Have you ever been driving down the road, minding your own business, and break out into laughter because you saw someone in another car looking ridiculous: they're zoned out, dramatically singing the tune on their radio (been there) or a couple is having a heated debate? Today, I was one of those people. Not the one in the car laughing, but the one in the car generating the laughter (or at least I think I would have laughed if I saw me).
Here's the story:
Jim was working late tonight which meant I really didn't feel like cooking so I loaded up the munchkins and headed off to Wendy's.
Me: Katherine, we're gong to go to Wendy's, pick up some supper in the drive thru, go back home and eat it. Would you like a chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets or a hangabur?
Katherine: Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm.
silence for at least a minute while my eyes roll 180 degrees back into my head to see her sitting in the back seat staring up at the ceiling
M: Honey, just pick one. Chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets or a hangabur?
K: Ummmmmm. How about........What are you going to have?
(That's her latest. She doesn't want to make a decision until she finds out what others around her are doing. Whether or not she should put blankets on when she sleeps, turn on her fan, what shoes to wear, what to eat, etc. They all begin with the question What are you doing?)
M: I'm going to have a chicken sandwich.
K: Ok, I'll have a chicken sandwich.
M: Ok, a chicken sandwich it is.
K: With no lettuce.
M: Ok, no lettuce. You don't like lettuce?
K: NO! And no pickles. Yuck pickles. Mommy, I do not like pickles.
M: Ok, no lettuce and no pickles. Pickles do have a strong taste. You might like them some day.
K: No, they're yucky.
M: Ok.
K: And no salt.
M: No lettuce, no pickles or no salt.
K: Or pepper, Mommy.
M: No lettuce, pickles, salt or pepper. Ok. Got it.
(It's no wonder mothers don't get into more wrecks than they already do. I'm supposed to be a defensive driver while all of this is happening?)
I drive up to an intersection, waiting for cars to pass and what do you know, there's McDonald's right in front of us and the cars are in a steady stream a good half mile down the road. I'm going to have to wait for a long time.
K: Mommy, I want to go to McDonald's.
M: No, I told you we were going to Wendy's.
K: But, Mommy, I really want to go to McDonald's.
M: Honey, we're not going inside Wendy's so we wouldn't go into McDonald's for you to play on the playground. No.
K: No, I don't want to go inside, I just want to go through the drive thru.
This is when I usually reach my breaking point. We've only been in the car for, oh, about 3 minutes. And most of the time, and certainly by the third time I've said something, if she's not getting it, I shut down. I say no more. I've said it, I know she understands it, there's no more talking about it.
M: Katherine, I said No. We're going to Wendy's.
At this point, I'm not sure what exactly she was saying. It had to do with pleading her case for going through a different drive-thru and I had completely shut her out.
Enter the moment when I'm almost positive I provided some commuters a good laugh. Shall I paint the scene? I woke up with the goal of cleaning our filth bowl we call a home. I made it very clear to Katherine this morning that I was not going to be any fun today, that today was for cleaning. I even made arrangements for her friend AC to stop by for a couple hours to keep her busy. The cleaning began after breakfast and it was intense. Thankfully, the girls kept themselves busy with few intermissions courtesy of me, so I could keep the momentum of the 50 bagillion ton train going and keep cleaning. About 10am I thought about showering, but then reasoned myself out of it, because I needed to keep cleaning even more.
Side note: If my hair isn't washed every 24 hours, it looks like I've dipped my head upside down into a pit of mayonnaise, combed it and let it air-dry. I usually wash it in the morning for that reason and ease of styling. The last hair wash was yesterday morning, so a good 36 hours later and I'm praying we don't run into anyone we know.
The picture, hopefully, is becoming clear. I'm wearing clothes I've been cleaning all day in (I'm lucky to have on a bra and have brushed my teeth), no make-up, my hair looks like I've stepped off the set of Grease the musical, it has a little barrett in it to pull back my dang-it-I-hate-growing-out-my bangs to the side like a little girl and my mind is reeling from a 3-minute debate with my 3.5 year old over which fast food joint to drive thru. I've given up the attempt at debating with her and I'm just staring into the never-ending stream of rush-hour cars, praying that one day they'll stop and the bright yellow arches will not be glaring through the front windshield advertising their superior coolness.
I think she is still pleading her case, (don't know, not really listening), and I start to laugh. I realize that on top of my awful appearance, I've now got my left elbow up on the door arm rest, my folded left hand propped up against my left cheek causing it to squish my left eye and also causing the left side of my mouth to be stretched into a Joker-like smile with the "Calgon, take me away" stare-into-oblivion look on my face.
The beauty of all this was that my laughter caused her to stop whatever she was still talking about. She started chuckling and asked what was so funny. How do I explain this?
M: Oh, I think you're funny.
K: Me?
M: Yes, honey. You make me laugh.
So I've turned it around to where she can bask in the wonderfulness of her being able to make me laugh.
A break in the traffic, some more laughter, a small 1/4 mile drive down the road until we turn into Wendy's and she says, "I thought we were going to McDonald's?"
I swear I've never known the honest-to-goodness-truth to those Calgon commercials until becoming a mom.
...She can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25 NIV
Thursday, October 29
Sunday, October 25
Chalk, dragonfly & Dora
These "cooler" evenings (less than 85 degrees) have provided the opportunity for the little people to play outside on the driveway while my watchful, trying-to-prepare-something-for-supper self is vigilantly watching and listening. I'm also remembering how interesting something is when experienced for the first time or it's been brought out after being put away for a couple seasons. My kiddos think chalk is the bomb, which is fine with me, we have 3 containers of the stuff. It's one of those kid activities that I have to work really hard at acting like I enjoy doing, mainly because it dries out my hands so bad. (don't like my hands dirty, never have really).
And no surprise here, Katherine is pretty good at keeping the chalk on the driveway.
Nathan enjoys eating the chalk, smearing it on his face, wallering in the chalk dust...
and his new-found freedom exploring the driveway unassisted.
On the way home Saturday night, a beautiful blue and green dragonfly met his maker when abruptly introduced to the front grille of our car. I carefully pulled him out and my little girl, who hasn't shown one bit of interest in anything that resembles a bug, wanted to explore it's helpless yet beautiful body. I encouraged it greatly. I was the one who introduced my little brother to a fishing worm and he was grossed out.
Well, we skipped out on church today because last night Nathan started running a fever and yesterday morning Katherine was diagnosed with an ear infection. But I decided to continue on with the original plan of going to visit Dora the Explorer at Silver Springs after lunch. It was a quick trip and I'm pretty sure Katherine was more interested in seeing the animals. It doesn't matter how much prepping I do, I don't think she'll be impressed with characters until she's a pre-teen.
I anticipated Dora's size to be a little shocking so the way there I asked,
M: How big do you think Dora will be? Do you think she'll be as big as you, or as big as me, or even bigger?
K: She's 3 1/2 and she'll be big as me!
M: Well, I don't know. I think the cartoons and videos make her look smaller than she actually is. I think she's pretty big.
K: NO! She's big as me! Not BIG like YOU!
M: Ok, well what will you do if she is bigger?
silence
K: I no no.
M: Would you still like to see her and sit next to her all by yourself?
K: Yeth.
Hence this comment made after leaving our picture with Dora,
K: Mommy, can we go see the giraffes now?
And no surprise here, Katherine is pretty good at keeping the chalk on the driveway.
Nathan enjoys eating the chalk, smearing it on his face, wallering in the chalk dust...
and his new-found freedom exploring the driveway unassisted.
On the way home Saturday night, a beautiful blue and green dragonfly met his maker when abruptly introduced to the front grille of our car. I carefully pulled him out and my little girl, who hasn't shown one bit of interest in anything that resembles a bug, wanted to explore it's helpless yet beautiful body. I encouraged it greatly. I was the one who introduced my little brother to a fishing worm and he was grossed out.
Well, we skipped out on church today because last night Nathan started running a fever and yesterday morning Katherine was diagnosed with an ear infection. But I decided to continue on with the original plan of going to visit Dora the Explorer at Silver Springs after lunch. It was a quick trip and I'm pretty sure Katherine was more interested in seeing the animals. It doesn't matter how much prepping I do, I don't think she'll be impressed with characters until she's a pre-teen.
I anticipated Dora's size to be a little shocking so the way there I asked,
M: How big do you think Dora will be? Do you think she'll be as big as you, or as big as me, or even bigger?
K: She's 3 1/2 and she'll be big as me!
M: Well, I don't know. I think the cartoons and videos make her look smaller than she actually is. I think she's pretty big.
K: NO! She's big as me! Not BIG like YOU!
M: Ok, well what will you do if she is bigger?
silence
K: I no no.
M: Would you still like to see her and sit next to her all by yourself?
K: Yeth.
Hence this comment made after leaving our picture with Dora,K: Mommy, can we go see the giraffes now?
Thursday, October 22
My precious boy
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach.
My precious boy,
I don't get many chances to have alone time with you, which made today's thin slice of time even more special. I find it absolutely amazing that putting a ball in and taking it out of a container, then placing the lid on and off kept you busy for 20 minutes. Watching you learn how this world operates is truly the mark of our Heavenly Father and a reminder that we are surrounded by His master engineering.
You are starting to sit still for me to read books to you, especially when there's no one else around. You love to throw balls. You are very intent on running everywhere you go. Just this week, after supper, I got you out of your high chair and put you down to let you play. Although, most of the "play" was you walking/running from room to room, carrying something in your hand while holding it up in the air, confidently declaring, "Dah! Dah!" I said to Daddy, "He doesn't slow down or be still. He just wants to walk around everywhere, all the time." And in true Daddy wisdom (since he understands being a boy a little bit more than I), he said, "He's a boy, Kel. That's what he's going to do. Go, go, go."
This morning I let you play with my hair dryer and cold curling iron while I was getting ready. You loved banging the end of the curling iron against the metal closet door, which was very loud. Daddy said, "He loves to make noise. That's a true boy."
I'm not saying I'll ever totally get this "boy" stuff, because I won't. But you sure are a wonderful little being to offer me the chance to learn more about your type.
So before you really start restricting me from loveying up on you, I will cherish every time I get to rest my lips on the top of your head to smell your sweet babyness, hold you as tightly against my body as I can while your body surrenders to the idea of rest, caress the soft skin on your cheeks and gaze into your eyes. I sense the time is coming where all that is going to be "too still" for you and the rest of the world will become much more enticing.
I am looking forward to being different with you than I am with your sister: playing rougher, letting you get dirty, admiring your "natural finds" from our yard, being splashed much more in the bathtub and re-discovering my inner growl.
I pray for you without ceasing and constantly remind myself that you are a big-person in training. I pray for your continued good health, for your mind to develop, for me and Daddy to be good examples of loving parents who love God, for your sister and you to love and care for each other, for you to love others and for God to place a strong desire in you to seek His will.
You are growing up so handsomely and your smile is contagious. I love you more than you'll ever know,
~Mommy
Wednesday, October 21
Pumpkin Patch
We took a trip to our local Pumpkin Patch today and got some good pictures.
The story behind today was that I had to start first thing this morning convincing Little Miss Wardrobe Princess that because we were going to be taking pictures, I wanted to pick out her outfit. I made very clear that it would not twirl, BUT, if she wanted she could pick out something else for us to take with us for her to put on right after pictures were over. She was all over that and ended up packing a dress, with shoes, and her princess suitcase full of who-knows-what in addition to her baby's diaper bag. She really must not have liked the outfit I picked out.
The story behind today was that I had to start first thing this morning convincing Little Miss Wardrobe Princess that because we were going to be taking pictures, I wanted to pick out her outfit. I made very clear that it would not twirl, BUT, if she wanted she could pick out something else for us to take with us for her to put on right after pictures were over. She was all over that and ended up packing a dress, with shoes, and her princess suitcase full of who-knows-what in addition to her baby's diaper bag. She really must not have liked the outfit I picked out.
Tuesday, October 20
Enjoying the cooler autumn weather
Our first cool day of the season and my Florida-girl has to dress for the occasion. It was 60-65 degrees and someone was very excited to get out all the winter gear.
Someone was less than thrilled to 1. be having his picture taken; 2. be wearing a jacket; and/or 3. with being forced to sit next to a flat metal pumpkin with glitter on it (I can picture it now, "Come on Mom, do you have to take so many pictures. Hurry up."). Although, he might look so disgusted because this was the first day of his current cold.
I finally got to organize our thousand-or-so pictures on the computer, so enjoy some past Fall pictures
. . . 2008
. . . 2007
. . . 2006
. . . 2004 (Pre-kids)
I went through what I believe might have been another lapse in judgment this morning. It's funny when you get a chance to look back and actually think about what you allowed, when at the time it was in reality done to pacify or just keep the child quiet or occupied. This morning's lapse was when I was drying my hair and was about to put on make-up.
Little Lady so politely asked, "Mommy, can I put on some of your make-up please?"
"Well, of course, honey. Go get the stool so you can see the mirror."
She's done this many times before, but usually only when I've pulled out the 4 items I use and she's then limited to only those 4. But today, under my watchful eye, she proceeded to get out everything in the bag and put it all on her cheeks and neck. And you know what? I didn't care. Not even when we took a trip to the park to eat lunch, did I care about other people seeing her cheeks look like they were streaked with day-old dirt. Aunt J who met us there, didn't even comment on it. She knew it was probably some girly thing involving make-up.
She's going to want to strangle me one day, I just know it.
Someone was less than thrilled to 1. be having his picture taken; 2. be wearing a jacket; and/or 3. with being forced to sit next to a flat metal pumpkin with glitter on it (I can picture it now, "Come on Mom, do you have to take so many pictures. Hurry up."). Although, he might look so disgusted because this was the first day of his current cold.
I finally got to organize our thousand-or-so pictures on the computer, so enjoy some past Fall pictures
. . . 2007
. . . 2006
. . . 2004 (Pre-kids)
I went through what I believe might have been another lapse in judgment this morning. It's funny when you get a chance to look back and actually think about what you allowed, when at the time it was in reality done to pacify or just keep the child quiet or occupied. This morning's lapse was when I was drying my hair and was about to put on make-up.
Little Lady so politely asked, "Mommy, can I put on some of your make-up please?"
"Well, of course, honey. Go get the stool so you can see the mirror."
She's done this many times before, but usually only when I've pulled out the 4 items I use and she's then limited to only those 4. But today, under my watchful eye, she proceeded to get out everything in the bag and put it all on her cheeks and neck. And you know what? I didn't care. Not even when we took a trip to the park to eat lunch, did I care about other people seeing her cheeks look like they were streaked with day-old dirt. Aunt J who met us there, didn't even comment on it. She knew it was probably some girly thing involving make-up.
She's going to want to strangle me one day, I just know it.
Saturday, October 17
Fall Family Fun on the Farm
If you have pre-schoolers and live in this area, you really need to take them to the Coon Hollo Corn Maze.
A good friend I've known since middle school (above), and her family have put it on and it's a nice family outing. We went with our family and friends Saturday night, the first 'cool' night of the season. There was the corn maze, lots of hay for children to jump on, a paintball area, a bucking bull ride, a hay fort, Nana's General Store, an area to "milk the cow", a water trough full of whole kernel corn, an area for kids to dig in the dirt and pull out potatoes, old trucks, lots of tractors, a farm animal train, scarecrows and lots of pumpkins. Here's a peek at our fun.
A good friend I've known since middle school (above), and her family have put it on and it's a nice family outing. We went with our family and friends Saturday night, the first 'cool' night of the season. There was the corn maze, lots of hay for children to jump on, a paintball area, a bucking bull ride, a hay fort, Nana's General Store, an area to "milk the cow", a water trough full of whole kernel corn, an area for kids to dig in the dirt and pull out potatoes, old trucks, lots of tractors, a farm animal train, scarecrows and lots of pumpkins. Here's a peek at our fun.
Weeks worth of updates
I've been jotting down "events" that have happened in our household over the past 2 weeks. Here's the run-down...
The GREAT news: Nathan has started letting me hold him to sleep. It's not something I do every night, but sometimes I just need the cuddling. Also new, he was fussy in the middle of the night last week and did the unthinkable. When I brought him into our bed to calm him down, which usually doesn't work, he fell right asleep. He usually thinks it's time to play, bonk Daddy's head while he's sleeping, do the back-arch-baby-roll out of my grip, and I end up putting him back in his bed to let him cry it out. Rocking him in the chair and sometimes even walking around with him wouldn't do it. But that night, dare I say it for fear of jinxing any chance it might happen again, he cuddled. And I ate up every second of it. He nestled right in between my arm and side and fell asleep with no resistance. It has been the only time in his life he's ever slept in our bed, and I loved cuddling with my baby.
The NOT-SO-GREAT news: Nathan has found one of my weaknesses and last week decided to take full advantage of the situation. My weakness: paying attention to our children when people first come into our house. I feel it is my duty as the hostess to at least open the door, say hi with a smile (which means no raising my voice at children), have a small conversation with them when they come inside (and I mean small, "Hey, come on in. Have a seat. You find it okay? Want a drink?, etc.), get them situated (seated or at least comfortable) and then go back to paying attention to children. This is usually a 5-minute process. Not long, by any means, but the little stinker found it out and exploited the situation. The first incident happened when I was letting the babysitter in the door. She had been here before, but only once, and I was trying to show her the food set out for the kiddos' lunches, etc.
Mistake #1: I left the door open to the animal's food. ('Animals' being the dog & cat, not my children). Not one minute into my hostessing duties, I run back to the room and notice my son hunched over the dog food and water bowl. He was holding a couple pieces in his hand and making a yucky-fied face while sticking out his tongue. The front of his shirt was covered in water, along with the floor underneath him, because he had been violently splashing the water in the bowl. So, within a minute he did all this. I should have locked him up then.
Mistake #2: I left the door open to the bathroom. After cleaning his hands from the dog food incident, I mistakenly put him down and assumed the worst had passed. Oh no, dude made a bee-line straight for the bathroom, when he saw me opening the door to let in Aunt N and J. My time, again, was occupied with something other than watching children. Within minutes, the house was eerily quiet, so I went looking for the little monster. This time he was playing in the toilet. Thankfully (I say sarcastically), his sister forgot to flush. Without going into details, I know Nathan prefers solids that float and disintegrating toilet paper is fascinating when he tries to pick it up and it falls apart in his fingers.
Sigh!
On to Katherine: Jim was talking to her one day about how beautiful he thought she and myself were. He asked, "Do you think your mommy is beautiful?" (Does he not understand the significance of 'loaded questions'?)
Her response, "No, I'm the most beautiful."
I guess that's what happens when you hear over and over again how beautiful you are.
She's wearing a hat with a gator on it and Daddy's hat says, "Life's Too Short to be Dancing With Ugly Women."
My beautiful little lady showed her 'rougher' side the other day. Us 3 were outside picking up magnolia seed pods for brother's birthday party. She was sitting right next to me, chatting away like usual, then next thing I know it's quiet. I looked to my right and about 15 feet away, IN THE FRONT YARD, she had hiked up her skirt, pulled down her panties and was peeing in the grass! Uh, okay. It's not like she's ever seen one of us peeing in the yard.
There must be something about being able to pee right there, without having to bother yourself with going inside. I have a nephew that helped himself right outside of his school, in front of a mess-load of people. Half of them didn't even notice but the few that did thought it was cute and totally understood.
I actually got a picture of them playing in their tent this time. And they played together so nicely for about 15 minutes.
Katherine and her best bud, AC, watching Tinkerbell. This was Nathan's actual birthday. We 3 made cupcakes and decorated them together.
Some quality outside-time with Daddy. I'm so glad his schooling is over.
Some of the "finer" moments for Mommy and Daddy...
The GREAT news: Nathan has started letting me hold him to sleep. It's not something I do every night, but sometimes I just need the cuddling. Also new, he was fussy in the middle of the night last week and did the unthinkable. When I brought him into our bed to calm him down, which usually doesn't work, he fell right asleep. He usually thinks it's time to play, bonk Daddy's head while he's sleeping, do the back-arch-baby-roll out of my grip, and I end up putting him back in his bed to let him cry it out. Rocking him in the chair and sometimes even walking around with him wouldn't do it. But that night, dare I say it for fear of jinxing any chance it might happen again, he cuddled. And I ate up every second of it. He nestled right in between my arm and side and fell asleep with no resistance. It has been the only time in his life he's ever slept in our bed, and I loved cuddling with my baby.
The NOT-SO-GREAT news: Nathan has found one of my weaknesses and last week decided to take full advantage of the situation. My weakness: paying attention to our children when people first come into our house. I feel it is my duty as the hostess to at least open the door, say hi with a smile (which means no raising my voice at children), have a small conversation with them when they come inside (and I mean small, "Hey, come on in. Have a seat. You find it okay? Want a drink?, etc.), get them situated (seated or at least comfortable) and then go back to paying attention to children. This is usually a 5-minute process. Not long, by any means, but the little stinker found it out and exploited the situation. The first incident happened when I was letting the babysitter in the door. She had been here before, but only once, and I was trying to show her the food set out for the kiddos' lunches, etc.
Mistake #1: I left the door open to the animal's food. ('Animals' being the dog & cat, not my children). Not one minute into my hostessing duties, I run back to the room and notice my son hunched over the dog food and water bowl. He was holding a couple pieces in his hand and making a yucky-fied face while sticking out his tongue. The front of his shirt was covered in water, along with the floor underneath him, because he had been violently splashing the water in the bowl. So, within a minute he did all this. I should have locked him up then.
Mistake #2: I left the door open to the bathroom. After cleaning his hands from the dog food incident, I mistakenly put him down and assumed the worst had passed. Oh no, dude made a bee-line straight for the bathroom, when he saw me opening the door to let in Aunt N and J. My time, again, was occupied with something other than watching children. Within minutes, the house was eerily quiet, so I went looking for the little monster. This time he was playing in the toilet. Thankfully (I say sarcastically), his sister forgot to flush. Without going into details, I know Nathan prefers solids that float and disintegrating toilet paper is fascinating when he tries to pick it up and it falls apart in his fingers.
Sigh!
On to Katherine: Jim was talking to her one day about how beautiful he thought she and myself were. He asked, "Do you think your mommy is beautiful?" (Does he not understand the significance of 'loaded questions'?)
Her response, "No, I'm the most beautiful."
I guess that's what happens when you hear over and over again how beautiful you are.
She's wearing a hat with a gator on it and Daddy's hat says, "Life's Too Short to be Dancing With Ugly Women."
My beautiful little lady showed her 'rougher' side the other day. Us 3 were outside picking up magnolia seed pods for brother's birthday party. She was sitting right next to me, chatting away like usual, then next thing I know it's quiet. I looked to my right and about 15 feet away, IN THE FRONT YARD, she had hiked up her skirt, pulled down her panties and was peeing in the grass! Uh, okay. It's not like she's ever seen one of us peeing in the yard.
There must be something about being able to pee right there, without having to bother yourself with going inside. I have a nephew that helped himself right outside of his school, in front of a mess-load of people. Half of them didn't even notice but the few that did thought it was cute and totally understood.
I actually got a picture of them playing in their tent this time. And they played together so nicely for about 15 minutes.
Katherine and her best bud, AC, watching Tinkerbell. This was Nathan's actual birthday. We 3 made cupcakes and decorated them together.
Some quality outside-time with Daddy. I'm so glad his schooling is over.
Some of the "finer" moments for Mommy and Daddy...
I can't believe he's 1, already!
What a nice day. It was blistering hot, setting record highs for our area in the middle of October, but the company was wonderful and we enjoyed celebrating our little man's life here with us.
His post cup-cake scrub-down, given by Mer, and on to outfit #2.
We had lots of little people to help us celebrate.
M, in the pink Barbie Jeep. That was right after he said to Jim, "Uncle Jim, you guys don't have ANY fun toys here at all!" Poor little guy. Don't worry, I won't pull this picture out at a convenient time another 10 years down the road. :)
These 3 can be inseparable sometimes. J just came from another BDay party with a superhero theme and I'm pretty sure he insisted on wearing the cape and mask for the car ride to our house.
And check out A's bee-yu-ti-ful blue eyes. She's another cousin and cute as a button. (Notice all the red cheeks? It was HOT!)
We turned the front yard into play central for the little people, and seating for the 'bigger' people.
Uncle R showing some gentle guidance.
The end of the festivities had J, who had arrived from his other BDay Party just minutes before, hooking up a chain out of Papa's toolbox, a real heavy-duty chain, to the back of the pink Barbie Jeep and the front of the John Deere tricycle to pull it around the yard. This is what rednecks do when they live in the city...
I've thought many times, "was it really a year ago I was trying to convince myself those weren't contractions?" I was sure it was only because I hadn't drank enough water for the day, so I drank a lot and couldn't drown away the pain. It was a Sunday night and I was steadily trying to balance the checkbook, pay the bills, update the budget, and complete a record plat, Cedar Key Villas to be exact, while methodically breathing my way through the pain. I thought I might have the baby soon, so I was trying to get it all finished that night. It wasn't for another couple hours that I was convinced it was the real thing. Time to call the neighbor we had planned to watch Katherine if we had to leave in the middle of the night. She came over, witnessed me bearing and breathing through the pain. Jim got himself ready for a hospital night stay, I loaded the car and by the time we got to the labor/delivery room I was 5 centimeters. I got checked in at 11:30pm and he was born at 2:43am. He was ready to see the world and hasn't stopped since.
Nathan Andrew, you are a precious gift from God. Me, Daddy and Katherine are so happy you're a part of our family. We love your contagious smile, your zest for life, your slobbery kisses and your squeals of excitement. Welcome to this world. We hope to make it an enjoyable trip.
Thursday, October 8
Singing HB, fast-moving & Mr. fancy feet
She's getting ready for the BDay party, I'm pretty sure he's trying to run everywhere he goes now, so much that he's walking sideways a lot and now he's trying to add in some fancy footwork.
The cruds, Columbia, coupons and cleaning
It's been a while, where do I begin...
Since the last post, Nathan was feeling yucky. Monday's Dr. appt. yielded no ear infection, but by Friday it was official. Start the meds, get him feeling better 'cause daddy is supposed to watch the kiddos all weekend for my girly-girl weekend (because I don't want to leave nor will I have a good time if my baby is sick). Thank goodness, he was feeling better before I left.
I remember when Katherine was 6-10 months old. At one point she had 7 ear infections in a period of 4 months. She was on antibiotics for 70 out of 120 days. It broke my heart. I'm so thankful he hasn't been anywhere near as sick as her. This is only his 2nd.
Good new was I did get to attend my annual Girly-Girl weekend guilt-free. This year we went to St. Pete Beach. It was very relaxing. Saturday, I think we laid on the beach for about 3 hours, sometimes throwing in a conversation or two. It was a struggle to make myself be still. I'm so used to trying to rush to get things 'done', but I managed to force myself.
We've started a tradition of eating at The Columbia for our girly-girl weekends and thankfully we didn't stop this year. The Columbia in St. Pete is bee-yu-ti-ful! The outside makes you wonder if you're at the right place, but 4 floors up the restaurant is surrounded by glass windows looking out over the pier, harbor and inlet. They must have set us at the best table in the joint because the moon was just starting to rise and its reflection glimmered on the water. And to top it off, at just the right height in the sky, the moon coupled with its reflection, was joined by a sailboat lazily carving a path through the black and silver ripples of the sea. The pictures I tried to take on C's camera didn't do it justice. This weekend provided me much needed forced rest and 4 hours of uninterrupted drive-time to think. My time away always makes me miss my family therefore I was soooo happy to see them when I returned on Sunday. And the feelings were reciprocated.
Monday we started cleaning up the yard, trying to prepare for someone's birthday party coming up. Katherine enjoys helping me pick up the wretched Magnolia tree seed pods that can cause a mean twisted ankle.
These things are as big as my fist and EVERYWHERE.
Nathan even likes to join in on the fun of picking up sticks.
I went to a Coupon workshop Monday night. Don't think I'll be able to take it to the extreme T does, but I did learn this:
Tuesday, we got some much needed haircuts. This is Nathan's second and he did awesome and Katherine sat there like a mannequin.
To wrap this up, I took a look at one of Katherine's school papers before I dropped her off this morning. It was a sheet her teacher filled out after she asked all the kids how they show their families they love them, then made a copy and gave one to all the students. Her response has me wondering whether or not I should be proud or ashamed. She said she shows her family that she loves them by: helping to clean the house. The other responses were hugs, kisses, take care of baby and read a book.
Should I be ashamed that she feels obligated to 'clean the house to keep mom happy' because that's what I put emphasis on? Jim and I have had many discussions about how I don't make enough time to do house stuff because of my strong desires to spend time with our children and enjoy them while they're little. Just yesterday I put away 12 loads of laundry. Yes, its been that long. And many times sections of the house are so disgusting they should be condemned.
Or, should I be proud that her definition of showing love is larger than just hugs and kisses or that she even may find it fun to help me clean. Go ahead, laugh. She might, just might, like cleaning. I used to beg my mom to clean my brother's room. It was always a disaster. I'd move all the toys around, vacuum, rearrange the furniture, all while irritating my allergies so much I'd be hopped up on Contac and sleeping for the next 4-6 hours. Just the other night Katherine was begging me to help scrub the tub.
I'm going with being proud of her for many different reasons.
Since the last post, Nathan was feeling yucky. Monday's Dr. appt. yielded no ear infection, but by Friday it was official. Start the meds, get him feeling better 'cause daddy is supposed to watch the kiddos all weekend for my girly-girl weekend (because I don't want to leave nor will I have a good time if my baby is sick). Thank goodness, he was feeling better before I left.
I remember when Katherine was 6-10 months old. At one point she had 7 ear infections in a period of 4 months. She was on antibiotics for 70 out of 120 days. It broke my heart. I'm so thankful he hasn't been anywhere near as sick as her. This is only his 2nd.Good new was I did get to attend my annual Girly-Girl weekend guilt-free. This year we went to St. Pete Beach. It was very relaxing. Saturday, I think we laid on the beach for about 3 hours, sometimes throwing in a conversation or two. It was a struggle to make myself be still. I'm so used to trying to rush to get things 'done', but I managed to force myself.
We've started a tradition of eating at The Columbia for our girly-girl weekends and thankfully we didn't stop this year. The Columbia in St. Pete is bee-yu-ti-ful! The outside makes you wonder if you're at the right place, but 4 floors up the restaurant is surrounded by glass windows looking out over the pier, harbor and inlet. They must have set us at the best table in the joint because the moon was just starting to rise and its reflection glimmered on the water. And to top it off, at just the right height in the sky, the moon coupled with its reflection, was joined by a sailboat lazily carving a path through the black and silver ripples of the sea. The pictures I tried to take on C's camera didn't do it justice. This weekend provided me much needed forced rest and 4 hours of uninterrupted drive-time to think. My time away always makes me miss my family therefore I was soooo happy to see them when I returned on Sunday. And the feelings were reciprocated.
Monday we started cleaning up the yard, trying to prepare for someone's birthday party coming up. Katherine enjoys helping me pick up the wretched Magnolia tree seed pods that can cause a mean twisted ankle.
These things are as big as my fist and EVERYWHERE.
Nathan even likes to join in on the fun of picking up sticks.
I went to a Coupon workshop Monday night. Don't think I'll be able to take it to the extreme T does, but I did learn this:
- Manufacturer's coupons can be coupled with store coupons
- Publix takes other store's coupons
- At Publix, you can use the manufacturer's and store's coupons on top of a Buy One Get One (BOGO) promotion (which is where some people actually make money)
- Cut coupons in doubles, for the BOGO deals. It is possible to walk out of there getting 4 of something and only paying for one or a portion of one.
Tuesday, we got some much needed haircuts. This is Nathan's second and he did awesome and Katherine sat there like a mannequin.
To wrap this up, I took a look at one of Katherine's school papers before I dropped her off this morning. It was a sheet her teacher filled out after she asked all the kids how they show their families they love them, then made a copy and gave one to all the students. Her response has me wondering whether or not I should be proud or ashamed. She said she shows her family that she loves them by: helping to clean the house. The other responses were hugs, kisses, take care of baby and read a book.
Should I be ashamed that she feels obligated to 'clean the house to keep mom happy' because that's what I put emphasis on? Jim and I have had many discussions about how I don't make enough time to do house stuff because of my strong desires to spend time with our children and enjoy them while they're little. Just yesterday I put away 12 loads of laundry. Yes, its been that long. And many times sections of the house are so disgusting they should be condemned.
Or, should I be proud that her definition of showing love is larger than just hugs and kisses or that she even may find it fun to help me clean. Go ahead, laugh. She might, just might, like cleaning. I used to beg my mom to clean my brother's room. It was always a disaster. I'd move all the toys around, vacuum, rearrange the furniture, all while irritating my allergies so much I'd be hopped up on Contac and sleeping for the next 4-6 hours. Just the other night Katherine was begging me to help scrub the tub.
I'm going with being proud of her for many different reasons.
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