I seemed to have forgotten again

January. Ha.  I seemed to have forgotten about this again.  After I said that I was going to be back. Okay, I'm back. For now. We'll see how good my memory is. That or I'll add reminders to my calendar to check in.

You may be asking what has happened in the last 6 months.  A lot. Too much possibly. Baby girl finished up 1st Grade. And Little Mister finished Pre-School. And then Summer hit.  And the kids and I packed up the car and left for weeks. Almost a month on the road, 3000+ miles over 12 states, and we got to see a lot of family and friends we have been missing.  Not all of them that I would have liked to have seen and I could have really, really used a few more days sitting ocean side. That is my happy place. I would have loved to have been able to sit there listening to the waves crash with my eyes closed, but two kids playing in the ocean with just me watching them means no time to close my eyes.

We played with both sets of grandparents. All of the aunts & uncles and cousins, even the new one we hadn't met yet! Yay for getting to be the favorite aunt! We saw friends in Georgia and North Carolina.

With all the travel, we are glad to be back home. We had about a week and half before VBS started and we are recouping today from the late nights for the past 5 nights.  I will say that I will miss the kiddos sleeping in until 8 AM every morning. I wonder how long until they are back to getting up by 6:30. Thankfully, I've been using the automatic brew feature on the coffee pot for the past few months.

What else is going on. We've got about 5ish weeks until school starts back. I've started hoarding crayons. And the ever so hard to find plastic yellow pocket folder. Yes, the school lists are that specific.

Some may be asking, if you don't know already, what I have decided to do with my time. Well, Eric supported my decision to start selling Pampered Chef. We talked about it and did some research. TPC is celebrating 35 years this year so it isn't going anywhere and it has an excellent record so far.  My Director & Team Leader only lives a little over a mile from me so I've got the company support I need. I've had a great first 3 months and month #4 is looking good too! With the new catalog coming out in September, I have a line of shows just waiting on the new products. I started this because I really wanted a few of the more expensive products and thought why not get them at a discount and help others get them too!

On top of that, I will be returning to MOPS this fall as the MOPPET Worker Coordinator as more of a service.  I'm not actually joining MOPS, just helping out and filling in with the kids as needed. I know this is a big area with most MOPS that is hard to fill.

So add those with our weekly women's Bible Study, weekly Small Group, Fall sports,and helping out with school activities and I should be "busy". Little Mister says I can play video games all day and Baby Girl says I need to catch up on housework. We'll see how many video games I actually get to. And if I get the kitchen chair covers finished this year.

The current question...

Since it is such a gorgeously warm day outside, so much so that school was cancelled out of concern for having the students turn into icicles, I have a bit of "extra" time as the kiddos are occupying themselves and I don't have to think about transporting the kids.  Well, I guess little man would have been out of school anyway today, but still.  They are nicely playing so I will write.

I keep hearing this question.  And I don't have an answer.  Which bugs me a bit, but I don't think I want an answer for the moment.  What's the question you ask?  Since little man is off to school in the Fall, what are you going to do? Hmmm... I have no clue.  I don't want to go back to work.  At least not now.  I want to be that stay-at-home mom that gets to participate in things.  I only got to do one school activity with big girl last year.  And this year I've been able to help out in little man's class, but haven't been in big girl's class once.  And the stupid part of that.  I'm a homeroom picture mom.  And I haven't taken one picture of her class.  I only have three weeks to get pictures for the yearbook.  I have failed that role. Miserably. 

I want to help with the kids.  I want to attend bible study at church.  Maybe I'll actually use the treadmill sitting in the basement.  I want to be able to help out friends in a pinch if they need help.  Maybe help out at MOPS with MOPPETS.  Or try to find a MOPSnext group. But will that be enough?  Or will I spend my days playing Angry Birds Transformers and not realize that an hour has just passed.

I have been told that selling anything isn't really a choice.  I don't host parties of selling things well, no way that selling anything will be of any help to anyone.  I have a closet full of craft supplies.  But I do a bunch of things okay, nothing well enough to try to sell at the little shop in town or on Etsy.  I bake.  But honestly, there's only so much pumpkin bread to be had.  And I'd have to bake while on the treadmill if I went that direction.

The family will attest that I don't clean well and my cooking could use help.  So maybe just keeping the house up to par would take my entire day.  But without little man around to build entire cities out of Legos, Lincoln logs, the Batcave, and whatever other random objects lying around for his Rescue Bots and superheros to save, there may not be messes to clean up.

So what's out there?  What do my fellow stay-at-home moms of school-aged kiddos do during the day to occupy yourselves while still feeling like you are contributing to the family?  Besides homeschool.  I know there are a bunch of you out there, but that's not happening.  You should see me and big girl just trying to get through one reading assignment.  Medication would be needed.  But maybe I could come help your kiddos with art class.  Maybe. 

So... what am I going to do?