In Hiding

Guess that's where I've been. I've been a terrible, slacker, loser blogger lately, huh?! So very sorry to the 2 of you who may have noticed. The thing is, my lack of writing has so not been due to a boring existence. Sometimes I wish that were the case! :) Life with kids is never boring though is it?

To be honest I don't think I've actually been able to call myself bored since the day I met Jesus. Does that sound dumb? Maybe to some of you. But it's altogether true. Knowing Christ rearranges every part of a person, and somehow that massive reorganization redirects the impulse of boredom toward thoughts of eternity. Seriously, how could I be bored when I serve an omnipotent, omniscient, completely beyond my bounds of understanding, kind of God? There's so much to ponder!! Not that I've had time lately though. No, once I had kids I was all discombobulated again, and now I have the mind of a Mommy.

My thoughts are now consumed by things like...

What my dear, ummm, creative 4 yr old has decided to wear for the day. As some of you have noticed, the child is in utter denial of the 100+ degree weather. He is determined to wear fleece pants and shirts daily, because they are "soft." And "soft" is all that matters. I have decided, in all my motherly wisdom (haha), that this particular battle is just not one I'm willing to fight. Sooo...when we leave the house, if my kind suggestions have gone unnoticed as they do on most days, Ty heads out in a fleece suit of some kind and Spiderman sandals or flip-flops...because it IS summertime, after all! :)

Unfortunately we've been battling a variety of viral attacks at our house this past week, so I failed to capture a picture of THE outfit. I was too weak/sick/lazy to take the picture! Anyway, I do have to share...one night this week we all ran out to grab some cheap pizza for dinner. We packed Tony up without shoes, and I convinced Steve to just let Ty wear whatever he wanted to since he wouldn't be getting out of the car anyway (which Tyler totally agreed to). Well, we get there, and (of course) Tyler wants to go in with his Daddy. Steve's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he shook his head no. Immediately, the 4 yr old emotions take over, and Ty's whining and his feelings are hurt and all this, right? And I shut my dear, sweet husband up just before he tells him that he looks ridiculous, and I say, "Just let him go. Please don't say a word!" Ty was so proud of his outfit, and he thought he was just adorable. Besides, I was safely hiding in the car! Haha! Now, picture it: Batman PJ shorts-far tighter than the recommended "snug" fit, sleeveless argyle sweater vest, the infamous Spiderman sandals-on the wrong feet, and Daddy's black cowboy hat to finish off the look! Oh, I really should have taken a picture.

Now don't get the impression that I spend tons of time worried about what my preschooler wears. I think I'm pretty easy going about it, and I try to let it amuse rather than worry me. After all, I have bigger things to worry about. For example, our surprise visit (read: totally unexpected, unwarranted search of my entire house!) by some lady from DHS Friday!! Holy cow! Apparently someone reported me for running an illegal childcare business. Nice. It's a good thing there's no way to find out who, cause I'd be tempted to rub a dirty diaper in their face and DARE them to try to spend their days taking care of a houseful of crazy toddlers and be looked upon as illegal while I'm working my tail off to take care of my family, not to mention the youth of 5 others!...and completely legally, by the way!!

I don't know what kind of situations this poor lady has walked into before, or what the heck whoever called told them!! But she was here to prove that I was a liar and hiding children in my house. She checked bathrooms, closets, behind everything she could look behind, trying to find the hidden kids. The whole time I'm telling her the names and ages of everyone I keep and trying (though frazzled!) to convince her that I am not breaking any laws, I've simply decided not to keep enough kids that would require a license. I prefer to keep my sanity rather than increase my enrollment at this point! :)

Soooo...convinced that I wasn't hiding any additional children, she informed me that I will need to supply proof that my niece and nephew are indeed related to me, within 10 days, or I will face a $500 fine. Oh, and then she thanked me for taking such good care of the children in my home. Uhhh, yeah lady, no problem. Thanks for noticing. Anyway, here's hoping I can get my hands on the 6, count 'em, six, necessary birth certificates to accompany my marriage license to prove that my niece and nephew are who I say they are. Sometimes it's more than difficult to adequately remind myself that I'm doing this for good reasons.

And so I hide...myself, not kids!! :)