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good summer day

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Img_2599_2after a LOUD morning…
waking up to annie yelling about a toy..still in her bed

we needed fresh air.
we made a picnic
mmm…pb&j and doritos
went to the preschool park to look for ms. krisitin’s reported frogs.
we found some…
even jumping onto my toe.
they are so teeny tiny.
talby was catching them.
it was so exciting when they’d find another one.
they were hopping all over.
the frogs and the kids

while doing laundry today i realized i had washed a diaper…what a mess.
diaper fuzz on everything.

we had 4 kids playing at 3 different ball diamonds tonight.
gotta love june!
add in the trains in our town and it gets very interesting.
i missed lauren’s pick-up completely.
i was already late to get to her & then we had to wait on TWO trains.
she got a ride with the coach.
bad mom.
amy jones is there a chapter in your book about not showing up to pick up your child?

And last subject…
my blog is getting 70+ hits a day.
who is reading this?
i am so curious.
please leave me a comment!
if i know you
or if i don’t
you put in your first name and i think your email…they don’t send you anything…it doesn’t give you junk mail…just try it…it’s easy.
i want to know!
one reason….my email inbox is so minimal now that you are all reading my blog.
you check in on me but i never hear about you!
i know all those hits aren’t jenny because she rarely checks in on the blog…
ha ha ha
who are you 70+ hits?
i can’t wait to find out!

tonight lauren and i get to shop for swimsuits.
there will not be photos…

Leah - Hi, I’m a new reader. I can’t remember where I linked to you at. A blog linked to a blog, linked to a blog, you know? Anyways, I love your realness… if that is a word.

Jodi - Hi Meg
I’m Shelley’s mom – Chad’s wife? I just LOVE your blog. Shell gave me the address and you inspired me! Ours is sunderlandfamilynews.typepad.com. I just met you at the shower (maybe the wedding?)but now I feel like I know you and the kids. You write a GREAT blog!

Heather - Hey Meg — it’s Heather, Lorel’s first roommate at KU. She showed me your blog when she was in NYC in March and now I check in about once a week. At first I did it to try to catch pictures of your sister and Macy and Maya but now I check in on the Duerksens for their own merit! I love your blog and it makes me want to move back to Kansas!! Great photos and writings. So I am one of the 70!

Danelle Young - Ok, yes I admit it..I am addicted to reading your blog too. I originally connected with it through Kristin’s blog. But, you do know me as the “cleaning lady”. Anyway, I love your blog and love the creativity that you have. You’re so “artsy” (is that a word?) and I love that. Your human style of writing is exactly what I need at the end of a crazy day. Thanks for sharing!

Kristi - I’m reading, Meg. I agree with the people that said they like your blog because you are real. That is one of the many things I love about you! You don’t try to be someone you are not!

Jana - I’m addicted. And blessed to be in the same small town with you! Yes, I think there is room for both of us! Let’s walk to Sonic soon!!! Love ya!

kristin - you know i am reading… : )
but i have the SAME wonderings about my blog…and i washed a diaper last nite too…glad you found the frogs…if i had your message sooner we would have loved to join you…

Katrine - me! I’m reading!

traci - You are VERY popular but that doesnt surprise me! I love that you take very real pictures for your blog. Just bread on your countertop..lol…some blogs just show a commericial looking loaf of bread…I love how personal your blog is…isnt a blog suppose to be personal anyhow???
I was laughing at you being late by a train. I dont live in the big city but a suburb…and my kids would LOVE to see a train go thru on our tracks taht we go by on . Our small town sounds really lovely. I may have to gooogle you. lol. GREAT blog…I check daily and JUST LOVE IT!!!!

elizabeth holder - Hi, I can’t remember how I came across your blog but I have & I love it – I love the pictures of your house b/c I love old houses like that -and I love how real you are on your blog – you make me feel normal – you express the feelings that I have & it makes me know I am not the only one – thanks !!! I live in florida we are miles away but i think if you lived here we could be great friends. Heres to surviving today! elizabeth

amy - I’m #67. Haven’t run across that topic yet, but I’m only on chapter 4!

Jennifer Chappell Deckert - I am reading….a connection from Kristin’s blog. I am Abby’s Mom (from preschool) and I think you have one of the best blogs out there! Very nice work! I love your photos. Keep it going! You are an inspiration to us all.
Jen CD

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breathe deep

what a nice day.

sleeping a bit late. (almost 9:00!)
kids did their chores with minimal whining.
talby left with her Nana for a cinderella play.
one less child changes everything.
a little gardening.
a little light cleaning.
and then i got to go on a date!
we went to home depot – of course.
it’s not a date without home depot.
dinner out ….steak and mashed potatoes…sooo good.

much needed.
thanks to nana for babysitting.
that’s what i was talking about a few days ago.
just gotta get out of this town.
out of this house and mess.
uninterrupted conversation….i needed that.

at golf on thursday i go to pick up scott and he’s nowhere to be seen.
i talk to some moms for awhile and then he appears out of the bushes saying “we were rescuing frogs!”
but just then a toad jumped up near him and he grabbed it.
all boy.
we took him home.
everyone played with him awhile then we “rescued him” to our neighbor’s pretty pond.
fun stuff.

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traci - We love each and every child we have deeply, couldnt live without them but YES, one less child does seem to make things easier much of the time! Sooooo glad you got some much deserved and needed time away from being a mom. Isnt it crazy that sometimes we CRAVE just wanting an UNinterrupted conversation with our husband??? lol
LOVE YOUR BLOG

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use the force

this post is mostly for grandpa, dave hill and peter.

these boys want to tell their grandpa thank you for the
awesome case full of star wars figures!
they love it!
keep looking at garage sales.
it made their week for sure.

and then to dave hill they wanted to say “are you jealous?”
ha ha ha
can’t you just hear scott’s voice?
the darth vader case doesn’t talk like your C3PO though

and peter they wanted you to see it because of your
appreciation of all things star wars.

it was so sweet watching them set up each little dude all in lines.
then sean ran and changed into his darth vader shirt from aunt lorel.
(excellent birthday gift for this year again too…if you were wondering)

i love that they are into something…
have a collection…
want to learn about it.
star wars is not my favorite by any means but i love their passion.

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the collection …. the ones they could find that weren’t under the mattress
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scott’s favorite action figure in his set

sean’s favorite “guy” even without an arm.

mom’s favorite….

“luuuuuuuke…..i am your father”

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promise

old school VBS

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Laura - Meg, I don’t know if you will see this comment or not since it is on a post from a year ago. I recently found your blog. I am so enjoying it! I have a question: I always do the words in my scrapbooks with either my own handwriting or stickers. I have never typed anything because I didn’t know if it was photo safe. Do you use photo safe paper and ink or do you just not worry about that? I wondered if it fades quickly. I would like to start doing stuff like this; but, I was wondering about this before I did pages like this. I love this one!

kim in Camas - very very cute!

traci - Oh the memories!!!! I am almost 40 yrs old and that is the EXACT song we sang when I was in VBS…I had totally forgot about that song but was smiling from ear to ear to be reminded!!! That would be SOOOO cool for my kids to be able to go back and have a VBS like mom had. I just LOVE that song!!!

kristin - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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scrap therapy

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Img_2483if i can make myself create when i am crabby then i always feel better.
and getting exercise.
i did both last night.

annie came to my bed this morning asking for a show on tv.
we went into the craft room & i started to scrapbook first thing.
rubbing my eyes
still in my wonder woman jammies
listening to cartoons.
pre-coffee even!
it was nice.

this is my first page i have ever made about ME.
ME only.
i want to scrap about me but never do.
i want to keep track of things i like
the way i felt
dreams…goals
but i just never do
until now.
this is page one of many many more to come.
it only took 12 years.

fyi….i love mary j. blige

and my husband got on board with my day off scheduling.
he said “i never really thought about it that you don’t get a day off”
again…12 years….better late than never.
i love you honey.
you always give me what i need. 🙂

and now i must go exercise
because the exterminator just asked me
when my due date was.
idiot.

traci - your blogs has become a daily read of mine…I really, really enjoy it!!! Somehow I just KNOW if we lived close we would be friends 🙂

kristin - at the end of the school year i overheard a preschool dad asking another preschool mom when she was due. when the mom said she wasn’t pregnant, the dad said, “you ladies and your maternity tops that aren’t maternity tops!”
maybe you were wearing one of those. : )

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if you are a mom you may understand this post.
you know the feeling of clausterphobia? or overstimulated? or exhausted? that’s what i am feeling.
the feeling of “there is no end in sight”
i love being a mom.
i love being home with my kids.
i love 99% of our days.
but everyone needs a break.
everyone needs a change.
everyone a way to recharge.
the problem with being a mom is there is no boss, no paycheck, no evaluations (that’s good most days), no clocking in and clocking out.
but most of all there are no vacation days.
my husband get holidays off. do i? if i had job i would have these days off but they wouldn’t be off they would ON – mommy duty.
when you are at work you have decent hours – not 18 hour shifts of “mooooommmmmmyyyy!!”
Or if we do get a day away….you are paying a sitter so you are watching the clock….just knowing your minutes are precious.
or if your husband stays home so you can go out he will be tired and grumpy from doing “your job” all day.
as moms we keep this “mom guilt” with us all the time. sometimes it is so quiet we can ignore the voice and have fun…like at scrapbooking weekend. but even then we all agreed it took the entire first day for us to relax and realize we were off duty. we can let our guard down then.
AND on our days off we get to do fun stuff like bra shopping or swimsuit torture.
i know one answer to my problem is that the time needs to be scheduled and regular.
being pro-active.
and then that scheduled time needs to be honored by everyone. everyone needs to agree that mom needs space. i would love to hear my family say “have fun on your day off!” instead of “when are you coming back?!”
everyone wins when this happens. so why don’t we do it?
i know that i chose to have all these crazy kids but this is also one part of being a mom no matter how many kids you have – learning how to balance without crashing.
i know that i am not saying anything that hasn’t been said a million times but today it is driving me crazy.
i wasn’t even going to post because i am so grumpy but i thought i want to remember this…i want this to change so if i look back in a year and it’s still like this then there is a big problem – and that would be ME.

see i have bad days too.

Leah - Another SAHM here, and I hear ya sista! I can tell when my temper and patience gets short, that it is time for a break! Not that I ever really get one though, I know just what you mean!

kristin - oh my, oh my, oh my…i know, i know, i know…sunday nite i wondered what i would possibly do all day with my kids so that at the end of the day i felt balanced…not easy…one of my mantras continues to be THIS IS THE LIFE I HAVE CHOSEN…but oh, i wait, wait, wait for bedtime to come when it will get QUIET…and here i am!
i just read what i wrote and i think i am watching too many eloise movies…i sound like nanny who repeats herself three times when she really means it…or maybe i am used to having to say things three times before i am heard!

traci - When I read your blog I just had to take a deep breath. I to am a stay at home mom. Well, I have a part time job but its a job that allows me to take my kids with me so even that doesn’t give me a break. lol.
Anyhow…I have been married for 10 yrs., went into the marriage with a stepson and in one yr. adopted 2 little girls that were under a yr. Talk about a FAST family but talk about BLISSFULLY happy!!! Tonight my husband is taking all 3 kids to spend a month with the grandparent for the first time and I am having anxiety thru the roof!!!! I dont have to hear arguments, complaints, groans, tattles or any negativity. I can do as I please, when I please for the first time in TEN YEARS but I am filled with anxiety at my kids being gone soooooo long and the house being quiet. SO, when as a mom are we happy? lol.
This is probably a way bigger response than you expected for having a bad day but it just made me giggle since I am getting ready to have major freedom and filled with anxiety and ready to well up with tears and they arent even gone yet!!!!

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