Sometimes - okay, a lot of times - I just wonder "why?".  On Monday, we were contacted by someone wanting to see the house.  We have sort of been back and forth about putting effort into selling it now, but we figured a showing couldn't hurt, so we scheduled to show the house at 5:30 on Thursday (today).  The problem was that the house was not exactly spic and span, given my exhaustion and nausea of late, so we needed to get things done on Tuesday, Wednesday and this morning, despite my disposition.  Tuesday, I was fairly productive, though much was still left to be done.  Tim spent most of his free time Tuesday cleaning up in the basement, as it had gotten wet over the weekend and he had started the clean-up, but not completed it.  Yesterday (Wednesday), I got my normally scheduled Wednesday chores done in the morning, but got a pounding headache after lunch and couldn't move, except to race to the bathroom, since my stomach decided nothing was staying down once 2pm came...nothing for the rest of the day.  This made any more productivity on my part pretty much impossible.  Tim managed to prepare dinner before rushing off to t-ball practice with Caedmon, then did the dishes for me after the kids were in bed.  I went to bed with my head still pounding, wondering how in the world I would accomplish my rather long to-do list for today.  I woke up, or rather, was awakened at 6am by Nathanael who refused to go back to sleep, and proceeded to throw-up a few times before I finally did convince him to sleep at 7:30 (he had been nodding off intermittently the whole time).  Since I was up, I got laundry folded and put away and some other odds and ends done; myself, Caedmon and Bethany bathed and headed downstairs for breakfast.  Nathanael woke up again around 9:30, seeming to be feeling better, and I still had some semblance of energy and no real nausea or headache issues to speak of.  I managed to pick up the downstairs, vacuum and mop by the time 11am rolled around.  I bathed Nathanael and decided to go to Subway for lunch, so as to avoid lunch messes.  I was feeling like God was having mercy on me.  Like maybe He was working things out for this showing to be successful.  Then I got home to a blinking answering machine.  The person who was scheduled to look at the house called to cancel.  Of course.  Why would I expect anything different?  I don't know...but I did.  I get angry with myself for hoping.  Some might say my hope was misplaced, but honestly, it's hard to find anything to be hopeful about these days, so I figured maybe God was giving us a break, and I hoped....again.  And I got disappointed...again.  I know that this scenario isn't all bad.  I mean, at least I have a clean house now.  That is a relief.  I'm happy that my kitchen floor, which hasn't been scrubbed in probably a month or more, has now been attended to.  Clutter has been organized and junk has been purged.  But was that the only reason for this?  If so, I kind of wish I'd been given the motivation of having family come visit, instead....at least it would have spared me the disappointment.  I'm tired of being in limbo here.  I hope someday this all makes sense.

I don't usually write about what fills our days around here, so I thought I would ...at least, I have tidbits.  One thing of interest lately has been our discovery that the Newport Plum tree we had purchased last year is fruiting.  We were told it was just a flowering tree when we picked it out, which was what we wanted since having fruit all over the yard wasn't really something we wanted to deal with.  The good news, though, is that it seems the fruit will be edible, so it should be fun to see what it's like.
We have also planted some vegetables in a *small* garden area in our backyard.  We took the path of least resistance and just put seeds in the ground.  A few weeks ago, we planted green beans, onions, corn, beets, and 3 or 4 tomato varieties.  Despite cold weather (no frost though), our plants are showing progress...particularly the beans and beets.  This is exciting for me, since in the past we have tried these two, but always started them indoors in starter trays and they just never survived long enough to be put in the ground.  The corn and tomatoes are growing, too.  I'm not very hopeful for the corn, since I have heard it is not an easy thing to grow, but we did try planting it in clusters this year, which is supposed to aid in pollination, so we'll see.  The tomatoes seem to grow well no matter what we do to them (last year we had thought our plants were destroyed at one point because we got torrents of rain right after we planted them and the plants literally disappeared, but they came back)...this year I think we will need to focus on consistent watering, though, so they don't split.  We also have horseradish, garlic, lemon-basil and dill growing in what has sort of become our "perennial" area around our small garden pond.  I think these are the best because they just grow with little to no effort...though, honestly, it has been a few years since we have taken advantage of our horseradish.  We also have a rosebush that is covered in buds, which is a relief since it only got about 2 or 3 flowers all of last year.  In all, this is really the first year our yard has been at all "put-together", since it has been subject to all of the remodeling and such that has gone on the last 7 years, and as much as I look forward to hopefully having a larger yard with more potential in the near future, it is nice to be able to enjoy what we have now.
As for day-to-day life, I can honestly say not much happens.  I do a lot of sitting.  My kids do a lot of playing and (too much) tv watching.  I usually manage to get the most basic chores done, but not much else.  My stomach seems to be settling slightly, so I am hopeful for more productive days in the coming weeks.  We are also planning on purchasing a small kiddie-pool for (hopefully) a low-maintenance, enjoyable activity for once the weather actually warms up.  Nathanael is in a "tiny-tots fun and fitness" class once a week, and Caedmon will be starting t-ball next week.  I have been looking into signing Bethany up for gymnastics or dance classes, it is just hard to swallow the expense at the moment...perhaps I will find a good deal if I keep searching.
We are not really planning on any "vacations" this year, so as a less expensive, but fun alternative, we are planning to go to Six Flags Great America on Friday this week.  My energy levels are not great at the moment, but usually being outside helps, so I am hoping that a day at an amusement park will be doable.  There seem to be a lot of rides that all of the kids can go on, and if it's warm enough, there is a waterpark, which I know would thrill them.  Plus, it is only an hour away, so there is no need to stay overnight and we can pack a lunch instead of paying the absolutely crazy prices they charge for food.
Tim is still doing what he can to grow the businesses.  We have occasional sales on Etsy, and Tim is working on making a sofa for my parents, which is a completely new venture for him, but one he thinks he would like to add to his offerings.  He is also doing pretty much everything else around here, which makes his free time pretty non-existent.  He even gets up when the kids wake up in the middle of the night, interrupting the already scant 6 hours of sleep he usually ends up trying for.   I honestly don't know what I would do without him.
The prospect of selling our house seems to have fizzled.  The potential buyer, when we last spoke to her, was trying to find financing, since the bank wouldn't approve her for enough for the house.  That was 3 or 4 weeks ago, and our phone calls since then to check on any progress have not been returned.  Oh well.

I guess that's enough of an update for now.  I suppose I should try to accomplish something before noon...though that may only amount to starting laundry...