for the love of a story

So you guys know about my fascination with "Les Miserables."  During the time that it came into full bloom (late December and January), my older boys became interested in the story, too.  We listened to the music a lot on Pandora radio, and the lads asked many questions about what this or that song was about.  In fact, my 7-year-old asked to read my copy of the adapted novel; he made it through the entire volume in a handful of days... and spent the next few weeks talking about it.  

The fervor waned a bit as the months went on, but we'd still listen to the music on Pandora, and later on the soundtrack CD I purchased (we always skipped "Lovely Ladies," though!).  The boys can sing pretty much all of the songs from the score.  My husband and I eventually viewed the film with them, from the security of our living room couch - where we could leave out the less savory parts.  They loved it.   

When I learned of a stage production of the glorious musical in the city in early August, I gave it a lot of thought.  Jeff and I talked it over and decided not to jump at it - tickets were not cheap, and there were no discounted child rates.    We didn't tell the boys about it...why get them excited if we didn't go, right?

But then one of them built this.

The barricade from "Les Miserables"

A few days later, his younger brother made this.

Bridge, site of Javert's suicide

How can a mama resist this kind of passion?  Jeff and I talked it over again and decided to make it work.  In the interest of the budget, it would be a mama date with my two biggest boys.  They were extremely excited when we told them!

And so, at last the day arrived.

The stage before Act 1

Kyle, myself, and Ben

Please forgive the poor quality of these photos; cell phones and theater lighting are not friends.  

The performance was wonderful!   Afterward, I wondered if they might be "Les Miz"ed-out, but when we got back into the car, I had a request to play the soundtrack...and after we got home, someone put the CD in our stereo to listen to it yet again.  I think it's safe to say it was an experience they will remember fondly for many years to come.

And I just may have loved it, too...

5 reasons I haven't been posting

Here I am, still kicking.  Still breathing...and yet, not posting.  Why on earth has my little blog been so silent of late?  I have a few reasons...

1)  Fatigue has kicked in.
After enjoying plenty of energy for more than the first half of my pregnancy, the last few weeks I've been fighting weariness.  Is it because I didn't drink my raw coconut kefir for a while?  Am I not combining foods properly in this crazy diet?  Or is it simply because I am just a handful of weeks away from that notorious 3rd trimester?  (I'm drinking the kefir again now, so I guess we'll see.)

2)  My toddler isn't sleeping much.
That is so say, he's up early in the morning and then not napping for long.  He's doing alright at night, and I'm incredibly thankful, but the days when I could squeeze in 20 quiet minutes to write at the computer before he woke up seem to be over.  At least, for the time being they are.  Believe me, if he would agree to sleep longer, I would be thrilled.

3)  Technical difficulties.
There are a couple of post ideas kicking around in my head, but I need to include photos, and...well, let's just say that the computer I can use most easily is not cooperating, photo-wise.  But never fear, they're coming.

4)  Busy, busy, busy.
I know, everybody's busy.  And honestly, compared to a lot of people I am not very busy.  We've guarded our time pretty well.  It's just that for the past month or so, I feel that I'm always either packing suitcases, doing laundry, unpacking suitcases, working in the kitchen (diet-specific fare, anyone?), or putting food by.  And I haven't even put that much food by, much to my regret.  Still, these things add up.  Combine that with getting ready to start school (next week!) and regular mama stuff, there hasn't been much extra time this past month, even if it is summer.

5)  I've got to be a mama first.
Because as you might imagine, mothering my brood has to come first.  I don't want to look back in five, ten, 15 years and think of all the conversations and moments I missed out on with my kids.  They have to be my priority right now...over blogging, that is.  I chose to make the Lord and my husband priorities 1 and 2.  Yet when it comes to blogging, it's a ways down there on the priority list.  That, my friends, is why this blog will never be more than the occasional ramblings of a busy mama.

And you know what?  I'm alright with that.

mother and daughter

How I love this girl.

reunion

how I spent my (almost) mommy vacation

As I've mentioned, my four oldest children have been gone for a few days.  In fact, they've been gone for 10 days.  So it's been a bit of a mommy vacation.  Well, sort of.  There were still diapers and laundry and naptimes and tantrums, but having soley a 19-month-old on my hands is undeniably different from parenting five young souls.  Now that my almost vacation is drawing to an end, I thought I'd reflect on how I spent my time...

~I dropped my remaining child off at a friend's for a few hours.
That's right!  For six hours Gabe played, lunched, and napped happily at a friend's house while I was free as a bird.  I could putter, work, relax, or clean as I saw fit.  And I did a little of everything.

~I fermented food.
Sauerkraut, beets, dilly beans, pickles...you name it (nearly), I fermented it. In fact, the mason jar situation in our home became a bit dire.  You know you're doing a lot of work when there's a mason jar shortage.

~I enjoyed my shining, mostly-clean floor.
Yeah, sure, my floor got some crumbs, scrambled egg, and the like dropped on it.  But mostly it stayed lovely.  No water drips, no wiped-up kombucha smears, no popsicle drips.  Nice and shiny.

~I went to the mall.
Elise and I have mother/daughter photos coming up soon.  I finalized our clothing and all of those details.  So. Much. Fun.

~I bought myself flowers.
Sunflowers.  Because you can take a girl out of Kansas, but you can't take the Kansas out of the girl.  They were so pretty on my dining room table!

~I tried kelp noodles for the first time.
Look.  A girl can only eat so many zucchini noodles before she starts to think she's going to lose her mind.  The kelp noodles were a good experiment.  The verdict?  Pretty good.  A bit chewy, but pretty good, especially dressed up with crunchy veg and a sunuttery dressing. (HERE is the recipe, if you're interested.)

~I enjoyed the slower pace of life.
Let's face it, things slowed way down in my house.  Less laundry, less mess, less running of the dishwasher.  My husband and I took walks, watched movies, and enjoyed more quiet times together.  It was nice to slow down a bit.  Even so...

~I missed my kids desperately.
There wasn't a day when I didn't miss them, think about them, wonder what they were doing.  I missed their smiles, their hugs, and their stories.  These young fry are a huge piece of my heart, and when they're away from me like this, my heart aches.


So happy they're coming home today!

Dear Gabriel...

Dear Gabriel,


First, thank you for honoring our verbal agreement on that day last week that you'd take a super duper nap today. I would also like to point out how happy, charming, and polite you can be when you are *well-rested.* Let's keep all this in mind for the future, shall we? It's definitely worth some consideration, son.

Dear Gabriel, I know you miss your siblings. When you see a photo of them (or even one which reminds you of them), you always smile and say their names. Our house has been much quieter than usual, little love. But they're coming home soon. Home to thrill you with their antics, play with you, and help you. I'm sure your sister will be doting on you again in no time. It won't be much longer, sweet boy.

Dear Gabriel, did you enjoy your first visit to Tiny Tots storytime at the library? I'm so glad we had a chance to go. I loved taking the older boys, but after a certain point it seemed too hard. Maybe we'll try it again one of these days, and the older kids can bring books to look at in the corner of the room. We'll see.

However, I stand by what I said after we got home from that library trip: 90 minutes is just too long to keep a toddler at the library. It wasn't pretty at the end, was it? Next time we'll be more efficient in our book-selecting.

Dear Gabriel, when I don't understand you the first time you say something, it really doesn't help to whisper when you repeat yourself. Trust me.

Dear Gabriel, we've had a fun time, you and I, haven't we? We've gone on a ton of walks, we've played outside, we've gone on adventures. We've read books and visited friends and "organized" the study together. Your enthusiasm for life never fails to brighten my day. You are a joy, a gift, and I'm so glad the Lord blessed our family with you!

That said, I'm unspeakably thankful that you're sleeping so much better these days. There were times when I thought that first year was going to absolutely do me in. But now I can look at those days with something like perspective, and I can see that it was all worth it. Every minute.

And so, my darling toddler, my charming, maddening toddler, thanks for spending time with me this past week. Here's to many more adventures!

Love,
Mama

what we saw on Friday afternoon

Yes, we're waiting to learn baby's gender until the birth...again.