I feel the need to write about the humdrum everyday moments of our lives. Moments that seem ordinary because there isn't anything extraordinary about them. But it's all these moments stitched together that make up our lives and I've learned that each stage is fleeting and hard to remember once we've moved on. So today I'm going to share some of the random thoughts that have been rolling around in my head. Thoughts not really worthy of a post, but everyday things that I will want to look back on one day when I've forgotten this phase of my life.
I always forget how busy spring is until it starts suffocating me. But I'm hanging on and doing the best I can to keep our schedules running smoothly. Baseball has taken over 3+ evenings a week and with all of the other things going on we've had to skip a few practices, as well as a few cub scout and girl scout things. I'm trying to let my kids do all the things they'd like, without letting it all take over their lives. It's a fine line to walk, that's for sure.
Calin has rocked his 4th grade ISAT's (Idaho Standards Achievement Tests). He scored well above advanced on all 3 tests. On Math and Language tests, his teacher said she hadn't seen scores that high. not sure what happened with Reading though, he scored 10 points lower than last year, but still advanced. I think he rushes too much. Such a smart little man! Calin can be so thoughtful and I catch him doing things to be proud of as often as I catch him tormenting his sister. I appreciate that he is responsible and remembered to take his antibiotics 3 times a day without me reminding him (he caught my strep, I can't remember if I mentioned that).
Naiya has been preparing for a dance recital coming up in a few weeks, oh how cute those little girls are! I got to join her on a school field trip to Cal-Ranch, the Library, and the Fire Department.
She came home from school the other day and pulled me into the pantry for a private chat. She told me about her idea, she wants to put on an art show and put signs outside so people will come. She got this idea from the book Fancy Nancy: Aspiring Artist. She was afraid I'd say no because it's going to be a lot work. Silly girl. I don't really want another thing on my plate this month, but I always support. Of course, when you're six it's hard to see that having a kitchen table that  looks like this more often than not represents major parental support:

(It's looked like this for 3 days now, and since she is still preparing for her show, I've decided to let it be.)

Now on to Darin. His new job has been an adjustment. Since this is a new position the bank didn't have before, he doesn't have any work to do yet. Part of his job is to travel around the district to the different branches and meet with clients and go on business calls with the branch managers. He needs to generate some loans and such. Working at a desk in Rexburg is pointless unless he has paperwork to do, so he's been doing a lot of traveling around these last few weeks. I don't know if that will ever slow down, but at least now he gets reimbursed for miles and travel time counts as work hours. For a while there he fell behind in school but he got caught up at the last minute and has decided to take the summer off. It's hard to find time for school when you have a new job, a busy family, and you're a scoutmaster.
He sold his Ford Focus. Yesterday he posted it on several sites online and within minutes his phone was ringing off the hook. We dropped it off to the car dealer who bought it this morning and I must admit it's causing me a bit of anxiety. We had always planned to sell it, but I got used to the idea of having a back up. I can't shake the thought that now irony will come crashing down on us and my car will die and then we'll have to buy a new one and have 2 car payments.
I've had a lot of stress and anxiety the last few weeks. The keep-you-up-at-night kind of anxiety. I keep trying to talk myself into taking deep breaths and calming down but it's not working very well. I think I just need to say no more often and let go of the things I can't control. But there's just 4 weeks left of school and then summer vacation will be here. Wonderful, glorious summer. :)
One thing I am so thankful for, our new bed. Before we bought it, our old bed was killing my back. I was to the point that I was taking pain killers every night and waking up even more sore every morning and taking more pain killers. When we went bed shopping I wanted a bed that felt like I was laying in cloud, but as it turns out, those beds, although they felt amazing, would have been horrible on my back. So we just got a normal (cheaper) bed and decided to upgrade it often so I don't ever get myself back into that cycle of pain. I don't *love*our new bed, but it's comfortable and supports my back. I do, however, *love* my new pillow. It's this amazing foam pillow that we bought when we got the mattress. It's not one of those contoured ones, it's just a big cloud in a pillow case, the right amount of soft and support. I love it, and every day I down and mention to Darin "I love this pillow." It would be wrong of me not to express my gratitude for it. Silly, yes. But also one of those tiny things in life that make me happy.
And so that's what's going on with us. Just living our humdrum everyday life.