Clarifications

M'kay, so my husband is super sneaky and more techno-savvy than I gave him credit for. I had no clue he knew how to post on a blog, much less upload a picture. This morning was a little crazy, I didn't check the computer until afternoon and there were already several sweet comments. I was truly touched and couldn't hold back the tears, my heart swelled.....as well as my ego;)
However, I do want to make a few clarifications for any of you who may be mistaken. We actually hosted 4 team dinners at our house....not that anyone is counting:)
But more importantly, my husband is giving me more credit than I really deserve. I'm not always sweet to live with and if you don't believe me, ask Coach Scheffler, seriously, he knows better. Let me explain, you see, I was a little stressed the first time we hosted the basketball team for dinner. In the days leading up to the dinner several of the kids had the flu so instead of cleaning the corners and preparing for company, I was snuggling sick babies and cleaning up sick messes. When the day of the dinner arrived, I was running behind schedule, and I had made this list of things I needed Chris to do between 5:00 (when he said he'd be home) and 5:45 (when dinner was scheduled). The trouble was, Chris didn't come home at 5:00 or 5:15 or even 5:30. Instead, he walked in the door about 5:40. I was frantically trying to get the last of dinner done and Ava had been fussing and there was still a list of things that I wanted to be done before company arrived. When he came in the door, I started not-so-nicely barking orders and letting him know that Ava had been a crab etc, etc, etc. He listened, but didn't say much to defend himself. A few minutes later, I realized why he had been so quiet, Dave had come in the door with him and was standing around the corner and heard every word of my rant.
It was quite possibly my most embarrassing moment ever. Chris, however, found it hysterical. He could scarcely contain himself later in the evening when I was asking him why he didn't give me a sign to stop me before I humiliated myself. How hard would it have been for him to give me a look or exclaim "So, Dave, this is some weather we've been having?"....you know, just drop me a subtle hint that someone else was there and hearing my every word.
I learned a lot that night. I learned that I'd rather be nice than be perfect. I'd rather be a gracious host with dirty laundry on the stairs and fingerprints on the television, than a snappy one with a perfectly spotless house. I realized that the girls weren't there to judge my housekeeping and cooking skills. In fact, quite the opposite was true, they were genuinely happy to be here in my less than perfect house with my rowdy kids and they literally lavished me with praise for everything I made, even when it was just a baked potato bar.
Dave learned that it's safest to announce your arrival when you come to our house so as to avoid getting yourself an earful....and that's precisely what he did the next few times he saw me. He'd wave and shoot me a little grin and say something along the lines of, "Just letting you know I'm here."
I don't want to portray perfection. If you spent a day as a fly on the wall of my house, you'd see that I have moments of frustration and moments when I lack patience. I'm not always calm and kind, I am improving, but there are still many days when I fail miserably am brought to my knees to plead forgiveness once again.

Since every post needs pictures, how about these of Ava retrieving some of her sister's chapstick from the washer? I don't check pockets like I should and as a result, I wash a lot of chapstick and lipgloss. While I was changing out a load, Ava spotted some chapstick in the back of the washer.

It was clear in the back. She had to really stretch to reach it.

Sweet Success.