Family Meeting

sample Cozi calendar

As part of Dream Weaver family tradition, we have a "Family Meeting" every Sunday evening.  Typically, after dinner and before all the kids get ready for bed.  The purpose of the meeting is to maker sure we, as a family, are all on the same page.  Spiritually, academically, socially, financially, and logistically.  My GOLD (True Colors) personality relishes in this meeting.  Looks forward to it.  Plans for it.  LONGS for it.  And is Oh-So, Ever-So grateful for the Cozi calendar app and the special role it plays in each meeting!  The rest of the family likes it, too. Me?  I am empowered by it!  But, alas, it is summer.  And I miss it!  Desperately...

The format of the meeting goes something like this.  Some one hollers at someone else to get the other some ones into the same room.  "NOW!". "Let's go!". "Let's get this started!" "Let's get this over!" (I'll let you pick and choose who says what...) Once the shenanigans of who is touching whom die down and we have Finn occupied with a Kindle, iPhone, or iPod and endless Easter Egg opening You Tube videos, we can get started.  Typically we open with a short praying thanking God for the blessings of the past week.  Then, we ask for each person to tell their favorite part of the past week.  Some weeks, it is remarkably difficult for the kids to come up with ONE thing to share.  Other weeks, we have to cut them off to ensure everyone gets to bed on time!  From there, Dad pulls up Parent Portal to check grades for the oldest 2.  This is an online grading system our schools use.  We can see the current grade for each class, plus what has been graded or what is missing, future assignments, absences, etc.  It is a GREAT tool, and it has helped us help Emma and Lara stay on track.  Jake is jealous and wants to be old enough that his grades are on there.  We still have some years...

After grades, we move to the calendar.  It takes orchestration - and outside help at times - to keep this crew moving forward!  2 working parents, 4 kids. (And get the grandparents in there too since they help out so much!  I feel lost if they leave town and I don 't have on-demand helpers!)  School commitments, work meetings and events, volleyball, track, dance, clubs, baseball, basketball, football, mother's day out!  Not to mention, doctors, dentists, specialists, therapists!  WOAH!  So, it has to be discussed - sometimes just to talk it out and make sure we have all the bases covered!  Mom opens the Cozi calendar and we go day by day for the week talking out each person's commitments, who is taking and or picking up whom, and if the meal planning has been done, what we are having for dinner!  (Sometimes this happens later with just mom and dad!). This is a very helpful thing for our family.  The older ones are mature enough now to be aware of their own commitments, and they can help make sure things are getting done; that they are in the right place at the right time waiting for the right ride.  In just a few short years, they will be added to the pick up and drop off routines as well!  (YAY! And NO!  All at the same time...)

So, it's summer.  There are no grades to monitor.  Days are not as busy (although this month's camp schedule was a BEAST).  Most travel logistics during the day fall to Nana the Wonder Sitter.  Everyone is staying up later, sleeping in longer.  The Meeting has just kind of fallen to the way side for now.  Last Tuesday evening I said to the girls, "Don't forget you have dentist appointments in the morning.  I'll come by to pick you up about 10." Both of their heads spun around.  They had no idea.  *sigh* Dang you "No Family Meeting" time.  (And they even have the Cozi calendar app on their iPods so they could look for themselves...). Britt and I still talk over the week, but the thought of stopping the summer crazies to get them in one place to talk logistics... Well, it's summer.  They are just not interested...

It will come back.  In a few weeks.  For now, I'll just say, "See ya later, Family Meeting.  Until summer ends, when we meet again." In the meantime, I will continue to spoon feed the kids the tidbits of family logistics they need to know at dinner time.  And pray with them at bed time.  And long for more normal days and weeks where Family Meetings can be a part of our lives again.

DATE NIGHT

This print available at Dream Weaver Prints!

Summer.  Summed up in one word: FULL.  As in: FULL of activities, FULL of family, FULL of fun.  A full car, a full calendar, a full onslaught of laundry.  Full bellies, full minds, full hearts.  For us, summer seems to get more hectic every year.  Make sense – kids get older, have more things going on, more independence for the older ones.  So, the management of this is really an ongoing, dynamic process.  Once again, I have to say how very thankful I am that I found Cozi a few years back (after making my own color coded Excel Spreadsheet calendar for YEARS!) to help keep me organized!  And without Nana the Wonder Sitter, well, all would be a huge mess.

The last couple of weeks were full of baseball, nature camp, baseball, friends over for dinner, baseball tournament, Father’s Day, Britt dressed as a Kangaroo, volleyball camp, sleepover wilderness camp, Kayleigh here from Texas, and looking forward to more baseball and another baseball tournament.  All of this can best be summarized in a few sunny and funny 

pictures and a short video:

Pirates end of Season Party

Last Pirates Game

Lara, Jake and Emma at Nature Camp

Lara's presentation at Nature Camp

Jake - warming up for Stampede Baseball

Me and "Kanga" Britt - March of Dimes Kangaroo-a-thon

Stillwater Stampede - 3rd place Eskimo Joe's Tri-State Shootout Tourney

Emma - Pioneer volleyball camp

Jake - Camp McFadden

Finn's Flags

Emma and Kayleigh with the Krazy Loom

(LOTS OF DREAM WEAVER PRINTS PRODUCTIONS IN THOSE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS!)

But the definite highlight of my summer so far?  DATE NIGHT WITH MY HUSBAND!  It’s been MONTHS.  And months and months. Since we have had the opportunity to be kid free and do something just for us.  Back on Valentine’s day, I was given this:

Last weekend, it finally was time.  We spent hours getting everything arranged for the kids.  The older 2 were with their Other Dad, but needed to come home and be cared for before we would get home.  The younger two would need care as well, so I hired a sitter to come hang out with them.  Nana the Wonder Sitter and Grandpa were road tripping south to pick up my niece Kayleigh from her mom.  I needed all 7 of those people to end up at one place at the same time while we were in Tulsa.  I made a spreadsheet.  It helps, I swear!  It was color coded, and had every phone number anyone on this carousel would need.  Quasi adults and adults each got a copy.  Digitally and in print.  There was NO WAY this was getting messed up!  I felt I had it all covered.  AND IT WORKED!  By late evening, all 4 of my kids and my niece were at Nana and Grandpa’s for the overnight.  #MommySuccess

So, what were WE doing is the big question, right?  Well, we left Stillwater mid-afternoon for a blissful, kid-free time in T-town.  That’s right, Tulsa was on the horizon and we wouldn’t look back.  For a few hours, at least…  First stop? GAS!  It’s so much cheaper in Tulsa (Sand Springs) than Stillwater.  This tank should last us a couple of days, right?  Then, the MALL!  We’re flatlanders in a flyover state.  The mall is a big deal.  Again, haven’t been inside one in YEARS!  And this one?  WELCOMED us!  Seriously – it’s like they knew we were coming:

Woodland Hills Mall

Wicked and OSU adorned the courtyard in the middle of the shops.  Yup.  All for us.  Even though we had agreed upon a STRICT “no shopping” policy, I somehow ended up with the CUTEST shark pajamas for Finn (dang you, Gymboree) and a fun baseball T (in Stampede colors) for by baseball lovin’ Jake (And dang you, too, Children’s Place)!  Time to get the heck out of there!  NO MORE SPENDING!  (I promised Britty I would sell extra stuff on the Etsy shop to make up for it, so go check it out!  I do custom graphics for just about anything!  What can I do for you?)

On to dinner.  Now, you know, we are on an ******** journey and we’re both droppin’ libbies right and left.  So, what’s a couple to do?  Why, go to CHEEESECAKE FACTORY of course!  All kidding aside, we had acquired a gift certificate to that restaurant last winter, and since cheesecake is may FAVORITE (all time, ever!) desert, I wanted to go there!  This was our first “cheat meal” (I hate that term) in FOUR MONTHS.  We knew we wanted to make good, sensible choices, especially since we KNEW there was cheesecake for desert.  CF made is easy for us!  They have an extensive (and delicious) “Skinny” menu.  (Again, small town dwellers that don’t get out much – we don’t know about these things!)  We chose from those items, and Oh. Em. GEE!  Love.  We ate it all (not really, I can’t eat like I used to).  Loved it all. AND had cheesecake for desert.  It was a truly wonderful experience.  And, YUM!

Next stop: Tulsa Performing Arts Center to see WICKED!!!!!  Back where it all started!  The first time we saw Wicked, I surprised Britt with a trip to Tulsa and tickets for his birthday in August of 2009.  We saw it once, and were hooked.  This past weekend marks the 5^th time we’ve seen it!  We’ve been changed for good and can’t help but to keep dancing through life as we defy gravity and spend one short day reveling in all things popular.

This performance.  Whoa.  Hands down, the best we’ve been too.  Tulsa, Wichita, OKC, Dallas, and back to Tulsa.  It was WONDERFUL.  Through and through.  The last time we say it was in Dallas for the girl’s 8^th birthday; that was 4 years ago.  (We’ve had a hectic few years…)  A lot of the costuming has changed (The flying monkeys got scarier!), and so has almost ALL of the choreography!  While we both have favorite scenes we were looking forward to that were completely different this time around, the show was fabulous.  This Elphaba (played by Emma Hunton) was by far the best I’ve seen.  And her chemistry with Fiyero (played by Nick Adams) was unmatched in anything I’ve seen – it made the show that much better.  Glinda (Gina Beck) had the best ad-libs and was very convincing.  The entire cast was stellar.  The dancers and ensemble were just incredible.  I was bawling at the end of Act 1 (typical) and still crying at the curtain of Act 2.  I can’t explain it, but this Musical has my heart.  I can’t wait to go again!  Where to this time, My Love?

We got back to our home in Stillwater in the wee hours of the night.  During intermission and after the show I had read texts from Nana describing the musical beds situation going on at her house, but I think they all finally got a few winks before Sunday morning rolled around.  We spent a leisurely summer day – resting, playing in the yard, doing chores – before wrapping the night up at church.  The twins are old enough to serve in the little kid rooms during the service.  How is that even POSSIBLE?  Sunday was their first time.  They did GREAT, and they loved doing it!  So proud of them as they start this new chapter of life.  This is a summer they will never forget as they step into the role as servants for our Lord with the Church in our local church.  They are the hands and feet of Jesus for these small fries in the yellow hallway on Sunday nights at LifeChurch Stillwater.  To sum it up: they are changing lives.  And because they are committed to serving, Britt and I added more to our serving plates as well.  That’s what leaders do, right?  Lead by example.  Love.  Serve.  Summer. Full of awe.

Lara and Emma - Swerving for the 1st time!

Got Rid of a Tiny Human

June 11, 2014

Do you see that?  That's me and my son, Finn,  this afternoon.  My son - the tiny human.  That started out so super tiny.  In case you don't know his story, Finn was born over 3 months premature at 26 weeks gestation weighing a whopping 1 pound and 14 ounces.  For the past 2 years and 8 months we have wished and willed and prodded him to grow and gain weight.  For the 84 days he spend in intensive care, we called every night to find out how much he weighed.  This past spring, we even had to put him on appetite stimulant medication to help him gain weight.  Happy to say, he is finally on the 3% line on the growth chart!  Woohoo Whooooooo!  And today in our bathroom, he tipped the scale at a stupendous TWENTY FIVE POUNDS!!!!! God is so good!

So, what's that got to do with today or this picture or anything, really.  Well, Britt and I have been on our ******** weight loss journey for almost three months now.  I, too, weighed myself this morning in the bathroom, and I have lost gotten rid of a TINY HUMAN!!!!! THIS tiny human, to be exact.  I weighed myself, too, and I am down 25 pounds from my starting weight - the exact weight of my toddler.  And I am not looking back!

I sure love you, Finn, but I am never going to carry this extra 25 pounds around, again.  And, BTW - you are getting pretty heavy yourself.  Mommy needs you to walk on your own two feet more!  :)

P.S. - For those keeping track, Britt has lost 36 pounds.  So proud of him!

I can't make this stuff up

That is something my brother used to say.  All the time.  Although, he typically exchanged "stuff" for a more colorful word.  And he was usually talking about bad drivers or the ridiculous laws that govern that state of Texas.  But he was so right.  I, seriously, cannot make this stuff up.  The last few days of our life have been an insane roller coaster ride.  And I want to tell you about it.  But please remember, I can't make this stuff up.  It's so crazy, it HAS to be real!

Dance recital weekend is always crazy.  It's just busy.  Last year, we had a tree limb fall at our house on Friday night while Finn was home with a baby sitter and the rest of us were holed up at the high school hiding from a tornado.  The show was finally called off, and they decided to have 2 shows on Saturday.  When we got home that night, the City utility workers told us to vacate because of the downed limb and the way the lines were we were, it created a fire danger.  Emma and Jake stayed with Nana because they were leaving for Texas Saturday morning to go see Kayleigh's recital.  The rest of us packed up for a hotel.  They cleared the tree, fixed the electrical damage and restored the power by sundown on Saturday.  I remember all this specifically.  But also, TimeHop Abe from my TimeHop App reminded me.  Everyday this week as the anniversary of these events occurred.

Fast Forward to this year.  Thursday dress rehearsal, Friday night performance, Saturday afternoon performance.  Baseball practices and games in between.  Family in and out of town.  Our dishwasher went out about 10 days ago, so we've been washing dishes by hand.  For six people.  Every night.  Oh, and I have a summer cold.  Sunday was the worst.  It is now in my chest, so I cough up a lung when I lay down.  Sunday night was bad.  Last night was worse.  I coughed my husband right out of my bed. And I have no voice.  It's tiring to talk, and when I do I sound like a tired old man. No one can hear me, let alone understand me.*sigh*

OK, all of that is normal and manageable.  It's been a mild Oklahoma May - no tornadoes, few thunderstorms,.  Drought like, even.  So, we were so glad to hear the rumble of the thunder and hear the rain late Sunday night.  But it just kept raining.  And blowing.  I'd call it a torrential downpour.  And I have a basement.  In Oklahoma.  Now, back up - we rent our residence.  Have for about 6 years now, and this is the 3rd location we've been in.  So, house related problems fall into the "SEP" category.  That's something else my brother used to say.  As in, "Someone Else's Problem." But, it's still a problem when you get up Monday morning and the bedroom at the bottom of the stairs is completely drenched.  YUP.  We assumed it was the sump pump failing - something else that happened about a year ago.  We called it in to the landlord, and then we started cleaning up the mess...

About 9am, the repair man came with the part for the dishwasher.  YAY!  He fixed it.  I can do dishes again.  GLORY!  Then we were about to ask him if he knew about the flood when he got a call from the office, telling him about our basement issues.  He went down to assess everything and came back to tell us the pump was functioning normally.  So, where'd all that water come from??? Oh yeah, the NEW CRACK IN THE BASEMENT WALL!  Are you kidding me? Can you say earthquake damage?  So, the other handy man came by shortly to wet vac what he could, and put down the floor drying fans.  Turned on the ceiling fans, and we were thinking another 24 hours would make a huge difference in the wetness in the basement.

Our day continued.  Decided Emma and Lara would sleep at Nana and Grandpa's again since those fans are loud and annoying.  Jake ended up at a friend's house for a sleepover somewhat randomly.  We put Finn to bed.  And I coughed my husband out of our bed.  But, I finally fell asleep.  At 12:23, I was startled awake by a ground shaking thud, and the sound of the power going out room by room.  The small lights from the clocks, TV, and components went out.  The fan above my head slowed.  It got really quiet.  And instantly hot!  I was up and off to find my hubby.  We ventured outside to see if it was just us or the whole area.  Just us.  With our tiny iPhone flashlights, we headed to the back yard and could see the power lines had been pulled out of our roof again.  Time to pack up the baby and find a hotel.

We were settled in and back to sleep by 2:30am.  Up at 7 to get the day going and see what we were up against.  We took Finn to Nana's, grabbed the girls to take them to camp for the day, and told Jake's host he would be there for awhile yet...  Then, we got to our house just as the tree guys were there to get the limb off the lines.  This was the first we had seen it in the daylight.  THIS LIMB WAS HUGE!!! At least 40 feet long, and about 2.5-3 feet in diameter where it broke off the tree trunk.  There are pictures below to give you an idea.  But the blessing in this is that we were incredibly lucky that there was no damage.  None to the fence on the south of our house.  Nor the long fence on the east along the alley.  And not so much as a leaf touched the garage.  AMAZING. 

The tree guys are coming back to remove the limb, and cut down the entire tree as this will just keep happening.  The electrician has been there - twice - repairing what he can with the meter and attaching the lines to the house.  Then the city can reconnect us.  Mid-morning, they told us we should be restored by this evening.  Fingers crossed.  If they get it done, I think I can save all my food.  In my 2 refrigerators... I sure hope I don 't have to start replacing food.  I just bought milk (at $4 a gallon) yesterday! I can't make this stuff up!

People keep asking me what made it fall.  I tell them, GRAVITY.  We honestly don't know,.  The tree appears healthy, but apparently it is not.  It was not struck by lightning...  Click on the photos to make them larger...

The base of the tree is just off the left edge; the guy in the light shirt on the right is near the "end" of the limb

Getting permission to cut.  You can see the power lines on the ground.

Hard to see, but you can see the pole on the house where the lines were pulled out. (Hi Pete!)

Where the limb broke off the trunk

My 6'2" husband standing next to the tree trunk

 

Me sitting on the limb about 10 feet down from the trunk...