a morning in the life of laurie... a classic story full of "laurisms"

as i ATTEMPTED to get myself ready for work today, it occurred to me... if America REALLY wants some reality tv, film my family from 6-7 a.m.  THAT is REAL.  it goes something like this:

i get up.  i don't want to.  i tell mike, "getting up is stupid".

i realize my stuffed up nose did not magically go away overnight.  i'm annoyed.

i brush my teeth.

i go wake brittin up.  she wants to snuggle.  i REALLY wish we had time for that.

i pick out her clothes.  .... the purple "butterfly shirt" she loves.... black leggings.... hmm... those look BIG.  oh, it's because they are MINE.  here's the black leggings i looked for ALL LAST WEEK.  now i need to apologize to everyone i accused of stealing my leggings.

brittin is groggily searching for her "toms" and attempting to put them on.  i suggest we take PJ's off first and GET DRESSED! 

off to my room to REALLY begin the madness.

i try to convince brittin to start getting dressed.  not impressed with her speed, i take matters into my own hands.  i help her get her new little "sports bra" on.  i SWEAR its the hormones in the chicken!  then we spend two minutes reiterating the fact that she DOES NOT need to tell EVERYONE at school she has a bra on.  she wants to know if she can tell her teachers.  NO!  now she declares she has to poop and wonders if i got the sock out of the toilet.  just the fact she had to ask that tells you something about our family.  yes, i got the sock out of the toilet.    off she goes.

now, i have a VERY BRIEF TIME ALONE to try to get myself ready.  start the make-up... WAIT, i realize there's a dog in my shower... yep, rossi's eating the bar of soap.  yell at her.  back to the make-up.  i get about half way done and my ADD takes over.  i want to look for my jeans.  not just any jeans... my fat jeans.  i want to be comfy today.  i head to the laundry room.  in the hall, i meet brittin.  she tells me, "i just pooped like a dragon".  i actually just shake my head because i'm not sure what to say.  then i mumble "ok, go finish getting dressed". 

in the laundry room... no luck finding my pants.  i go look in my closet.  no luck.  i look in the dirty clothes.  no luck.  another dirty clothes.  no luck.  now i'm TOTALLY ANNOYED!!!

oh well, i'll finish my make-up.  wait, there's a dog in the shower... again!  now SKYLAR is eating the bar of soap!  yell at her. 

make-up... must... finish... make-up.  done.

clothes.  WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?  i start riffling through the MOUND of clean clothes on on the giant chair in our room.  ah ha!  my favorite tank.  this IS going to be a good day!  now... my pants.  i search EVERY PLACE again.  i even look in lexi's closet... that is scary.  i still can't find my jeans.  i make a huge mess in the laundry room... no jeans. 

Steven Spielberg is in my bedroom.  thats what it feels like anyway.  brittin is OBSESSED with making videos on my phone.  now that she's dressed, she's making a video of her shoes.  i ask what she's doing.  "i'm making a video of my toms for the kids at school who i love".  how can i argue with that.  meanwhile, i'm still running around with no pants on... while she's video taping... everything.

finally...  i surrender.  i put on my "normal jeans". 

now I am ready.  BRITTIN is ready.  what about my bigs???  lex is ready.  i've hollered at brady three times, so he's miraculously ready.  with seven minutes until departure, he pours the BIGGEST bowl of cereal i've ever seen.  at least he's eating. 

i run out and start my car.  i think to myself "march 19th and i still have to warm up my car??  why don't we live in Florida?" 

last check before we leave.  brittin has glasses on and she took her meds.  her hair is combed.  big dogs in the kennel.  little dog running wild.  brady's had his meds.  lexi is appropriately dressed.  i have shirt AND pants on.  my breakfast is ready to go.  we can do this!!!

we leave... 3 minutes late... but that's okay, i built "lateness" into our schedule!

it's time to ROCK tueseday! 

"learning a lesson"

we've been so busy lately, i haven't had time to do much... let alone blog.  but a saturday at work is fairly quiet, and i'm sitting here thinking about my family...

today, while i'm at work, mike and the kids are doing their own "work".  and our kids are "learning a lesson".  normally the phrase "learning a lesson" implies you did something wrong that has lead you to learn from the consequences of your decisions.  that's NOT the case today.

today my children are learning about the harsher realities of life.  they are seeing first hand unfortunate circumstances some children live in. 

for over 40 years, my dad has owned rental properties.  i grew up tagging along side my dad during the laborious cycle:  showing the homes, trying to make good decisions when choosing tenants, chasing down rent, evicting people, going to court.... and cleaning up... literally.  obviously not every situation is horrible.  over the years dad has had many, many wonderful tenants.  many of whom have become lifelong friends of our family.

my dad called me a few days ago and asked if mike and i would mind giving him a hand with a vacancy.  my dad NEVER asks for help, so of course we were happy to give him a hand.  we went last night to check it out.  mike... being new to this game was pretty grossed out.  he's already a germaphobe... and the absolute filth only grossed him out more.  add in the overwhelming smell of dirt/smoke/big dog/poop... it was enough to turn any one's stomach.  the entire house needs to be emptied, cleaned, repaired, new carpet, and painted.  i looked and my dad and thought "no wonder he's asked for help". 

my children knew one of their classmates lived there.  they caught some smack talk for it at school.  and today, they are helping to clean up the mess.  they will see first hand how some children live.  we've always told them "don't judge and be kind... you never know what happens in your classmates lives when they go home".  today, that's been made alarmingly clear. 

when mike and i did the walk thru last night, we found a report card.  the student is in the same grade as our bigs... i expected to see all failing grades... shame on me.  his grades were good.  and i was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness.  this boy who's behavior is reportedly "questionable"... has potential!  we were amazed at his athletic ability during the football season... AND good grades!  he COULD do so much with his life....  but will he?  with no familial support?  without a clean loving house to come home to?  as we drove away last night, mike said to me "there's no hope for those kids is there?"  and i said "no.  not if something doesn't change.  it's going to take foster care, church, a mentor, a kind teacher... SOMETHING to give those kids hope... to make a change"... 

so what's my point here today.  i'm not sure.  i feel all rambly (and sad)... but i think what i'm trying to say is:

1.  cherish your family ... whoever it is... love them and provide a HOME they can feel safe and loved in.  it doesn't have to be fancy or big... just clean and full of love and attention. 

2.  remember, that unruly classmate in your child's class may go home to an empty house everyday... cook their own dinner and live in unsanitary conditions. 

3.  if you can... reach out to children in need... thru your church, school, a mentoring program, become a foster parent... anything.  YOU could make the difference in a child's life. 

ok... i'll leave you with that :)

have a BLESSED weekend and love on your family!