Full Day

Today has been a very full day! I accomplished a lot of things at school...feel like I "knocked off" several items from my ever-present list. I decided to bake cookies after school, something I haven't done for a long time. I tackled a few loads of laundry and even put them away. I managed to hem my new pants, and those for Lisa that have been sitting here for over a week. And of course there are those daily things like dinner, baths, cleaning up the kitchen. And now...I am tired. To be honest, I am stalling by writing this blog. I couldn't really justify crawling into bed at 8pm to read "Handle with Care" by Jodi Picoult....but now it is 8:18pm according to my computer and by the time I go through my little bedtime brushing your teeth/washing your face ritual it will be 8:30pm, and I have no qualms with going to bed at 8:30pm. So, Good Night! Sleep Tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite! and if they do, hit 'em with a shoe until they're black and blue! (Rhyme compliments of Jarod's sister, Remi.)

Hello, Babies!

I love spring! I love all of the babies it brings. Baby chicks, ducks, lambs...you know what I'm talking about. Here is a new sign for my garden that I bought from Kelsie, my personal Uppercase Living Consultant.



Here are a few pictures of MY babies:

Seedum

Bee Balm

Daisy


(I know, I'm a little crazy, but I love watching them grow!!!)

My Alices

I think that one of the greatest blessings in my life came in the form of two beautiful women named Alice. Two very different women, but women created in God's image, with a passion to raise families that serve Him. I feel so blessed that these women came into my life at a time when I was really searching for who I was going to be. While my own mother was a perfect example of who I wanted to be, it wasn't really "cool" to want to be your mom when you are 13. So I looked up to these women for guidance, encouragement, and friendship. Many, many hours have been spent in discussion or contemplation with these ladies. (Twenty years worth!) I seek their wisdom because I see that they are a living example of what God wants me to be! I look at their children in awe, wondering how they have managed to raise them with such an understanding of their faith. I pray that when I grow up I can be like the Alices. And I pray that when my girls grow up, they will glow with a knowing of who they are and who the Lord wants them to be, just like the Alices' girls do!

Husband

I distinctly recall a ride home from Columbus with my friend Mistyn. We were having the typical conversation about our husbands. I remember telling her that if something ever happened to Jarod I didn't think I would ever get married again. I didn't need a husband to take care of me. I already managed the household with the exception of the mowing and the trash (both of which I could do). It was a "been there done that" mentality.

This winter I learned something about myself. I don't need "a" husband. I need my husband. This winter I realized that the trials and tribulations of the past 2 years regarding friendships was all a part of God's plan to help me realize that it truly is important for my husband to be my closest friend. That we are in this together! I think I had begun to realize that over the course of the past year; however, it wasn't until this winter that I truly realized how much I need his daily interaction, the commraderie we call marriage. And so this first week of having him home in the evenings has been pure bliss! Things are just back to normal...he cooks supper and I clean up the mess. He rough-houses and teases the girls and I send them to bed. Once the children are in bed, he retreats downstairs and I stay on the main floor. It's who we are, it's what we do....and it's what God intended for us.

Life Restored

Well, it is here....the moment I have been waiting for since January 1st. The end of speech season! I am so happy for Jarod that he won the state title, that he avenged the fact that he didn't get one for one act, and that he is the first team in 14 years to beat Raymond Central. However, I am even happier that our home life will now be restored. I would say "back to normal," but I am sure many of you might agree that nothing is really ever that "normal" around here. What is normal anyway?!

So today I am going to celebrate first with a huge brownie and a cup of coffee (or 3) for breakfast, and then you can find me covered in dirt and filth cleaning up the remnants of fall from my flowerbeds! It donned on me the other night, when we tackled the first tenth of this project, that I now have an ipod that I could listen to in the yard. This is an addition since last gardening season. But I don't know if I can do it.....listen to my ipod in the yard.....then I might miss Barb singing or playing the trombone, my kids arguing in the sandbox (or playing nicely), cars driving by with a wave, the morning dove with her incessant "whoo whoo". Maybe after I have been out there for 4 or 5 hours the quaintness of it all will wear off and I may have to jam to a little "Chicken Fried" among my rose bushes. Poor neighbors!

Sheets

I love sheets! Yes, sheets....the kind you sleep in! I love pretty sheets with tatting or embroidery done by my ancestors! I love nice, crisp white sheets to make me feel nice and cool in the summer! I love soft, fuzzy, warm flannel sheets in fun colors to snuggle under in the winter! My favorite sheets of all are the ones that come right out of the dryer, toasty warm, begging to be snuggled with in the middle of an unmade bed. I love burying myself under the pile, enveloped with warmth and freshness, pure heaven!

However, when the warmth wears off, then the sheet-freak comes out! The sheet-freak is this person who has to have her bed made perfectly. All layers pulled taut, each layer ending a little bit shorter than the layer under it. The layers must be pulled tight every night before they can be crawled under. There was a time in my life (about 20 years worth) when my bed had to be made EVERY day! However, right before my wedding this picture appeared.....a picture of my bedroom in Grand Island....a bedroom in total disarray....and a bed unmade! I think Diane took that picture because she was proud of me! She used to laugh at me every night when she would point out that my bed was perfectly smooth with the exception of my body lying under it.

Some things have changed since then....I still love fresh clean sheets! I still love to snuggle with them right out of the dryer! I still love different sheets for different seasons! I still pull the sheets tight every night before I crawl under them! BUT.....I never make my bed....at least not in the morning before going to work! Just at night before I get back in it!

Confession: I knew that Jarod was going to be gone for two nights, so I waited until today to wash the sheets so I could selfishly enjoy their cleanness all to myself!

Goodnight Princesses!

Princess decided that Lydia looked a little too snuggly to resist!

Dirt Under My Nails

I NEED dirt under my nails! It is absolutely imperative for my mental well-being! This is actually going to be the first time in my entire life that I am going to have nails long enough to dig dirt out of, but somehow all of these years past, there still managed to be dirt under them!

Today, against my dad's better judgement, I cleaned up a portion of the leaves from my yard. We started with the daylilies out front. They are starting to peek through, these tiny little green tips! I just wanted to get down on the ground and kiss them...they are so cute...and soooo welcome!!! Then I moved over to clear out some other lilies and the bee balm! I didn't want to kiss the bee balm, because if you've ever smelled it, you know why! But I was super excited to see that there was new growth there, too. My azaleas have tiny buds, my hydrangeas do too! I cleared out the leaves from the daisies and can't wait to fill in that space with coneflowers and black eyed susans and let them go wild!

My hands are all scratched and dry...my sweats and t-shirt are dirty and I am pretty sure I have dirt in many other places, too....but I feel sooo alive! My heart was pumping, my arms were aching, my legs were squawking as I carried basket after basket to fill the pickup to the brim. And tonight, as I am ready to crawl into bed to read my new book, my mind is finally quiet. All I can think about is what treasures we will uncover tomorrow! That, and maybe what new things we can add to make our yard even better....I think this is the year for some climbers...definitely an arch with climbing roses leading from the front to the back....and perhaps some trumpet vine on the side of the barn! I wonder if my Jupiter's Beard survived the winter!? Hmmm....

Ta Da!!

Here it is! Finally! My very own Birdie Sling (pattern by Amy Butler)! I absolutely love it! I had borrowed the pattern from Barb Knox 3 months ago, but Jenn's fun pictures inspired me to get my rear in gear and make my own. The birdie fabric is not in honor of the title of the bag....I just absolutely adore the fabric. It is from the Moda Urban Chiks Blossom collection. I had already made a pair of pj pants using this fabric; however, there aren't too many people who get a glimpse of those! So, I thought it would be fun to have a bag made of it for spring!

Frosty

Feeling deprived of Nebraska winters, Remi decided she and the girls should spend some quality time outside practicing their rollerskating technique. I volunteered to take the pictures! Brrrr!

Giddy

OK....I am beyond giddy at this point! Jarod and I finally sat down and talked about my little plan to escape to wine country this late spring! (Thanks to Mr. Phillips for cancelling all practices this evening!) A little birdie named Remkea had clued me in to airfare prices supposedly being lower early this week, and she was right! Our trip became more affordable as the days went on, and so we decided to bite the bullet and book the trip! We are flying out May 28th for a long weekend ~ the longest part is going to be waiting for it to arrive! (P.S. I did learn from Amanda and CJ, though, and did pay the extra $100 insurance just in case something weird comes up ~ like the flu!) Now I am going to try to go to bed! Yeah right! Yipee!!!!

Wishin' and Hopin' and Thinkin' and Prayin'

I am always doing these four things! I really truly wish my mind would just shut up once and awhile! However, this past month I have really been wishin' and hopin' and prayin' that Jarod and I would be able to sneak away on a little vacation this summer. With the celebration of being credit card debt-free, our eyes have been opened to the possibility of having extra money to set aside for something we really wanted to do! Ok, something I really wanted to do. Jarod just keeps saying "sure" because he is so wrapped up into speech right now he truly doesn't process anything that isn't labeled with an acronym like OID or PIA (oh, that's mine, sorry!).

Anyway, I have been doing some "research" (as limited as it may be), and think I have the perfect little retreat planned to San Francisco at the end of May. I am so pumped! We are hopefully going to be staying at a boutique hotel that will be quaint and unpretentious. And it has a "literary theme". How obnoxiously appropriate! A trip through the Napa Valley ending with a cruise through the bay sounds pretty heavenly about now. Who knows about the rest! All I care about is uninterrupted conversation and relaxation with my hubby! The only thing that would top it all off is if we could convince Matt and Diane to join us on this little adventure! and if we agree to leave our swimsuits at home!

The Irony of it All

March, 1999.... Grand Island Central Catholic speech team competed at the State Speech Meet in Kearney. That same day good ol' DCHS performed on the opposite hours of GICC. So while my students were waiting for their next round, I snuck in to watch a few kids that I babysat compete for a medal. Upon waiting for a round to start, Audrey Mathiesen introduced me to her assistant. We got to visiting, comparing stories about teaching junior high reading/English, and then it was time to get back to business.

A month later Diane intercepted a phone call at our apartment...a guy looking for me! Since this was pre-caller id, when I returned home that night we had to call *69 to get the number of the caller. It was a David City number. So, at 11pm, Diane and I sat in her bed, snuggled under the covers, combing the David City phone book looking for this number. No listing. The operator was willing to give me a number for a name, but not a name for a number. So our only solution was to call this mystery number, and pretend that it was a mistake. And, being the dear friend that she is, Diane got to carry out this very junior high plan.

"Hello."
"Uh, is Mary there?" (Why did she use my mother's name!?)
"No, there's no Mary here."
"Oh, well, who is this?"
"Jarod Ockander. Who is this?"
"Diane Hilger, Scott's sister, and boy do I have a story to tell you!"

And as they say....the rest is history! Jarod and I talked for 2 hours on the phone while we watched the coverage on CNN about Columbine, both shocked beyond belief that something that horrible could happen. We went on a date 2 weeks later....we both knew on the first date that we would be married....we dated for 5 months before getting engaged.....and were married the following June.

Ten years later I am here at home, caring for our children, and he is still off doing speech. It is his passion, his love, it drives him and haunts him at the same time. The ironic thing is that the activity that brought us together is now the very thing that keeps us apart for 3 months of every year. My dad always reminds me that I knew what I was getting into when I married him. He is right.... and Jarod is amazing at what he does. I am just not that amazing at being a coach's wife. I am very proud of all he's accomplished....but would be just as proud if he hadn't accomplished any of it! I am counting down the days till speech is over (13 to be exact), because any minute spent with us means 100 times more to me than any banner hanging in the gym! So knock their socks off, dear, but we'll be more excited to have you home for an evening than any piece of hardware you could bring through our door!

Flowers

Oh, how I long for spring! Today's warm weather made me all the more anxious! I cannot wait for the days when I count the minutes till 4pm arrives, longing to get home and start diggin' in the dirt! I must make a confession though....in mid-January I took my scissors to the High Country Gardens catalog, clipping my future purchases, and keeping them in a safe place on the refrigerator. I had them all layed out on the counter, making sure I didn't have too many of one color or type. Jarod just shook his head, knowing that it was definitely a lost cause. Everyday I think that maybe I could place my order, because this company allows you to select a week when you want your plants delivered. However, if you know me at all, you know that I have zero delayed gratification.....so if I place an order in early March, it is going to drive me bonkers to wait two months to have my plants delivered! So I will wait....and while I have come to despise the snow....it sure makes waiting for flowers a lot easier!

Perspective

As I was visiting with Diane and Mary Lou-hoo at the funeral dinner today, we were discussing that life gets so busy that we need something like a funeral to slow us down and put things back into perspective. They were so right! The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind at home and school, that I feel like I just want to curl up into a ball and pull my flannel sheets up over my head! If you looked at my calendar, you would notice that the past two weeks really haven't been bogged down with any more appointments than any other week. However, the manner in which I have chosen to tackle my daily tasks has obviously had a little bit to be desired. So this week (what's left of it) I am going to try to have a better perspective on everything! Maybe a little more quality time spent with my girls would alleviate the tiffs that arise when left to entertain themselves. I found that I managed to get 2 loads of laundry put away and 30 minutes of yoga squeezed in between 8-9pm. From my perspective, that's an accomplishment! The time before that was spent looking through book orders, reading books, and trying to stay out of the way at District Speech (that didn't work so well). So as I go to bed, I feel like my girls were happier and I am, too. And maybe it is all just a matter of perspective!