Easier Said Than Done AND Elder Meehan Snow Pics

Well it's not even 8am and I've already managed to break the diswasher, clog some pipes, and curse for about 20 solid minutes.

I'd say today's going to be pretty awesome.

And it's really all my own doing.

You see, one of my New Year's goals was to meditate each morning for just 5 minutes (don't want to kill myself at the start--LOL) AND be more easy-going with household routines and chores (primarily with the kids' doing theirs).

But I'm telling you, that is EASIER SAID THAN DONE (for me). 

I have some kind of learned/DNA-backed obsession with people following through on jobs and keeping our household running smoothly. I know emptying trashes or washing dishes isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason it's the principle of it for me. I just want our kids to "do their part" to contribute to homelife AND learn life skills that will help them to be self-reliant peeps.

But they're teenage and tween plants, so-to-speak, so they are still learning these things. And I think I read something about their prefrontal cortex not being fully developed, so I can't really expect the same consistency or decision-making from them as I expect from Dave/myself.

But my point!

Last night one of our bambinos would not sleep in her room: she heard a noise and was afraid, so she wanted to sleep in the living room ... with me. And I obliged. Somewhat crankily. (Not a word, PS.)

Of course said-kiddo fell asleep immediately. Like a log-sawing slumber kinda sleep. While I, on the other hand, was staring at the ceiling and listening to our cat BEG to go outside by scratching on the window for about 40 minutes straight.

At exactly 41 minutes of scratching, I decided to let her out--even though it was 30-something degrees outside (PETA is for sure torked). I figured she'd come back, and if not, she has a collar so someone would call us if she went to them for temporary shelter.

But oh how wrong I was. AS SOON as I let her out, log-sawing-child said to me, "City Kitty's collar isn't on." 

HUH? Who would take the cat's collar off, I thought?

Another kiddo, of course! Why, you ask? Because the cat doesn't like the collar; she told the other kiddo apparently. They communicate, I guess. (Note to self: Google Dr Doolittle in the morning.)

So my point!

I went after the flippin' cat. And in the process I woke up 2 other kiddos. And then they helped in the freezing-snow search and rescue.

But, we couldn't find her. 

For 2 hours. 

Yup, we stayed awake waiting for this adirondack cat to return.

And eventually she did. (Phew.)

But I never fell back asleep. Instead I lay there stewing over the lost hours of sleep, all that was on my To Do list, and my anger over the missing collar.

Why? I don't know why? Because I'm a Type-A personality who expects way too much of myself and others.

So instead of laying in bed on the living room floor with our snoring kiddo, I got up and looked for something to eat in the kitchen.

And that's when things got even awesome-er: because I found about 10 big pots and pans in the sink that 3 of the kids didn't wash as part of their normal jobs each day (we divide the dishes between 2 meals--everyone does their part).

Oh, and the Dinner Trio also forgot to run the dishwasher.

So in my zombie-cranky-mom state, I ran the dishwasher and started to soak the dishes. All the while I had this kind of mental argument with myself over "why I'm failing as a parent." (You may be familiar with this ego-centric line of self-talk, "I'm the only one who does anything. No one cares about completing their jobs. They take take take. I'm losing my marbles, etc." All healthy, I'm know.)

So after completing all the dish-soaking and stewing, I finally got about an hour of sleep.

And guess what? I woke up feeling fairly off.

Go figure.

And that's when I saw it: 

the pea-green flood and sewage spewing from the dishwasher and underneath the sink.

Because apparently you can't soak and drain pots that have split pea and ham soup sludge in them. Translation = I'm sometimes a moron. Because I know that most garbage disposals and pipes can't take that kind of sludge. But I was cranky and mad and just went for it.

And today, I'm seeing the effects of my stinkin'-thinkin'. (Thanks for that phrase mom.)

Yup, now in addition to having to trouble a repair person and hang out at home waiting for that magic window when they appear, I get to clean up a bunch of yucky sludge and place all my dirty dishes on the counter.

I think I better up the meditation from 5 minutes to 5 hours because clearly I need to focus on peace more than the average person.

Okay, so enough venting about how lame I can be. I know I'm not always this lame, but it sure is a pain when I am.

And now, for the good news:

We heard from Elder Meehan yesterday via email and he is no longer snowed in--which was nice because we hadn't heard from him since three days after Christmas.

Here are some photos from the extraordinary week he had in Indianapolis (up to 15 inches of snow in places and a windchill of -30). 

PS: He had a great bday, too. Yay!

His "Birthday Cake." (We glued candy to a hatbox, filled it with fun stuff inside, and it shipped great!
(We had him add the candles so it could pack in a box without breaking.

His bday gifts. Small, in part because he is living a missionary life. More frugal/fewer things to pack around.
We sent candy, beef jerky, notes from friends and family/ward, bread, a pen and pencil set, an old-man's beard, and some hot wheels (as a silly kid-gift).

The bread ships in "okay" condition. He's kind and always says it is great. LOL!

Snowdrifts in his apartment.

Mid-storm.
(They were "grounded" to their apartments/homes until the windchill and storm were safe for travel.

His parking lot.

Parking lot/homes. It looks beautiful, but I guess with the windchill is was way dangerous to be outdoors.

On NY Day they journaled and set goals.

Missionary Life looks pretty organized. I love that he is learning to set goals daily/weekly/etc.

More snow.

Before the snow storm he went on exchanges with another missionary in a surrounding city. He was able to see the construction of the Indianapolis Temple. That was exciting. After being in Utah, where Temples are very nearby (for us, walking distance), it's different to live in a state where they have not had a Temple.

Another Temple photo. Due to complete in 2015/2016.

The missionaries in his district.

The missionaries in his area. And no, I'm not sure why they are wearing BlueBlockers. Missionaries do funny things to keep themselves smiling and positive. (They face a lot of rejection and criticism as they serve--in addition to a lot of kindness and joy--but I see these silly shots as proof that they are coping with the harder parts of service.