I won't win any awards...

A few updates:

Work life--Not getting sued! Things are going well. The parents like me, the students like me, and Early Childhood is just trucking along nicely. Things have settled down and the routine has become very comforting. Although I did have a student tell me today that "God is going to spank you". You know. That happens.

Social life--What social life? Ha-ha. Although I did recently go to the State Fair with my brother and his wife and my sister and her husband. The girls did not go with us so that was like a "night out". It was the UT v. OU weekend. There was a very drunk frat boy that gave me his seat on the DART train. He was with some seriously fashion impaired sorority girls. I think they thought they were trendy, but boyfriend jeans, toms, 80s sunglasses, and a military blazer do not a fashionista make. Anyway, drunk frat boy provided me with the most interesting and stimulating of conversations that I have had in a long long time. I milked his impaired state for all it was worth. Hey, I never get out! At some point we started throwing out names of herbs that would make ridiculous children's names. Tarragon and Cilantro were the big winners.

Romantic life--Again, what romantic life? Nathan and I try--we really do. But then I find myself saying things to my sweet husband like, "Put a bubble in your mouth" or "stop your motor and let the other people pass" as I throw my arm across his path. That screams "I've never wanted you more", right? And then there is the little issue of me lecturing him while in the throes of passion. I will spare you the intimate details but lets just say I can't even enjoy myself without attempting to boss Nathan around. That was super mortifying. I didn't even mean what I was saying. I am just so in the mode of telling people what to do I can't even stop myself while having sex! Ugh!

Parenting skills--This is my personal favorite. At the beginning of the aforementioned episode between Nathan and I, we had made cookies to keep the girls quiet and put them in front of a movie. You take it when you can get it, right? So anyway, we took the rest of the cookies to our room to consume them in secret like little piggies. Things had gotten underway and we hear a little knock on our door. Our favorite trick is to ignore it, but that was not proving to be effective this time. One of us got the bright idea to slide a cookie under the door without saying a word. Shameful. And humorous. And shameful. But mostly humorous. When was the last time I laughed like that? And, more importantly, it got the job done!

Spiritual life--Nathan is teaching the youth group at our church and I am teaching ages 2-4. I just love little kids so much I want to be around them every second of every day! (sarcasm, folks!) Oh wait, I am! It is really fun even though teeenagers scare the hell out of me. All their hormones and emotions flopping around like dying fish. Erg! I am not so equipped...but Nathan is great!

Mental health--You read the above, right? What do you think? Let's go with somewhere between desperately seeking a support group and needing a room with padded walls. But seriously, I live in my car, which is in a constant state of filth. When I get a break from the car, I am at the house--also filthy. I can't seem to get anything accomplished and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open every day.

But the title of this post aptly points out that while I may not be stellar at any one thing, at least I haven't spontaneously combusted. Sometimes "good enough" is the best I can do and I am okay with that.

And can I just give a shout out to all the amazing new life entering this world:
Baby Shelby
Baby Kuzara
Baby Roll
Baby Speegle
Baby Keyser
Baby Vaden
Baby Way
Baby Mahan
Congratulations you guys! You will all make amazing parents! It might make you a little batty, but we wouldn't do it if it wasn't worth it!

My kids...

Elisa: Still in love with mermaids. Monsters are scary mermaids, healers are magical mermaids. She laughs at weird times at things that aren't really funny. For instance, me: "we are having macaroni and cheese tonight for dinner". Her: "O haha. That's so silly. Macaroni and cheese. Hee!" I don't really have a response to that.

Ava: She is a punk who likes to ignore me and run around half-naked. I love her "can-do" spirit but she is not even keeled like sister. She goes from 0 to screaming in about 1/2 a second. Time is a concept we are working on. She likes to sometimes pick at Elisa because she can. It is just in her nature to be defiant. I like to call it "persistence". She will make a great debator! If I could somehow disappear between her age 12 to 19 years I think that would be for the best...for everyone...

Noah: Seriously the quietest baby you've ever met. I sometimes forget he is around. He just hangs out and watches stuff--his sisters, his toys, the TV, Na and I, the fan--whatever. He is just a sweetie and he loves to coo and laugh at me. My favorite time with him is in the morning before the girls wake up. I feed him and then get myself dressed and he just hangs out and talks to me. The only time he is upset is if he is alone (he HATES that) or hungry or tired. That's it. I just want him to stay my little baby forever!

On the off chance I might get sued....

In the interest of the law, I have removed my last two postings with my ranting and ravings about being unfairly judged. While I do believe that this will all settle, I may be taken to a court of law and I don't need anything negative found on me! Does this sound totally "Law & Order" to you? Me too! Many thanks, Reagan, for pointing out that even when I am not naming names, it still doesn't look good to comment on a potential "ongoing investigation". OMG! This is ridiculous!
Upside: I am in good standing with my current parents and staff and boss. I really love my job and everyone has faith in me. yay!
Downside (unrelated): Nathan, you know, works in oilfield services. Things are not going to well with some customers. I am a little *swallow* nervous although he tells me not to be. Hmm...