Sunday, May 31, 2009

Interrupting Cow!

Benadryl-induced funk. That's me. Dizzy and weird hours later.
I had a horrible (but probably funny) allergy attack around 10:30 this morning. I haven't had a bad one in quite a few years! But about two weeks ago, I accidentally took two Zyrtecs (10 mg each!), and my world hasn't been the same since. (I saw one laying out, and thought Ches had left it out for me, but later realized I'd gotten my own out with my vitamin earlier that morning, so I'd already downed the laying-out one. Yes, I have rapid (or short term-) memory loss. And Zyrtec does cause drowsiness. I take naps, but enjoy not having a runny nose. All. Day. Long.) So, for the drowsiness.. I took one measured teaspoon of Children's Benadryl in a little measuring cup (the one that comes on the lid), and passed out. I was making a video of the kids (at their request) of them being generally goofy and silly (6 "chapters" of entertainment, folks!) and almost fell asleep. I couldn't hold my eyelids open. I made a deal with them. If they let me sleep off my Benadryl (time estimate: 30 minutes), they could watch their new video (only 11 minutes). I barely made it to the end of the video, and I was dropping the camera. Ok, fast-forward: I crawled in bed an hour later when Ethan and Ches came back from their bike ride, got up 30 minutes later for lunch, was too dizzy to walk or make sense, or open my eyes, so back to bed, and I just got up-it's 3:30pm!!
So, 1 tsp. Benadryl + 10 mg of Zyrtec = one big lost day!

Except that we're getting ready to go out and swim since Ches has been heating the pool all day! It was down around a chilly 70 degrees, which is out of my swimming range! So, maybe we'll grill and I'll pretend we've had a nice, lazy day outside (except my LaZy took place inside!). Just think of the tan I couldn've had! Well, burn maybe?

Did I mention last week the horror that was church? Ethan being Awful and me holding on to him in the Cry Room (no crawling/walking around if you were naughty!), then sitting in the van (no video, buckled up, and quiet)? Yes, I always keep good, new magazines in the van just for this reason!! Well. I'll say Buck-o learned a lesson last week! This week he was "pretty" good, which is an amazing improvement! I was proud of my little man. I mean, no Indian (Native American?) drumming on his mouth, "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah", no screaming, no yelling, just pretty darn good! He even stood on the kneeler (due to him being height-challenged), and folded his hands together (granted, he DID NOT want me to show him how!), he sat when we sat, and we survived. So, if you need a good way that (might) work for your wayward child (no lawsuits needed here), try sitting in the car with them (in quiet-don't talk to them!, buckled up, motor running-again, no lawsuits!, and no video or toys) for the rest of church. It's agonizing for them (well, there were no tears-it's like he knew he'd been naughty!), but works! Ok, I'll work on fewer parenthetical phrases. It's how I talk, interrupting myself.

Which reminds me of Mary Claire's favorite joke:
Knock, Knock
Who's There?
Interrupting Cow.
Interrupti (Moo!) ng Cow Who?
See moo above.

Ok, it's not so funny in writing. But she interrupts you with a moo while you are asking Interrupting Cow Who? It's so funny! And she always gets the timing right. : ) My smart baby.

Which leads me to my sweetie's video. I uploaded it to YouTube yesterday, and it took over 6 hours! Is that normal? It was over 750mb, so maybe that was it? It's not as clear as my version on iMovie, but good nonetheless. Here is the link, if you haven't seen it yet:

Mary Claire's Video

And for all of you, go to the upper right hand corner of my blog, to the little writing, and click to register to WALK with us in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes!! It is not a hard thing to do (as we always take a short cut that makes us cross the finish nearly first) (hey! we have small children!!), but MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN MY CHILD'S LIFE!! She, first of all, thinks it's a massive party given in honor of her (and it..kinda is). It's the one day she's happy to have diabetes. We have jumpy things, photo ops with Scooby Doo, the Arkansas Razorback mascots, cheerleaders, and last year we had Sponge Bob. There is a ton of free food afterwards (involving the most delicious steamy bun-hot dogs) and chips and drinks, and fruit, and tons of snacky stuff, that they try to stuff into your pockets and bags at the end since they always have way too much! And booths with free stuff and face painting, crafts, etc. But it's all about the cure, and my baby. We raise money to fund research for Type I Diabetes-and we've heard the cure is close. There are tons of trials, transplants with immune-suppressing drugs afterwards, prevention research, good stuff, but we want a CURE! so we can say "Bye-Bye" to insulin and that sweet new pink pump.

Need another link to register to walk with us? heehee : )

Click on these words to register to walk!
and click at the top, Join This Team!

Alrighty, my kiddos are waiting to swim. Good thing my hair isn't all cutsey today. I do hate to mess up a Good Hair Day!

ps-Avoid the Benadryl, if you can help it. (Unless you are watery-eyed, sneezing your head off, looking for an effective inner-eyelid scratcher, itchy-scratchy, and generally useless)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Putting Out Fires

Potatoes blow up! Like popcorn, they can literally blow up-All OVER the inside of your oven! Well, I can tell you this only with the seasoned experience that comes with age (and ignorance?). The "recipe" for the perfect baked potatoes says to wash them, prick each side once, and bake *right on the rack* for an hour at 425 degrees. I've made these tons of times (I mean, at least 30 or 40 times!) and I've NeVeR had one blow up. But then, I must have done something wrong to deserve the horrible mess (and the Worse Mess after someone made a french bread pizza after I forgot to clean up the potato bits, and it was black, crunchy, and stinky!). So, this morning I have cleaned up the yuck (yes, I had put aluminum foil under my burner at the bottom, and I change it every now and again, but there was potato on the ToP, and the SiDeS of the oven!). I had to use gloves and paper towels, and bring the crumb-y dried bits to the front. And then. I found out there is a deep recess between the oven and the door that humans can't reach. And it had stuff in it. Ugh. I brought in the vacuum, but it couldn't get down there. I invented a suction device (also known as wrap your fingers around the hose in the crack so as to limit suction to only a tiny area at a time-hard to describe, huh?), and got it pretty clean. Oh, and the fire. When I discovered the grossness the day before, I reached down with my mitt on, and lifted up the *hot* electric burner thing, to reach under it-Ha! Don't try this at home, ladies and gentlemen. It caught on fire! I don't know what I was thinking. "The gloves are my insurance"? "425 degrees and fabric gloves do indeed mix"? Yeah, well I've learned. My potatoes just might be clad in the foil that the recipe says definitely not to use.

So, this other fire I kinda caused. I am all caught up in my new book, and not letting anyone take advantage, and only living up to my own expectations (and not everyone else's-very liberating, btw), and only doing the things that help my family... you get the idea. Well. I have a wonderful friend (I mean, so sweet, helps everyone, cares, has amazing kids-so she's doing her job, supportive, just a great friend), and she is a great delegator (if there is such a word, and it may end in -er, but it seems closer to senator than leader). Well, I had been feeling like I was more a worker than her confidante, and I was all caught up in my Mom book, so I told her. Mind you, against the advice of my mom and husband (I'd already requested advice since I had feelings and didn't know what exactly to say). Now I get it, but I felt like I should say something BeCaUSe she was such a great friend. I didn't want to harbor icky feelings. I should say I've done this once before, and it didn't work out, but my mind was temporarily blocked from that memory. Anyway, it was yucky, and should not have come out of my mouth, but somehow I like fairness (reciprocity?) in a friendship. ...Well, honestly, I like to indulge my friends in the ways I like to indulge them. Dinner, gifts, clothes, monogramming, time together, etc. I can see now that they don't want what I can give, they want what they need at the time. So I end up feeling like I've given tons (by my choice, sometimes), and gotten less in return. So, back to Square One.
I still want to be friends with her-she's a great person. I think I just needed her to hear me, like I hear her when she's stressed (or she hears me on other days when I'm stressed). It's just hard when it's about yourself, and I get that.

In my Mom book, they say to stop saying that you feel guilty all the time, about going to the gym, reading a book, sitting to watch five minutes of tv, going the the doctor (alone!). But then afterwards, do you REGRET it? If you say no, then No Guilt. So, do I regret saying what I did?

I regret not praying beforehand for the right words. Matthew 18:15 tells us to tell the person, so I was more focused on that liberating bit of scripture than my Psalm 19:14 'Let my words be acceptable to you'. So, yes some guilt. And a fire still burning. Let me get my oven mitts, but let it cool before I lift it up to clean.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Don't Drop By (or take pictures)

Isn't it amazing how a fresh perspective (and a good night's sleep) can change your world?

Wednesday night I found out that Mary Claire had told her teacher that she wasn't coming back next year (ha!), since she was "Going to a new school." Well, I knew I had to get on Damage Control asap! Her teacher is amazing-I mean JUST what you'd want your child to have: patient, someone who's been teaching a while (undefined time, as she's still young), but has great new skills too, she's so sweet, and FuNNy! I mean Mary Claire has really learned! and she loves to got to school, and she cried and missed her while we were in DisneyWorld! So, it was not the image I wanted her to have of us. We love her and would love to have her again. So...I got to talk with her teacher yesterday before and after the party.

She's so positive and reassuring (yes, she's reassuring me!). She thinks I'm being too hard on myself. Her daughters are in public schools, and they are swimming upstream and resisting the current (my words, hers were more like :other kids are dating, wearing curly eyeliner on their faces, but my daughter is green:) I want a Green girl. I don't want her plain ol'
naive (can't find the dotty i anywhere), but I want her strong enough to resist boyfriends (at 7!!! ok, and at 13 too. and even 16.), and crushes, and saying naughty words, and being disrespectful to other parents (or any adult for that matter), and resisting these ugly teenager-y clothes that make her look *sexy* a word she doesn't even know yet (but got written on her Cabbage Patch doll). I want my sweet, pure-hearted baby to be strong on the inside, and compassionate, and a good person (and heck, throw in smart, funny, and beautiful-three she's already figured out). Anyway, her teacher assured me they can put her in a good class with some sweet girls to limit the opportunity to experience the bad while she's in a growth period. I think we'll work on her character, and she'll be fine. I want her strong enough to resist the junk, and maybe she can sway her friends in the process? I've worked so hard on teaching her to be milder, let her company pick the activity, say you're sorry, don't be bossy, clean your room, that I hope I haven't created the problem.

Now for the boy. He's a different story. He's a sweetie, but sometimes I have to dig around inside the hard shell to find the squishy parts. He's hardened up, so I know he'll make it. It takes him time to adjust after he gets home to get in touch with the sweetheart I love, but it's still there. He's learning what I don't want him to know ("daddy's car goes in mommy's garage", and there are all sorts of references to headlights, porchlights, etc.). I am not sure he has a clue what all this means, but at least he comes home to tell me. We are still communicating, so I consider that a positive on my tally sheet.

Anyway, I'm checking out the home school conference that's in town this weekend. There are tons of sessions, but none on deciding what's best for your family. My mom is worried about me. She knows me, and tells me I like to GO (which I do). So, how would it fit in? I'd have to have a day (morning or afternoon?) out for errands. Ches is usually here on Fridays, so he could be with them, or I could schedule someone so WE could run errands. He's checking into another private school. We joke about the uniforms and who has the best (most freedom-I don't like all navy pants/bottoms, I mean navy is the old khaki, ugh. And Mary Claire doesn't look so good in navy, and we love Gymboree). I'm praying about it-I don't have a right answer yet. I'd love for them to go I think, but then you factor in the cost, and you have to like it more than where they are (free, if you don't count my over-$500-month county taxes). I'd love for her to have religious instruction, but we'll see. Does every parent do this? I did it when they were in kindergarten-I thought I was done!

I'm trying out my new re-prioritization: blog, pray, exercise (did I lie about that one?). I'm trying to live less on other people's expectations, and do what I want to do. Which has so far included: hugging on Ethan, cuddling him like a baby, getting him juice, not dressing him yet, painting Mary Claire's toenails (before school!), uploading pictures, eating breakfast, and next...my shower!! I'm just running slow, but having a good day. (ps-maybe I won't make the bed!) But Don't drop by, you Must call first. I'm not living for drop-in company now. So, if you feel the need, you must wear blinders/blindfold/not repeat anything you see/not take pictures/not sell them.

ps-I almost forgot to mention my amazing date/husband/anniversary! We went to PF Chang's for an amazing dinner, then Ches mentioned he wanted to go by Best Buy to look at a camera ('cause he thought I needed one, since I'm so into pictures), and I yelled, "The P90?" And he said, "How did you know which one I wanted to look at?!" and it was love, all over again. We think alike. And he spoils me. He is really knowing me, isn't it great? He got me these really expensive Oakley sunglasses (yes, hot pink!) since they were new, and I wear sunglasses EVERY day (to hold my hair back, and sometimes when driving), and I got all mad when I saw the charge on our checking account, and he said they were for him (hiding the expense), then I found out, and thought it was so sweet (but I don't like them: they catch my hair in the rubber nose thing, and they look super-sporty, but I'm more casual/prep/dressy, so I prefer blingy-glasses-that-I-can-abuse-then-get-new-ones). So, I don't love all my gifts, but I think it's lovely that he tries, and knows me. (He's been hinting at a new bike, so I'm sure he's warming me up to it. Think several thousand dollars. So, my stuff is just a drop in the bucket.) But I love him all the same. Sweet.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rethinking my Parenting

No, I haven't been abducted by aliens (unless they wear cupcake, sports, and backhoe pajamas). I've just been in the midst of a great book! (I Was a Great Mom Before I Had Kids) It's so very real, and even if only in my head, *sorry, had to rescue some "moomies" from Ethan*, I'm learning to lower my expectations (as yucky and stupid as that sounds-a little Homerish?). We have these grandiose expectations that we'll be home and as productive as June Cleaver, but work and be as successful as the women on tv (for only an hour a week...), and we have our own expectations that we'll get dinner on the table, all the rooms will be clean (including bathrooms), our kids will have manners and be extra-smart, my babies will have baths, have the right birthday gifts, we'll have great marriages, etc. You get the idea. I'm actually working with the book, wrote down all my expectations (yes, indeed impossible) and am adjusting. What can I do without? What is just fluff? and the best question: what would you do if you had an extra hour a day? It was hard (well, easy to answer: pray, exercise, and blog), but does that mean I'm leaving the fun stuff out of my day regularly? Am I slaving to do the junk that doesn't matter to me, only to other people? Hmph. I'm still working on me, and I think it'll be for the better! : )

Today is my anniversary. Yay for us! Don't you love dedication? I love that I don't have to second guess my marriage and its stability (well, except for when I'm really whiny and demanding). My husband is so patient and really helps. I'm learning about husbands too in the book. They don't have a clue what we want. They try to tiptoe around to avoid setting off the hairpin triggers (I learned)! I promise to tell him what I need. And we are resolving to spend more time on us, and less on the kids. Sometimes they just rule our schedule. Not this year. We have to be important and strong to keep our family strong.

I've decided to forego the slumber party manual. Number One reason: my mom summed it up in my last post comments. Number Two: time has elapsed and the stress is leaving my body. Number Three: you have to experience it to understand. No amount of me telling you shall help. Suffice it to say that you need sleep (beforehand, Silly, there'll be none that night), lots of food and drinks, lots of activities (lest they tell you how "Boring" this is, or how "Bored" they are, and ask "What are we doing NOW?"), and have a set, and understood, time for them to go home. You will be crushingly sleep deprived and full of stress, again. Enough said.

We are rounding out the school year, we have today, tomorrow, and Monday as our last days of school (who has a last day on a Monday, really?). The kids are ready, and I think I'm ready. After the slumber party, and along with other things my kids shouldn't know, I'm considering home schooling. I have checked out some curriculum and texts, and of course, I have a degree for it. I don't like what they are learning (oh, sure, their teachers are great!) from the kids at school. They know too much and our dinner conversation last night consisted of the word A-S-S. We had to explain the meaning (which they knew), and Clay explained how a kid at school told him, and was pointing to it in a horse (non-fiction, of course) book. It's stuff like this all the time. I just don't know what they'll learn in another two or three years. They have had an amazing experience at their school, their teachers have all been the best, so it's not that (and I love that I can get my hair done with no babysitter required...). I just care about the humans they'll be in 10 years. and 20. and beyond. I want them to know about compassion and respect (which Clay is losing at an alarming rate) and honor. I think I'll teach them this summer while Ches is working and we'll see how it goes.
They want me to teach them, but they don't understand it's not all fun and games. It could be old hat by July, and they'll want rid of me! But, we'll make an effort, and see how it could be. Maybe I could use the devotion and dedicated time to my kids. I just know I've only got 10 and 11 years with them before they go to college. I want to give them my best. I just have to figure out what that is.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Manual. To Be Continued.

Well. I'm going to write a manual on Having a Slumber Party. I now have Experience. As a mom-host. I have to balance my checking account. I'll be back with you shortly. It's been three months, and it's calling my name. : )

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Who can you help (me help) today?

There's this blue house that I always see on the way to the kids' school. And I want to change their lives. I think it's a single mom and maybe an older daughter. I've never met them, but I admire that they just keep plugging away at life. They must not have a lot of liquid cash to keep up their house, or I think they'd do it. They work (or go to school) since their cars are gone everyday. They have a clothesline, and just need help. The windows are not good, and the siding is falling apart. I just think they need someone to care, help out, and make it better. I could pay for some of it, and maybe I'll get some help? I can landscape, paint, but I can't put in the windows. I still have to talk to them! I'm kind of nervous to just drive up and tell them I want to help (especially since they aren't asking!). I wonder who they are, and if I know them. Will it change (help?) them? Will they get mad or embarrassed?

They just live in this area with all these nice houses, and I have compassion for them. It'd be tough to look at all the niceness around them, and then walk into your own home. Heck, I've probably got enough stuff to decorate two houses! : )

Ok, let's get this crusade started. : ) Who can use a shovel or a paintbrush? (Or install windows?)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Do cuter pillows make sleepier girls?

My dishes are happier now! I have gotten Cascade, dishwashed the waiting ones and I had to hand wash the breakfast dishes! But better, much better! : )

We have a slumber party coming up, and I got an awesome suggestion to make pillowcases as their craft/take-home gift. I ran into Target today (yes, collision), and couldn't decide between white (plain, like white undies) and the turquoise! I bought both and thought I'd let Mary Claire decide! I got some hot pink fringe at Hobby Lobby, and I'll edge the end seam in it, and monogram the 'cases with their first names in hot pink. Then I got some fabric markers for them to sign/draw/write on them (dark turquoise, hot pink, green, and purple). I had NO plan since Mary Claire has planned her own party, but I had a sweet mom call to rsvp, and what a great idea! It's really all I'm doing (except, I have to remember to order the cake...and get Mary Claire a sleeping bag!) Making a list...

I'll be at Bunco tonight, but then...it's pillow-decorating! I'll post pix if it goes well.. : )


Monday, May 18, 2009

No hand-washing for me-it might age my hands even more!

Well, the last *missing* blog may never be recovered...still having trouble with the text (on the injured computer)!
So, life moves on! Today was a nice ketchup day! I scaled mountains of laundry and rediscovered my house (and the insides of my suitcases...). It's always a cleaning frenzy, and I like it. I cleaned out my yucky pantry. Every time I opened the door it freaked me out-just piles of stuff! So, it's all better now. : ) We have to quit shopping at Sam's! You have to have a BIG pantry to store multiple boxes of big snacks and drinks! And we do NOT. Someone must quit overbuying there. Seriously. Or his membership card might accidently get revoked... : )

Ches got the new 44 cent stamps today-and the little baby is just sucking like crazy on her paci, and it reminds me of Ethan! (I googled, and it's Maggie!) She looks annoyed, like she's daring anyone to take her pacifier. That's my boy! We had weaned him down to his paci (didi as he calls it) only at nap and bedtime, but his last illness upped his need (and geez! ours too!), so we are back to full time sucking. : (
He told us tonight (again..), "Big Boy Bed!" We keep telling him about his big bed, but truth be told, I'm not ready. It just seems like letting go of the baby bed makes him big. I have to mentally prepare first! I have physically prepared: I've gotten his new bedding-right before Christmas, I think? and he will probably use Clay's old bed (well, Clay's second big boy bed!). Ches is ready, but my theory is to leave them in the baby bed till they are climbing out-I guess it makes for better Saturday mornings? heehee

Ok, so my hands are okay..I'm focusing on another body part today. Or maybe the whole middle-ish part! I think it's all the eating out? It can't be for lack of exercise-I walked daily every day for the past few days!

Off to bed for me-the kids are getting up super-early, Florida-early. Ethan was up at 5:50, and Mary Claire was up by 6:25! So, I'm tired. Bunco tomorrow, so I'll try for a nap tomorrow afternoon! : )

Oh-did I mention my dishwasher is FuLL? And I just went to the store today? And there's no more Cascade? I think it's one of those things you don't realize is gone until you need it. So, back to WM again tomorrow.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

I'm home, safe and sound (but my laptop isn't)

Blah, blah. Know you don't need griping as much as I don't.
I totally wrote yesterday, and had a ton more pix to load, but my computer died in Florida. The battery no longer works (and it reset to December 31, 1969-which I can't understand since computer's weren't even invented then! But happy birthday, Mom!) and the internet wouldn't connect. I stayed up until 11:50 last night on the phone with the HotAir (their wireless service) tech guy, and he was going to have to send it to a supervisor....so, I said, "Forget it, I'm going to bed!" So, all the typing, all the pix? stuck on the other computer. Maybe I'll play with it more tomorrow. I'm tired. But home! Yay! : )

ps-My hands are looking older. When does it happen? Is it overnight? I don't remember that from yesterday. Maybe it's that awful light over my computer?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Birthday in Animal Kingdom, and Wild Ones!

Well.
Disney has seen US! Today was my sweet baby girl's birthday, and we had fun! She got to choose ALL day...We went to WM early this morning so she could pick a cake, and she chose cupcakes with buttercream frosting and butterfly rings on top! Woohoo! more groceries, then home to pick up Ches and Clay..
Then to Animal Kingdom, have Rainforest hold the cupcakes, get signed in for her *birthday*! (If you've registered in advance for your birthday, you can choose free one day pass, Fastpass all day-my choice!, or a $63 Disney gift card for the shops) and she chose the gift card so she could buy a Cinderella's Castle! So, we went into Dinoland, USA, played in the Boneyard play area, then rode the Triceratops Spin (or Twirl? it goes around..), then headed toward the Rainforest Cafe for our noon reservation. They got to watch the fish, we got a booth (for Ethan to get exercise, apparently!), and ordered. They came and sang Happy Birthday to Mary Claire, and brought her an ice cream sundae with a candle-which really made her smile! Then we requested the cupcakes we'd brought in, so the waitress dressed them up on a plate! : ) Another big smile! She was on cloud nine!
We separated and Ches took Ethan to the safari and the train, and we went to get Fastpasses at Expedition Everest, only to discover it (fastpass) was closed. Mary Claire really wanted to ride (to redeem herself after last year's crying, maybe?), so we WaiTeD! for 65 minutes. It wasn't so bad, but I was really wishing for those fastpasses! We'd gotten fastpasses (no line needed, BTW) to Dinosaur the ride, but they were for 11:55-12:55, the entire time we were in the restaurant!! So, no Dinosaur this time.
Then we walked, had drinks, left, came back to the hotel for naps. When we were all rested, we swam, got dressed, and headed to Magic Kingdom for the Wishes fireworks! It was great again this year. The newest? Heart-shaped red designs (shapes?) in the fireworks! So cute. There was a fairy godmother shape with wings that Clay really liked too.
We stopped in the Emporium and got a few little things/gifts. The kids had such trouble deciding, and then Mary Claire decided to get the little red Minnie heart-shaped suitcase with stamps, paper, etc. inside. She decided against the castle. ? We were trying to talk her into letting us ship the castle home so we didn't have to take it on the plane, and she knew she couldn't play with it till we got back, so maybe that was it? I just agreed, and she was happy. She can be very easy to get along with when she wants!
Clay, on the other hand, has been very difficult. He's obnoxiously loud, he totally splashed Mary Claire in the face-about 12 times in a row (so she couldn't catch her breath), then yesterday, reached over and squeezed Ethan's hand, and popped his knuckles (and made him cry), and did the same thing to Sissy today. ugh. Why can't he be nice? He is having trouble controlling himself. He's been ultra loud, and he revs up the other kids. There's not a lot to take away (punish him with) when you are in DiSNeY! So, it's been hard. He just doesn't seem to care. Ethan has been very good, doesn't complain, sits in his stroller, and generally seems to be happy to be along for the ride. I really thought he'd stress me out, and complain about being hot, but not once. He gets a little restless before he needs to nap, but is otherwise fine. I know it's a phase, and we are on vacation-it'll be okay when we're back at home, and everything's back in our control.
Speaking of, last night was so nice-it rained for a while, and we came to the room, ordered pizza and got to spend time together since there were no toys (grown up or kids' toys) to distract us. It was just nice. Makes you wonder how it'd be to have not "stuff" in their rooms or even ours. And Mary Claire and Ethan are sharing a room, and doing fine. They went to sleep immediately tonight!
Alrighty, more photos will be below, and we have more fun to come! : )

ps-don't you think that the bath/body bar of soap in a hotel is exactly the same as the facial bar, just a different size?

pps-My new favorite Bath & Body scent is White Citrus! It's awesome, clean, fresh, and aahhh amazing. : ) Does it help that the sales lady massaged the sample into my hands? I just washed my feet, and they feel so refreshed! So that's why Jesus did it! : ) What an amazing feeling.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

BiG Improvement!! -No Nose Tic-Tacs Today!

Disney got put on hold for a day... We went to Seaworld today! Our entire purpose was to let Ethan see the dolphins since he does such a great (noise) impression. But, he kicked and balked-and was having NO dolphin show. We did get to see the baby dolphins, so maybe that was enough.
And did I mention it was HoT? I mean sweat dripping down my back-and farther. Ick. So gross, and it just made everyone irritable. Mary Claire couldn't wait to see Shamu, so that's all we heard about, Clay was hot and wanted to tell us where to go constantly, and Ethan was pretty good. He fell asleep right before the Shamu show and slept for almost two hours! Ches watched him in the (leaned back) stroller before and during the show, then I watched him (and almost fell asleep) while he took the kids to play in Shamu Land (or some cutesy equivalent). We couldn't ride the big roller coasters because the kids had to be at least 54 inches. Whatever. There was nothing big and cool for them to ride! I mean, I'm not ThAT much taller than that! So, it was totally not worth $280 for our five hours of heatstroke and some dolphin/killer whale action. Ugh. And tomorrow they'd like to go to Universal Studios!! What happened to our Disney trip?? I'm getting side-railed! But then, I'd LOVE to see La Nouba (Cirque de Soleil) one night. I wanted to go last year, but it just didn't happen. This year it'd be tough with Ethan. He wouldn't watch, so it have to be without him or not at all (pretty likely at this point!).

So, today no nose tic-tacs, but a little blowing on the (hotel room) vacuum attachment (full mouth)-and only God knows where it's been. Really.
And not as much stress, and we're up one pizza as Flippers brought the wrong order. But the garlic bread they sent on accident was absolutely wonderful and worth the trouble!!

Maybe Disney tomorrow-it's Mary Claire's bday (Big 7!), and she has chosen Animal Kingdom. Call me Surprised! : O I'll post you some pix of our birthday celebration. : )

ps-follows are some pix from today-less exciting, but our day, nonetheless. : )

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Guess what? Nap Over.

Well, Mickey Mouse invited us back to his place, and what could we say but, “Sure!” We just love this place, and? We LoVE all the tiny Mickey rhinestone and silver jewelry (sterling!).

Last night, we’d decided to go on to Branson, stay the night (do a tiny bit of outlet shopping!), spend the night, and not have to get up too early to drive to the airport (in Springfield, MO). Well, after all the storms and all the last minute things (kids’ toothbrushes, everyone’s vitamins and Zyrtec, sippy cups, shorts, one more set of clothes for everyone….), we didn’t leave till 7pm! So, we weren’t going to make it to Branson till 9-after the kids’ bedtime, and no time to outlet shop! : ( So, we cancelled the reservation (another story altogether), and went home. Bathed the kids, got them to bed, I did last minute cleaning up, and went to bed about 12:30.

Cancelling: When you call (AFTER *key word here* making the reservation), and report that you no longer need the room. Our reservation for our hotel in Branson, made at 4:30pm on Tuesday (ok, a little last minute) said our card would be charged unless we cancelled the reservation by Monday, May 11 at 9pm. Umm..okay. So, I’ll cancel before I make it next time, and in some alternate universe (with a time warp!) it’ll work itself out just fine. On Earth, where I live, we do things in OrDeR! So, I explained, and she promised not to charge us (for being freaks canceling 2.5 hours after the reservation was made). Bonus? The kids heard us on the phone, thought we weren’t going at all, and totally Yes Ma’am’ed us all the way home, and straightened themselves right up! Cha-ching! : ) (and now feeling $110 on the positive side of the trip!)

We (I ) got up at 5, showered, got everything ready (AND made my bed!!), then got the kids up, ate and hit the road.

Let’s skip the plane ride since there was lots of wanting to get up, snacks, cheese-y fingers (Ches brought Cheetos for Ethan. How sweet.), ordering of the snack packs (which included color-on cookies), and general loud talking.

Here, got rental car/SUV, managed to wrangle the kids inside, and off on a hunt for food! By the time we’d pulled into Chili’s parking lot, Ethan had just fallen asleep! Clay jumped out, started his Loud Talking, and SlaMMeD the door! Guess what? Nap over.

We ate with the usual: Ethan standing (no, really.) at the booth, not eating much, climbing over the booth seat (we didn’t know anyone there, so it didn’t go on our record officially) and therefore getting a naughty chair timeout, Clay “not hungry”, Mary Claire needing to go to the bathroom, Clay needing to go to the bathroom, Ches shoveling his food in an effort to finish to take Ethan to the car so I could eat, finishing alone, getting to-go cups, paying, Ches texting to get in the car very quietly since Ethan was already asleep (poor baby, missing his nap!), the kids kinda listening to me, me losing a straw for my drink, finding it in the parking lot (and using it-hey! It had the wrapper on it!), and driving on. If we paid for it, it counts as a meal, or I’d swear I didn’t eat.

We made it to the hotel, and got her insulin pump (guess you missed out on that one!).
*Ok, I was so panicked, freaked out, and crazed, I didn’t have time to blog/catch up yesterday. We had a big scare-Mary Claire’s pump got a #21 Error which is bad: it cleared all of our data off: her bolus ratios for eating, her basal (the constant infusion of insulin she gets), her correction ratios (for when she’s high), everything!!!
So, panicked, I checked her out, took Ethan up to nap, got all her info and started to reprogram the pump by hand. I called back in to the helpline, and they got a loaner pump in the mail to us. Bad news: we were leaving for Florida at 6am! So, I gave them our resort address, and they shipped it there (hindsight: 20/20-it worked out fine, and it was here before we were). But, they said once you get this error, it’ll continue to happen, and it had to be destroyed. Umm, okay, so I’ll wear it another whole DAY till the other one gets here. Aarrgh.

So, THEN, we find out that the warranty is up (knew this was coming),and that our insurance pays for one every five years (this coming August), so we have to petition the insurance company, and when the agree, we meet our deductible ($750) and pay 80% of the pump. But (tiny Good News!), they now have PINK! So, when she gets it in a couple weeks or so, she’ll be on cloud nine! : ) It couldn’t cost that much more to make pink plastic, but it’ll be priceless on all the little girls I know! : )

Ok, tired, there’s more, but later.
Wal-Mart for groceries, loads of police cars, ambulances, sheriff’s cars. Downtown Disney: shopping, Lego store, princess stuff, bracelets and charms, Ches-no cell phone on his body, and the AweSoMe T-Rex store/restaurant!!

I’ll post a few pictures, but obviously, I’ll have a billion, so I’ll try to limit it…
From WDW, Holly (ok, that sounds very reporterly. and official.)

*added later:
Ok, I guess I should comment on the strange photos in the slide show below.
Kids eagerly watching the plane being cleaned before we board.
Ethan calm
Ethan sticking tic-tacs up his nose
(then getting one stuck, screaming, me digging it out-sorry, no photo)
More plane photos
Our AMaZiNG hotel (resort?) room!! Three floors of entry, living, kitchen, dining, our room and big bath, kids' room and big bath, full laundry (I should say full-size washer and dryer!), and another flight of stairs to another living area/game room with foozball (can't spell this one) and air hockey! Suh-weet! : )
Pictures at TRex restaurant/store
Pix with red Lego T-Rex (again-we'll see how much he's grown?)
France (if it were made of Legos)
and Ethan, "PLaY!"
and I've been trying out a new Bath & Body Clean Well product: No Alcohol-All Natural Germ Killer. It uses plant extracts and I chose Spearmint Lime scent (just smells cleaner), and the kids don't scream when it burns their boo-boos. It's a spray and it's tiny, but has about 250 sprays inside (hiding and compacted, of course).

Monday, May 11, 2009

Look Mom-No Cavities! : )

Today was my dental cleaning-not exciting. Don't think you remember the filling I had last winter to refill a tooth that'd been filled in..like 10th grade? It'd finally worn away. I had a horrible experience and the dentist was NoT nice. Well, I went back because my dental hygienist (who vaporized for two years-but is back!) was there and I just love her. She didn't know about the trauma (since she WaSn'T THeRe!) so I had to tell her (And boohoo the entire time). Anyway, it was yuck and brought up gross memories again. So, emotional, I went to Target and shopped. It was slightly therapeutic. : ) I have been needing to get Ethan some summer shoes-especially for our trip-it'll just be too hot to wear socks and shoes down there! And I want him to be able to play in the little water fountains, and socks and shoes just slow you down! : ) Anyway, I got three pairs, hoping one would fit (just one did). I also got all the things I needed from WM (at Target), but I was just too lazy to walk around that big store today! As it turns out, I had to run in there (WM) anyway to get this green stretchy tape stuff to tie our wisteria onto the pergola! It's growing so fast, I can't contain all the vine-y things!
: O
I brought home all the plants I got, and Mary Claire and I planted after school. Ches and Clay went to the movies (Battle for Terra), so they were gone all afternoon. We've had a late dinner, and played outside. I love it when we get to summer! It's all outside, lazy, and super-casual. My favorite is laying by the pool in the evening (then I want to fall asleep), but with Ethan, it's not quite that easy! We'll settle for dinner on the deck and some great playing on the Park! : )
I finished my Jen Lancaster book today-very good! She's just hilarious. I can see why she's made it this far. You go, girl!

We are getting ever closer to our trip, and we are just about ready. The kids are wishing it was Tuesday night, but by Sunday, they'll be wishing it was Saturday! Hard to explain to them. So, I tell them to take it one day at a time-be patient. Mary Claire has already packed a bag for Bella (you know, the unicorn who wears clothes and a diaper?), and wants to carry it on in case she needs it (should I ask if my 6-year-old has flown too much? I didn't fly till I was 19!). And she is checking her suitcase with Thumbelina in it, although she'd like to carry it on too. There is just an issue with a little girl who lives in a big flower, all the glitter, and security! She hardly plays with the things she takes, but somehow it's like home when she's there, which is what she needs.

I'm getting ready to mail her slumber party invitations! She's so excited, and am I delaying? It makes me tired to think about it! I know I can do it. We'll have so many things planned
(well, really MC has done the planning!), that I think it'll fly by! She also wanted to swim, but I don't know how we'll have time-unless we truly don't sleep that night! I've made her narrow her invitation list, since I don't know how it'll go-I mean won't more girls just give the party more energy? Ahhh!! If you have a strong personality, and don't need much sleep, feel free to stop by and HeLP on the 22nd! : ) And maybe bring a pillow?

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day (and one whoopie cushion)

Ahh, what a great day. Can't say it was anything out of the ordinary-me trying to get the kids to clean their rooms, put away their laundry, cooking and cleaning, it's just that if I take a whole day off, I'm behind! But still fun, and a good day. Just fun to see all the neat stuff the kids got together for me! Art, drawings, cards, playdoh signs (what other word to use here?), and they were so excited! Clay even wanted me to have a seat to look at all his neat stuff for me (I found out it was so I'd sit on his new whoopie cushion!). They had fun with it. Ethan had no clue, and just wanted me up to feed him!!

Mom and Dad got to come over for a super casual lunch! It was fun! We got to eat and play outside and push the kids down the hill in the wagon repeatedly. I took some video of the glides down, maybe I can load them below? If I do, you'll have to press play to get them to run. I've never tried it, so if you don't see them, know it was just too much tonight! : ) Dad installed my nifty magazine holder this afternoon-I just love it!! I'll try to place a pix over to the right. It's polished nickel, and kinda looks like a towel rack. It has five arms that swivel out to you, so you can load it down with heavy (with ads) magazines! It really will clean up that stack of mags on my floor that make it hard to mop (well, when that actually happens!). I'm excited-I love it! Him putting it up was probably the best Mother's Day gift-I sure don't think it would've happened! I was worried about placement-it was going to have to hit a stud to support all that weight! And, that gets complicated.

This afternoon, we all laid down for a nap, then we got everyone up to go to church at 5:15. We redressed (to match of course!), and got out the door on time. When Ches drove up to drop me and the kids off, there was a big sign that said, "No 5:15 Mass". What? So, Ches got a bulletin and we think it's because there was an extra First Communion Mass this afternoon at 2:30. Maybe it's just too many masses this weekend. So, since we were all together and dressed, Ches took us to Chili's to eat. It was ok-it's no longer my favorite place to eat (too many times, I guess?) so I just share fajitas with Ches. I'm not even into their salsa anymore (Sam's is WaY better!), so we tried to keep Ethan with us as long as possible, then Ches took him to the van while I paid. It was average, I tell ya! Story of my days. I missed going to church, and I was just telling Mary Claire about it being my responsibility to make sure Clay makes it every week. And I fell down on the job. (Granted, it really wasn't my fault. We tried.)

I'm into my 4th load of laundry (some of it is prewashing before we head to Disney (on Wednesday!!-new clothes are just scratchy when you are sweating!), and I cleaned up the kitchen and hearth room after the kids went to bed. Lunches are made for tomorrow, and the kids got their baths. I laid out all their clothes (to match each other of course!), shoes, bows, pump pouches, bike shorts (for under dresses), swimsuits, undies, etc. I'm glad I started earlier this time! I felt very behind and rushed before we went to Nashville. I like to have them match so I get great pictures of them while we're there! I'm planning to take a group pix of the kids and either send out Disney cards for Christmas or maybe have some beach pix taken this July/August at the beach. We'll see which ones turn out better! : ) Ethan is also growing up so fast now, he may look different in another couple of months.


I just turned my calendar to next week, and I'm shocked to see my dentist (cleaning) on tomorrow-I had completely forgotten! That means I'll have to miss Baby Bookworms AGAiN! It's been about a month since I've been! I hate that. It's so fun. They still haven't found my Farm book-so I'm not happy! It is not with me, and I'm just sure I turned it in! What to do? I'm sure they'll want me to pay for it. I'll consider it payment for all the fun baby bookworm classes, I guess.

Ok, to put my clean sheets on my bed, and work on reading more of my great Jen Lancaster book!! Ahh, she's so funny! : )

Friday, May 8, 2009

Plastic is Gone! Much Rejoicing Ensues! : )

What a day! And can I say I'm relieved!! : ) This morning was chaos-I had to reach behind the plastic for their vitamins, and to write her lunch note, and then go under to the hearth room where the kids were already up watching tv, then out of the plastic to get Mary Claire's meter to check her, then back up the dangerous plastic-coated stairs to get them some clothes for the day, then down to dig through the plastic for some bowls and behind more plastic for cereal, then Ches had cut ahole in plastic to get through to the refrigerator, then under the plastic wall to the breakfast table, then out to get Ethan's medicine and mix it into a drink, then back through the plastic to get their backpacks out and loaded, then back to brush their hair, then in the gross Plastic Chaos, I left her lunch note at home! I sheltered Ethan in the bedroom, started getting myself around, and then the sky was Dark and Ominous-a storm was moving in!!

Soon after darkness hit, I got a call from Mary Claire's teacher that they had canceled the field trip, and were in SHELTER! There had been tornado warnings farther north with lots of damage, and so it was a precaution. They had all of first grade in one room at the beginning of the hall. It was quite fun as Mary Claire reported! : ) Crowded, but fun!

Then, I got worried to leave-I mean DArkNeSS was here! So, I stayed and we goofed off with Ethan (code for Chased Him Down repeatedly, and brought him Back to the Bedroom). He had his bath (until he started slinging the WET washcloth up against the window and wall). Then we moved our carpet party of snacks and wetness to the office and he pigged out on raisins, nuts, blueberries and cheese-things we could get to in the kitchen! Then they moved the ladders and Ches had to go around the front of the house to put the big cheese block into the garage fridge so it didn't go bad.

Next, more fun ensued. Ethan pranced around, played ball, and looked for Trouble (his best friend). He danced over into the corner, and danced ON my picture frames, and Surprise, Surprise, he broke the glass, and cut his foot. (My day just gets better and better.) So, we did the run to the sink and wash it, then the band-aid party (Lightning McQueen, of course), then a tickle fest to get his mind off it, then finally, after we were all cabin-fevered, we went Out. Our favorite! We put shoes on (to hold the band-aid in place), and tromped off to (can't believe my spell check let that one through!) Target for Clay's friend's gift, my friend a gift card, to spend my $10 gift certificate to JCPenney's (bought a new Yankee Candle!), then to pick up Ches a pizza at Guido's since I was going out to lunch with Jen! Well, after I had towalk in and get it, I was HuNGrY for Guido's, so after getting home, getting them settled and (NEWSflash: the plastic was down!!) cleaning up the piling dishes all over the house since we couldn't get to the kitchen sink, I met Jen, lunched, then picked up the kids, got Clay ready for his FiRsT sleepover (maybe that's why I'm staying up so late tonight-are they going to call?) which involved wrapping a present, making a card, repairing his sleeping bag (sewing and zipper repair), washing him a pair of jeans (well, I haven't exactly been able to get back there!), and making him pack underwear (I told him to twice, then he told me he had them, but when I went thru his bag, there were NoNe! Boy. As in NOT a girl.)

Okay, fun continued with the Cleaning Frenzy. Vacuuming, cleaning up GeoTrax, wiping down all the paint dust. Ick. Then I ran down, moved to FB and blog, and now I'm expiring....

But. I'm reading the bEST book! It's Jen Lancaster's new book, Pretty in Plaid, and she's hilarious as usual!! The girl scout parts are the best!! I can totally identify, and it IS all about the badges! : ) heehee

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bathroom Scare!

I'm trying to use the word okay less often, so bear with me. We ran errands today-Target, Sam's, Home Depot.. and guess where my baby was the most excited? Is he a boy, or what? He loved the tractors! He was in Heaven over in the spreaders and push mowers (if you can imagine. Anything with wheels), and then-heehee-he was on Cloud Nine! He just had to try one out! I snapped a picture, since he was just plum gleeful! : )
Here's his daddy wanting to snuggle in the happiness:

or not. I couldn't get it to go where I wanted. Bummer. I'll post it over to the side. Give me another year or two and I'll have it all knocked out.

We had to leave the house this morning. It was just not livable (that looks dumb. Live-able). Well, unless we hid out in my room. But, geez that got old by the time Dora was going off. We took to the streets, and left the workers alone. Funny, how in the beginning you don't want to be here alone and want two people here minimum. Then, you gradually are okay (#2) with taking a NAP with them here, then you just up and leave! They are very nice and seem trustworthy. They are pretty quiet (oh-except for the crazy noise I just heard-a paint mixer or something? sprayer?). That was like fate (my life), say it and it's over! Anyway (the next word I promise to strike from my vocabulary), we left and headed out to spend some time (and money). I went into Target only to return something, but left with three or four bags. How does that happen? And I pulled off a whole long strip of price markers (and Price Cut sticking-out thingies) trying to get to my peanut butter crackers. I stood on the edge of the bottom shelf (for I'm height challenged, but make up for it in other ways) and held on to the shelf edge at about my head (or what I thought was metal) and the entire strip and all the thingies went flying like confetti. It was NOT my birthday, and I couldn't get them all back on! Maybe they'll watch the cameras and place the peanut butter crackers lower? Yeah, didn't think so!

Then we went to Sam's (also supposed to be a quick trip), and stayed for ever: food, soap, pizza, etc. And had another exciting moment! Ethan again told me, "Peepee!" and grabbed himself. Then we did the "thing" we do: he grabs my neck and we RUN to the bathroom! We made it, got him on the toilet (after running in on someone in the Family Bathroom-the door was Unlocked in my defense) and he played with the trash can, wiped himself, then tried to open the door with his pants off! We got him back together (as I was scared to death the toilet was going to do the automatic flush thing with me squatted, face wayyy to close to the toilet water!), then we washed. There was a low sink, not for kids, but for wheelchairs, I'd guess. He enjoyed the washing, and could almost reach alone. Then while I was finishing washing, he reached toward this innocent looking piece of countertop, and SSSSSHHHHHH!!! He freaked out! It was an air dryer, and it was LOUD! It was blowing at his face-level, and it was just all too much. He started crying, and it was over. We went back to Ches, and he buried his head in his daddy. I hope this is not the end of bathroom-love.
Ps-No. No peepee went into the toilet today. At least not yet. But you never ignore a "peepee".

Gotta pick the kids up and enjoy the SuN! : )

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

God's not ready to call me home just yet.

Hmm..Today my tiny son brought me a caulking gun. Tells of what's going on at our house! The painters are still in knee deep (and 22 ft. shoulder deep too) and are getting it done. They did the foyer yesterday and I was so unhappy and got all worked up about it, but it's working out. They put Kilz over the water stain and then painted it, and it has a different sheen than the rest of the ceiling-so obvious! I wanted no Kilz on it, but either he didn't understand, or I don't know-a misunderstanding? He's doing the whole celing in Kilz then repainting. The color formula was changed in Nov of 2008, so it wasn't even the same exact color-the ceiling looked darker than the walls (further throwing me into hissy-fit mode). Again, it's going to be okay, but I wouldn't let him proceed with the kitchen/living room/stairs/walls until he got the color matched okay and promised no more Kilz. He did, so procedure tomorrow....
So today was Mary Claire's room and ceiling. Ugh. I asked them not to put anything back up on the walls or ceililng (yesterday they took down those stupid stars/planet things ticky-tacked to Clay's ceiling *Insert Expletive Here for The First Time they got put up* and then PUT THEM BACK UP! after they painted OVER the ticky-tack!). Again, today I said not to put the junk (stars! stickers! etc.) back up on Mary Claire's walls or ceiling when they were done. Can you guess? They did, of course, put it all back, and not quite in the right places. I could've SCREAMED when I walked in there and found her paper chain (scrapbook paper in pink toile, solid light and dark pink cardstock, and pale lime scrapbook polka dot and cardstock-not hideous, very PB!) poked back into the ceiling and not in the measured spots where it's lived for three years! They apparently pulled out the tacks, laid them somewhere (painting over the reminder holes, I guess?) and then attempted to "redecorate" with them. It looked like Mexican Fiesta. Crazy. Some were hanging low, some poked way higher (on a sloping wall). It was awful. So now we have NeW, CRooKeD holes! ahhhh!! I don't do well with change, maybe? Or gross mess up changes? Now the chains look uncool.

I will live through this $4500 change (don't freak out, of course it's insurance money), I will live, I willl live. There are more important things in the world. Remind me if you see me of all the other problems in your world. Mine won't look so awful.

Okay, so Ethan. STiLL sick! BAck to the dr. after two long nights up with him with fever. We have started ear drops (Ciprodex for his tubes), and yesterday morning he woke up with dried yellow drainage all over (good news, meaning his tube unclogged and let all the fluid out). Well, not good enough news. He had a double ear infection, and both ear drums were bulging. Even WITH the tubes for drainage (or not.). So now he's on Omnicef for 10 days (we'll be in Disney in 7...), has to use his Ciprodex for 7 days, and use his inhaler four times a day for 7 days. Ahh, good times.

My very good news: I got to play outside, clean the pool deck-sweep and hose down all the nasty oak pollen stringy things, and rearrange furniture-it was so cleansing! And I even let the kids put on their swimsuits for the first official time this season and swim (yes, granted, in the polar water), but they were entertained (well, along with the creepy poop and toot jokes that Clay currently thinks are all the rage), and I got lots done! THen, even better, I laid out, and fell asleep! It was so relaxing! Then ...
My SCARE! I woke to Ethan standing next to me with his hand on mine. I woke with a start, started mumbling (in an attempt to think out loud how he was OUTside!), remembered that we turned the beepy thing off the alarm since the kids were opening/closing the door so much and were going to wake him up, wondered where on Earth Ches was! not watching our baby, tried to figure out how he got out of his bed, then felt his diaper to see if it was changed (did Ches get him out?), then was freaking out over the possibility that he'd walked out on his own, and how did God protect him and keep him from deciding to go for a swim (I mean, Ethan and water? like pb and j!) and then I looked around to see Ches on the other side of the pool snickering. Yes, giggling as he could see I was clearly about to have a heart attack in the 10 seconds all this was going through my head! He'd brought Ethan out and stood him by me (knowing I was out cold), then when I didn't wake up for FiVe minutes, he put Ethan's hand on mine, then walked off. Enter me-crazed and panicked. Ethan just sat calmly in my lap for a good 15 minutes as he woke up too. For that, Ches had to make dinner. I was clearly not in a Happy Place. I still feel all freaked out.
I let Ethan put on his swimsuit and put his feet in (he, being smarter than the other two, knew that if the feet are freezing, you should not put more of your body in!), while Ches grilled.

So...I must not have high blood pressure or tons of cholesterol, or God's not ready to see me up close yet, because I didn't have a heart attack and die today!! I'm alive to live another day. I hope I live an amazing day tomorrow, cause I consider it a gift! A Bonus in the cereal box of life!

Ok, so baths, stories, and I'm more tired than the kids! I read to them for over an hour (it just flew by!) and I'm headed to bed early. I've decided I need it once a week to catch up after all my midnight nights. They are SO productive, but then I get worn down. (I made a wreath last night, vacummed, dusted, did three loads of laundry, mopped the kitchen, cleaned my desk, cleaned my bathroom, cleaned up the wreath mess, rearranged the hearth room and rehung pictures all after the kids went to bed last night-and I had a coffee, heehe). That shall NOT happen tonight! : ) G'night!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Don't YOU need a new hot pink purse?

Well, I was quite productive! I had the runaround to deposit a check in the bank (insurance check for my painter made out to me AND ches AND my mortgage co, so I took it, it was refused due to lack of mortgage co signature-what?-then went to mortgage bank, had to wait almost 20 minutes for signature, then she told me to *be careful* that the check was *endorsed* and Just Like Cash-since I look 12 or something-then ran it back to my bank-all so dumb), and got plants, and had ice cream, and made it to Hobby Lobby for new wreath material, returned more library books, and got my plants planted before the rain!, met the painter, paid his deposit, gave slippery baths, read more Ramona Quimby, Age 8, ordered new purses and shoes (use code MACYSFF for 25% off and free shipping TONIGHT ONLY!!), and caught up on emails, and had to feed my family leftover Southwestern Soup due to my productiveness. They didn't complain, so all's well. : )

Tomorrow is Mother's Day Out, and I haven't decided whether or not to send Ethan. He's better, no fever in over a week, but I just worry about him catching something new, and everyone is just crazy over this H1N1 virus! I don't want anyone getting anything! The painters start tomorrow, and will be here till Friday. I don't know whether I should be worried when I'm alone with them. Ches will be here some, but has a meeting tomorrow at lunch. I also have Clay's Reading Restaurant tomorrow from 8:15-10am. So, I'll have to run over there either before I drop Ethan or afterward. Both ways, I can only stay a little while.

My desk is all a mess. Again. What on Earth happens to this space? It's like my mail threw up and my kids played in it. Papers, pictures, water bottle, phone, folders, pump pouches, a ring I ordered (and haven't decided if I'm going to keep), and all sorts of things-none of them in their places. : ( A messy desk makes me feel messy.

Do you help with your Mother's Day gift? Is it better to get something you really need, or leave it to chance? A couple of years ago, I told Ches to take the kids to WM and just let them pick out some stuff for me. Never again. They visited the office supplies department, and got me a pack of 10 short, colored, Sharpie markers (that you can hang on things ?), and a pack of 4x6 photo paper (that I've never used), colored post-its (that I did use), and some pens (that I used up). I am a tad more specific these days. Last year, I took the kids to Brighton and told them to surprise me. I had the lady wrap the gifts, and it was so fun! (for me!) So, this year, I ordered a ring my friend recommended. It's very pretty, but very square-ish, and flat. You'd have to see it. Here. It's just great, but maybe not for my short fingers with no nails. It doesn't make me feel like a better mom, but I found something maybe better! I found the Macy's sale (thanks, Mom!) and ordered a couple purses (hot pink and a green) and some shoes. I think I feel better already! : ) I hope I like at least one of them!

We are headed to Disney on the 14th, so I thought it'd be nice to have a smaller purse to wear across my body, so I'm trying it. It's like 8.5 inches square (theme here?), with a long strap, so we'll see. Wanna see it too? I've figured this out! Here. Ok, I tried that one, and you have to click on the hot pink color to make the purse pink-so cute.

Alright, the coffee is wearing off, and I must sleep. Hope you have a great Mother's Day with something YOU want (hot pink purse?) rather than something you need (post-its). B : )

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Did stock in velcro go up? It should!

I'm currently working on printing pictures of our Daisy Girl Scout Investiture-it's hard since not all of our girls were there at the time. We've gained a couple of new girls, and so I'm having to hunt for pictures! I can't find pictures of one girl! : ( I'll have to make her collage differently, and it makes me feel bad. We are planning to scrapbook tomorrow, so I have to get busy!

It's now about 8 hours later, and I've really made progress! I have the books ready to put together (I picked out their paper, got the pix ready, and made journaling spots and titles for them. Should be pretty easy. I'm missing a couple of scrapbooks, but I put all their pictures/papers in order from front to back, so they're ready!

I took Clay to a birthday party this afternoon, at a girl's house. He was one of two boys there, and I wondered about taking him, but his good friend was there, and they are both very sweet kids (and I warned him within an inch of his life about behaving at a sweet girl's party!). The little girl is just absolutely precious, and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know her at the school when I've helped her with her writing, and making rice krispy treats! She is so mature and very intelligent. I actually asked her to keep an eye on Clay for me! I told her if he gets hyper or crazy to rein him in (and didn't mention this to Clay)! She actually did one day, he came home and complained about her telling him what to do, and I had to tell him I'd told her to keep an eye on him! He was embarrassed. I think he'll be in better control at school!

Then Mary Claire and I went to the girl scout office to buy patches, certificates, etc. and they were closed! There were lots of cars there, but the doors were locked! It looked dark in the gift shop, but I was not happy they weren't open! They were supposed to be having sales today! Well, I'm not sure we qualified for any, but still!

Then to Wal-Mart to pick up all the pictures I'd ordered, and look for another birthday gift. That took us wayyy too long! We found lots of neat stuff, but we had trouble deciding. The time just got away from us! We finally left (and I decided to shop alone next week!). Then to Hobby Lobby to get even more zippers and velcro for more pump pouches. Get this. Velcro prices have tripled! Why on Earth do you suppose? Is there oil in there? Or bacteria-resistant plastic-y fabric? Or gold sewn in the seams? Ugh. I make all these pump pouches and give them away, but now maybe I'll request some velcro and zippers in return! It's frustrating! I mean, how can it have gone up? Ok, next time you see "notions" on sale at Hobby Lobby, please let me know! (BTW-they had PiNK velcro at Hobby Lobby! MC was so excited!)

I made two more pump pouches on Friday-so cute! I took a couple of pictures, I'll have to post them! Tomorrow we have a JDRF Walk 2009 Family Team Kickoff Event! We're all meeting and going to a Naturals game. I've made a pump pouch for one of the little girls we met last spring, and we'll meet tomorrow to get it to her. I also got a request for one for a girl over at another elementary in Springdale. I'll work on it. I'm also making one for Little Emily! She is so sweet, and appreciates them! : ) I just love to help people. It's a shame I don't have more time to make a pump pouch bank to ship them out (especially to the sweet kids just transitioning to a pump!) I soooo remember Mary Claire just being diagnosed, and not getting good help. And then not having a clue what to do with that stupid pump when we got it! Mary Claire had a belt clip, and for a couple months, I'd totally transitioned her to pants and skirts, thinking we had to have something to clip it to! I had no idea there were other ways of wearing it! Imagine being new at wearing a pump, figuring it out, dealing with your child's transition, and then trying to make it :cool: and stylish, and somehow fit it under your clothes so the tubing doesn't get caught on something! I really do understand. I have compassion for these new families. It's so hard (and that is the Understatement of the Year).

Ok, so then church alone (Ches wasn't feeling well, and Ethan was sound asleep-and slept till we got back with dinner!). We played games and read and Weckled (Ethan's word for wrestled-so cute!) and made ooey, gooey cookies for snack. Sometimes, I like a quiet cold, rainy evening at home! : ) Just sweet.

Oh, and can I just say, Clay was an ANGEL in church tonight??? I mean, perfect? I had to tell him about fifty times because I was sooo impressed! He gets a little Jesus in him, and presto, he's really a Child of God! Woo-hoo! He made his second communion tonight, and he was wonderful, and was so happy and respectful. He prayed with me when he came back, and I am just overjoyed for him. He is exactly what I would have prayed for in a child-I never asked for a perfect child, or an angel, or an intelligent kid, or a sweetheart who adores his brother... But, I knew God would give me what I needed. He knows so much better than I do! Anyway, we prayed on the way home, and I was praising God for my :beautiful: children, and he was back to himself! He protested that beautiful was for girls (I Still object), and I explained and he snapped out of perfection. But it was nice for that good hour and a half. A taste of Heaven. : )

Are you ever surprised at what your kids know? I mean, I think they are (dare I say it?) Learning something at school! : ) We were asking questions from the Brain Quest cards-so fun!-and sometimes Mary Claire was answering faster than Clay! Ha. Even about spheres and name the two words in this sentence that end in -x (Six cats sat on top of a box of socks). And you are reading out loud-and they can't see the words!! Very Cool. And she got it right!

Ok, my house is quiet, and I've now finished my work on the scrapbooks. 12 hours later. They'll never even know. : )

And I got a message requesting a pump pouch for a new pumper tonight. So, put another shrimp on the barbie! (and get me some more velcro!)