Too Blessed to be....(you guessed it) Stressed!

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED. Ya know, this is a very cheesy statement. But, break it down, and it really does have a lot to say.

This morning, I took some time to really stop and think about all that I have been blessed with. I have been stressed over so many different things in my life...small and large. And, looking back, I am able to see how insignificant those things really were. I am thankful that I grew up in a home that provided a strong faithful foundation, and know that these things in life would be so much harder without God.

Family and friends are definitely a go-to during tough times, but God? You can talk to him anywhere, anytime. Tell him anything, and he'll listen. His answers come, in his own time, but the answer will come. Sometimes, the answer comes along and you don't even realize it, because it may not be the one you were looking for.

I was driving home from dropping Sofia off from preschool, wishing that I would like to switch places with my husband for a day every once in awhile. I don't know how he does it. He goes to work all day, and then straight to class, and sometimes straight to play basketball. He really is too blessed to be stressed! He doesn't have time to be stressed because of all of the wonderful things he has in his life. His strong will and faith have provided him with so many opportunities. The latest opportunity has him in class tree nights a week. (Yes, tree. My favorite number tanks to a few Caribbean people in my life, that I have been Master's Graduation to you baby! I know you can't wait!

So, this "too blessed to be stressed" came out simply out of some little things. It just hit me that we are currently booked up for all weeknights, and with Ewan in class most of those nights, I get to do all of the running. It's cold, we're busy, and I'm over it... already! Monday nights are baseball batting practice, Tuesday nights: cub scouts & soon to be soccer practice, Wednesday nights: Sofia dance, Thursday nights: baseball fielding practice... Saturdays are soccer games, Sundays: church and sometimes basketball for Ewan.

Why am I even blogging about this.... 'cause I am "too blessed to be stressed!"

Shopping, Husbands, Sizes & Shoes

So, most women would probably prefer to shop for themselves, but I had a really great time shopping with my husband last night. I like to shop for him by myself, but it makes things difficult on final size/length decisions. Finding a 3XLT is not an easy feat. So, when you do find something, you almost have to not look at the price, and snatch it up! But, it makes for even more fun shopping when things are on sale, and then they are an extra 30% off AND you are actually able to find things in the right size. And the shoes, those are another story. Let's just say, you missed out a fun time.

Yesterday, Ewan and I were both off for a crazy morning with the kids. Darius' class was going to the KS History Museum and Sofia had visiting day at preschool. So, E and I both went to the museum, and then he split to go to Sofia's visiting day. The day started out very crazy because I was still waiting on approval to be off work. I was supposed to work 10:45am-2:45pm, and it took over a week to approve my time off. I learned my lesson trying to use some special time that I earned off (long story) and ended up having to make 2 trips home to enter the requests. Luckily, since I work from home, I was able to swing by and enter my requests and enjoy the day off with Daddy and Sofia.

So, after the crazy morning, we came home, sat on the couch and went back to work on Mario. It was great, but we were lazy! We had no real desire to go shopping in the freezing cold, but got a call from my Mom telling us about the great sale. So, we had no choice but to keep playing Mario until Darius got home, and then eventually get dressed and head for the mall. It was well worth the trip. We got out alone together, got some great clothes and had a little break from those kids we love so dearly. I always miss them, but am always so grateful for a little bit of time away from them.

As much fun as I had stacking up purchases for the man of the house, I may have to go and find some things for myself...

Wedding Dress

Sofia was talking about my wedding day. She was saying that Grandma Pam and Nanny brought her and Darius to where her Daddy and I got married. She was quite sure this is how it went down.

After some conversation about this big wedding day, I asked her if Mommy was wearing a pretty dress or an ugly dress. (Why I would ask this, I will never know.) She tells me that it was a pretty dress, and then changed her mind to "a little bit ugly." I had to get to the bottom of this. I asked her why the dress was "a little bit ugly" and she said that it is because it was red, and not pink. And she likes pink better. Well, that settles that. Now, I am just trying to figure out where it is that she thinks her Daddy and I got married, and where I was wearing a red dress? Uh, this is going to bug me!

Itsa me, a-Mario! Imma back!!!

Super Mario has partially taken over our lives. Well, not literally, but we have been on a coin mission for the last week, avoiding the last of the Worlds. There has been a lot of yelling, laughing, crying, googling and just plain old family fun!

Darius somehow manages to scoop up all of the best powers to be had. He runs, jumps and sacrifices his lives, all just to be the first to get a coin or jump into a penguin suit. He is our fearless leader and afraid of nothing. Ewan and I get to sit back, shake our heads and say, "Really? Really? You did all of that just for a tiny yellow coin?" And, he says that he did it just for our own good.

Sofia is known as bubble girl. She loves to float along, and "play" the game along with us. Occasionally, she will venture out of her bubble to get some power, but likes to be cozy inside the comfort of her floating bubble.

Dad is the Savior. He comes along and cleans up the mess everyone else has left behind, or he is the only one who hasn't bubbled up, or gets a one up to bring everyone back. Thank goodness for the savior! Darius would be in a world of hurt without him!

I just have fun with it, but also stress out too much. I get super frustrated if we've been working on the same level for hours, making the same mistakes over and over. I guess if anything, it helps with dedication and not giving up?

Well, World 8 is waiting and I hear some going a-ringin' so... here I go!

Caribbean Night

Well, the first Caribbean Night of 2010 is scheduled for this evening. CN seems to gain more speed as each month goes by. I am always thinking up new recipes and things to be served and Ewan is the one that puts them into action.

Tonight, we have on the menu....Guiness Ice Cream. It was our first attempt ever at homemade ice cream and the Guiness part complicated it a bit. But, we didn't mind. We had fun reading the recipe and tripling it, and then doing everything backwards and trying to go back and clarify what we meant. It was quite entertaining.

Then, we had a run in with the actual ice cream freezer. The motor kept getting stuck and would quit turning, but in the end, it worked and we have our very first batch of homemade Guiness ice cream. Ewan told me that it didn't look quite right, that it's a little "browner" than in the Caribbean, and I had to remind him that we are not in the Caribbean. We are doing our best here!

Our wonderful sister-in-law contributed to this month's Caribbean Night. They made the trip from St. Lucia to New York and were gracious enough to provide the dried sorrel flowers needed to make a yummy Caribbean "fruity" drink. The kids had a great time helping with it and stirring it up. They even made a little video to send to Grandma ' Ronica.

Only problem this time....where's the food? It may just have to be pizza.

Now, you may wonder what actually goes on at Caribbean Night. I won't share all the details, but it involves a lot of laughing, dominoes, eating, playing the wii, kids running/crawling around, movies, music and FUN!

Halfway through December already!?

So, it's been awhile. A lot has happened this month. I left my twenties, we've had two snow days already. Darius had his Christmas program. I have been working on my Christmas card list, but still haven't gotten them in the mail. Ewan completed his second to last semester. :) The list goes on....

But, all in all, things are good, and I am getting anxious about Christmas. This will be our very first Christmas in our new house, as a family. The four of us. Before we were at my Mom's, we were in the apartment and Sofia wasn't born yet, so we can't wait to wake up Christmas morning here at the new Auguste household! :)

I am pretty much done with my shopping, and have been feeling the spirit of Christmas. I want to buy presents for everyone...although that is not possible right now. I can't help it. I want to buy for the mailman, the bus driver, you name it. I think the holiday really needs to hurry up before I buy out all of the store's.

In the end, I am still able to clearly remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. :) Happy December. Merry Christmas!!!

Flu Bug don't bother me!

Well, I am sure Darius had the Happiest Birthday ever yesterday! I was at work, and and pretty much glued to my phone. I don't receive calls at work, and I hadn't looked at my cell phone. Apparently, West Indianola was trying to get ahold of me because poor Darius was throwing up in the bathroom! Luckily, they reached Ewan, who took him to Sunflower Prompt Care. I could have told him that they wouldn't do anything for him, but at least he tried. Sure enough, they just sent him home and said lots of liquids. He was running a fever all night, and is home again today.

Around 8:15am, Sofia woke up throwing up all over her pillow. So, now I have two sick babies! Well, my oldest baby turned 7 yesterday!

Hopefully I can keep this flu at arm's length and it won't bother me. Just like everyone says, I don't have time to be sick! The house is still a wreck from the chaotic party!

Flu bug... don't bother me!!!

Party Pooper

Wow! The party is done and over, and, it was a little stressful. I hope the kids had fun, 'cause I sure felt like I was yelling a lot. It was Sooooooo noisy. The poor girls at the party kept nicely asking if I could quiet down the boys. My response? I would LOVE to!!! I knew the party would get out of control, because Dad let's Darius invite the whole world. I wanted to be able to include everyone that Darius wanted...girls, boys, Tiger Cubs, and soccer buddies, but we had a packed house! It actually wasn't as bad as it could have been. They were all just super excited. I told them that I wouldn't bring up talking sticks since they weren't at school! I am sure they were all thankful for that. :)

The little vampires were running all around. We decked them out with capes, teeth, vampire bites, white streaks in their hair. Pictures to follow.

They played Halloween pictionary. It was cute to see them concentrate on their drawings. They did a great job!

Today is another super busy day....soccer game, after soccer pizza party, then wedding reception! I am looking forward to a day when I can regroup and relax!!! When will that be?

Busy Week...Birthday party planning.

Well, things are in full swing at the Auguste household. Tiger Cubs, dance class, soccer practice, soccer games, birthday parties.... not many moments to rest around here lately.

Well, we all know from the last post that Darius was pretty pumped about skating, and had the fantastic idea to have a skating rink birthday party. We had quite the party planned... Costume Skating party for his birthday, and his guest list was at almost 40 kids. Things were getting a little out of control, but we thought it might be fun. He wanted to invite girls, boys, Tiger cubs, soccer buddies, etc... He was super excited. So, when we finally made the executive decision to go ahead with the party, it was booked already! I called over a month ahead, but someone else already snagged the date that we needed.

So, we almost nixed the party altogether, and in fact, Ewan and I decided that we would just let time go by and not bring up a party again. When I sort of told Darius that he wasn't going to have a birthday party, he was pretty distraught. So, I cooked up the Vampire Party.

We have an unfinished basement, so it's not like it's the funnest places to hang out. It's kind of dark and creepy, so the Halloween/Vampire/Bat theme is good. So, since the party is going to be at our house, I limited him to 12 BOYS. I wanted him to be able to invite girls, but he already wanted a bunch of boys, so it was just easier to leave girls out.

Anyway, tonight after some more discussion, he thought he had invited a few girls, and I told him that we hadn't. So, I promised him that I would get the invites out to them tomorrow.

Sorry to the soccer buddies that he wanted to invite! We're going to have to rent a wedding reception hall for his party next year! The boy loves a party, and doesn't want to leave anyone out!

Skating Party, Fall Down Party...whatever you wanna call it.

Can you believe it? A real post, by me!

Wow. I knew that people were busy with kids, and I really did avoid putting my kids in activities when they were very little, because I knew my time would come. And it's here. Being home in the evenings is a thing of the past, and boy do I miss it!

I was about to take another another activity for myself, but I just don't think I can do it.

At least I can say that I enjoy the activities, and as long as my kids are having fun, I guess I'm having fun!

The latest was the West Indianola skate party. Of course, I always debate whether or not to skate myself, and Sofia usually makes that decision for me. Not this time. About an hour into the party, I decided to go put on my skates. Once I got going, I wanted to keep skating. I didn't realize how hard it is to skate slow, but I was trying to help Darius. You can't really be much help when both of you are on wheels, and when one goes down, the other will too.

Ewan kept giving me flack because two little kids skated up to Darius and I and asked if they could join our group. I said "Sure." and somehow, everyone played musical skating people and I ended up holding the hand of everyone else, but my son. Darius went crying off to the side, left the rink and went to cry on someone's shoulder. (Yes, he's very dramatic.) I couldn't turn around and skate in the wrong flow of traffic to go tell him that the kids wouldn't let go of my hand. Seriously, this little boy was hanging on for dear life. I finally had to shake my hand on the second go around to get him to let go. I felt horrible, but Ewan was sitting on the side shaking his head at me.

I skated off, and asked him what in the world I was supposed to do. He kept shaking his head, telling me that he can't believe I would skate with those other kids and not my own son. He's not letting me live this down.

Anyway, it was not on purpose, but I went and got Darius and we finished off the night. We were the last ones on the rink, due to Darius pulling me down, and me landing on top of his crossed legs. I was sure that I could have easily snapped his leg in half, and I had to drag him off. He ended up with no broken bones, but now has decided he wants to have a Skating Party birthday bash extraordinare. (Current list looks like about 40 kids, which is why I wanted to avoid the whole shindig altogether.) We'll see about this.