Random Post #2

I couldn't bear to leave the blog in such a state of pity-party. Here are some great things that are going on in our lives:

1. I have been elected VP of the Patient Advisory Committee at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic! Needless to say, I'm very, very, very excited about it. It's a 2 year term. I am looking forward to really digging in and helping the President as much as I can. I am really excited about the woman who is the new President - I think she's going to be great to work with. It's just such an honor to be elected.

2. Rachel is a Spanish sponge. She's amazing. She already knows more words in Spanish than I do and I took more than 3 years of Spanish. She's got a Cinco de Mayo party coming up at school that she's looking forward to. Rachel, in general, has become a lot more verbal and able to express everything she's thinking. Although she's always been a relatively verbal girl, she seems to have had a mental growth spurt in the last couple of months.

3. Jake is doing well, although his reign of shock and terror with excessive biting and hitting hasn't stopped. He's starting to say a few more words, which is exciting. I am on him like a wet rug to start using words. He's frustrated right now because he can't communicate what he wants, and I'm frustrated because I can't figure out what he wants.

4. We're being teased by the weather, but this is spring in Wisconsin. We are looking forward to having a new swingset for the kids put up in the backyard the week of May 12th. Hopefully it'll be warm enough to start really using it soon. Although we're braving 50 degree weather to play outside, it would be nice if it was a tad warmer.

5. I have started a walking/running program that I'm pretty excited about. I signed up to walk a half marathon in a couple of weeks. It's a half marathon up north that Jim always wanted to run, but never got around to doing. I can't run it, but I can most certainly walk it. Last night I went for a 5 mile walk/run - and spent the bulk of it running. I'll work off those Girl Scout cookies yet.

6. Rachel is starting soccer and t-ball soon. We've got her whole summer scheduled out! She's looking forward to a fun summer.

7. We joined a local nature preserve. Once it dries out a teensy bit I'll start taking the kids over there for little hikes, etc. I'm also going to start shooting. My friends Liz and Tom are going to go with me. Tom has agreed to teach me how to clean my gun. I haven't used my gun in around three years, so I'm excited to start doing that again.

8. Rachel's teacher arranged a program at the school so that the teachers could volunteer to help us. This week one of the teachers offered to make us dinner, and I decided to take her up on it. She was so specific with her offer (told me the time and dates she could come, gave us menu choices) that I just realized that now is the time for me to say "yes, thank you, I can use some help". Rachel was twittering all over she was so excited. She helped the teacher make dinner the whole time, and as I popped in and watched every so often, I realized why being a teacher wasn't something that ever was in my future: the patience. She let Rachel really help with almost every single thing. I have a habit of letting Rachel stir and then I take the spatula out of her hand and nudge my way in and do most everything. It was a great dinner. Last that night two other teachers came over and watched Rachel and Jake while I want to my Patient Advisory Committee meeting. It was wonderful being able to leave the house and leave my kids with two people that are so gentle, kind...and willing to wear a big ratty wig when asked. They're hardly the kind of sitters that flick on the tv and sullenly go tell the kids to play. Such luxury - for me, and for the kids!

9. I'm reading good books again. I'm currently reading World Without End, by Ken Follett. And I've discovered the joys of podcasts. I'm really into downloading meditation podcasts. And I'm ADDICTED to Facebook. It's just shameful. And fun...

Okay - that seems more positive. We have lots of great things going on in our lives. I am trying to remember that one frustrating weekend does not an entire lifetime make. When I'm feeling sad I often go out and read a young widows message board online. One of the titles was "Can you really sell kids to gypsies?!" - so I figured I'm not the only one in this boat!!! But also I saw that a child's behavior can be a reflection of a parent's coping skills. So I decided to pull it together and work harder on controlling my temper and emotions. It seems to be working. A little, anyway.

I guess this is the roller coaster. But I still feel that I'm using the blog mostly to complain, and that's not the image I want to convey. I have been writing more often, obviously. There must be some part of me that still really needs it. Although I am doing quite well, I still get the urge to write on occasion. So there it is. I'll write sometimes, and sometimes I won't. But thank you for reading and caring and checking up on our little clan!