years ago if he was away on business, he would come home to an apartment that was sparkly clean, candles lit on the table. His wife would don a pretty apron and some swanky music would be playing. We'd probably have some vino before dinner. 

Tonight when he returns, the scene will be a bit different.

The house will be, in a word, loved. 

There's some ant bait on the floor. I'd pick it up except that it is still wooing the last of the little buggers into their sugary death. The kitchen is in a state of perpetual use as evidenced by the sink's full belly of crusty plates. Most of the laundry is done (hallelujah!) but a few lone socks and washcloths are bound to stay on the floor. 

I would have done more yesterday to pick up the house, but I had a violent stomach virus that made me wonder for a half second if I was pregnant again. (*No and more no.) 

The dining room is quite a sight at the moment as well. There are packing boxes filled with foodstuffs and beach towels in anticipation for our beach week`. My five year old has been pawing through the boxes, examining their contents and suddenly "needs" whatever is in them. 

"Take my temperature, Mom." She found the thermometer. 

"Can I have this blanket, Mom?" She already has laid it on the ground to look at all the colors. 

"Where are my goggles?"

It's all I can do to stay packed. 

This is a funny time of married life. Between taking care of self and the little ones, I look foggily across the dinner table and see... the man I married. He's the man I desperately want to talk to but can't right now because it would involve spelling v-e-r-y   l-o-n-g   words to keep our little Morgan from understanding. He's the man who I don't see twelve hours a day (on good days) but will always take my phone call at work and at least pretend to be interested. He's a gem.

Our worlds are quite different of late:

He's up to his eyeballs in spreadsheets. 

I'm up to my elbows in bedsheets.

He wines and dines others so much that he's totally cool with cereal for dinner.

I'd cry for a Chicken Cordon Bleu.

And as much as I'd love to present him with a perfectly coiffed wife and house upon his arrival home, I know that the man I married then still wants the same thing that he wants now.

A little peace. A smile. Some laughs. Movies in bed. And probably some other things that you think you know (smirk) but you really don't. 

So come on home, babe. I'll wait to hear your car pull in the garage before I pour the milk in your Cheerios.

Kiddieland

Was fun. Way fun. 

The End.

Eve Pics

She's one happy 7-month old.

And she desperately wants to crawl.

(In due time, my dear. In due time.)

For Andrea

These pics are for my friend Andrea.

Who calls my produce pics "Food P*rn". 

Because she is in Antarctica.

And yearns for fresh produce.

And now I'll stop.

Chopping up sentences.

Aunt Becky

Aunt Becky came to visit. She's fun to play with in the rain.

Umbrella attack!

The face says it all: Aunt Bex is a hit!

Rain friends.

Eve is unsure about Aunt Becky. But she did smile for her. Just not in this pic. 

Morning Prayer

Dear God,

Let my heart be where yours is.

If your heart is telling me to call a friend, please let kiddo nap time be successful.

If your heart is telling me to be still, give the courage to do so. Even in the midst of chaos.

If your heart is telling me to release my hold on money or "organization" or any other false securities, then please give me the resolution to live with less.

Amen.