Hapes hilarity - of the Tatum kind

We're on day 2 of being home, and Tatum is still running a slight fever.  Nothing too bad, but elevated enough to let us know that her body is trying to fight something.  Well, she certainly still has her spunk, and I'll demonstrate by listing things that she's done to, shall we say, keep me on my toes.

• I've realized that she can't totally be left on her own to use to potty, and wipe.  Wanna' know how I realized it?  I went in to check on her just in the nick of time, as she was looking down at a toilet FULL of wipes.  She had pulled out wipes from the container and managed to pull about 1/8 of the container, empying it, and deposit said wipes into the toilet. Luckily, I caught her before she flushed.

• We were exchanging kisses and she arranged my head so that she could kiss me on the hair.  "Mommy, your hair is messy. You didn't fix your hair."  Me, "Yes I did, Tatum.  I fixed it this morning."  Her, "Let me see," moving my head around for closer inspection, "No it's not."  Apparently, my hair is not fixed to her standards.  What a shame, considering that I actually got a shower today, unlike yesterday. (Don't judge).

• We had finished watching The Jungle Book shortly before she was scheduled to lay down for a nap.  I needed to vacuum, but hadn't dared to so while she was in the midst of any movie, lest I anger the child, 'cause you're princess when you're sick.  Or in her case, even when you aren't.  She was finishing her snack of Cheerios and water, sitting in the recliner, listening to the music that plays during the menu options while I was vacuuming, and I see her lips moving.  I stopped the vacuum and asked what she needed.  "I can't hear the MUSIC!  Are you DONE?"  No darling, but for both your sake and mine, I sure wish I was.

• In our one hour attempt to get her to lay down and actually go to sleep for her nap, during one of the times she came to the gate by her door she looked at me and said, "I laid down and closed my eyes.  That was a good nap, right?"

To be continued.....

So what is it THIS time?

Tatum has diarrhea and was running a fever yesterday afternoon/evening, yet the mere mention of the fact that she's "sick" makes her insane.  So here I am again, at home, working to clear my schedule and disinfect the house.  At least I don't have to go to the store and stock up on supplies again, right?  On the other hand, I feel like I just did this, didn't I, only it was with Kellen?  Oh, the joys of parenting and the cycles of neverending chores that must be completed.  Including dealing with sick kiddos.

The poor thing.

We have begun our movie marathon, and it's starting with Bolt, one of her all-time favorites.  I'm guessing Cinderella and Enchanted are in the cards for us today as well, and possibly multiple times for each.

I have my temperature and "symptom" sheet started, and so far she's only had one 'bout' this morning.  We'll see how the rest of the day progresses, but I may be going to the store not for cleaning supplies but for additional pull-ups instead.  I'm not going with her undies with this type of symptom going on here...Can you blame me?

Well, she's saying she's hungry, so I'm off to make her some toast.  Whatever it takes to make her feel better!

Success!

Yesterday I successfully completed my first triathlon sprint.  Probably my first and only, but that's beside the point.  In case you're wondering, "success" was defined by me for the purposes of this event as completing without injury, and a sunburn didn't count as an injury.  Neither did a jolt to my pride.  More on that later.

Matt and I took the kids to Conroe Saturday and dropped them off with Maw Maw, Paw Paw and Aunt Boo for their weekend retreat.  (Sidenote: I'm sure fun was had by ALL during this retreat, which included a trip to a pumpkin patch and a birthday party at a skating rink).  He and I then made our way to the race packet pick-up and I proceeded to go through the check-in.  I looked over my packet and tried to verify that all numbers for all equipment pieces were in order and that I had everything else I needed for the race.  We headed out, left the mall, stopped at another store, and during this time I had been reading the packet material and realized I had a white swim cap, which designated me in the women 30-39 age group.  While that in and of itself is correct, I had signed up to race as a newbie, which meant that I was planning to swim the shorter distance, and not the full swim, which the age bracket I was designated in was supposed to be swimming.  I should have had a green swim cap.

Houston, we had a problem!

I quickly called one of the girls I had been training with, who had picked her packet up a couple hours earlier.  She had the correct color swim cap - green.

So we turned around and headed back to the mall, determined to correct the registration issue.  I felt comfortable that I could handle the newbie swim, but NOT the full swim.  Luckily, when I went back, they didn't give me any problems.  One gentleman asked if I wanted a green cap and I quickly corrected him, laughingly saying "Oh no, I NEED a green cap."  He thought that was pretty funny, too.  A chat with the laptop lady - AKA the registration lady - took care of officially correcting me as well.  A few minutes in there and I was fully corrected as a newbie for registration purposes. 

Whew!

Back on the road and Matt and I were enjoying each others company so much that we missed the turn to my friends house via the directions he provided, so we took the long route there.  I'm trying to remember the last time he and I had some quality and quantity time together and I'm coming up blank, so it was obviously much needed.  We finally got to the Murdock Manor much later than we had originally anticipated, and then there were some slight grill-lighting, propane issues that had to be addressed and resolved.  Once those issues were taken care of, dinner was finished and was fabulous!  Sam and Krissy went all out...bread with dipping sauce, cheese and pepperoni for appetizers, steak, and pasta with two kinds of homemade sauces.  Oh my goodness...it was delicious!  And then Sam topped it off with homemade canoli's, although I was so stuffed with everything else that I couldn't even finish it off!  We watched the triathlon episode of Scrubs while eating our dessert, feeling full as ticks, then went to bed.  I certainly carbo-loaded adequately!

We tried to leave their house by 5 AM the next morning, and had plans to meet the girls by 5:30...we didn't quite make it.  I'm not sure if we left later than we wanted to, or if it simply took longer than we thought to get from their house to the race, but we finally got there at about 6 AM.  We unloaded the bike, gear and got my body markings - race number on my forearms and my age on my calf, then headed to the transition area to set up.  We found the girls fairly easily, then just hung out until racetime.

Since we were the newbies, our wave was the last to go, so we made it in the water shortly after 8:15AM.  The water was cool, but not as cold as I was anticipating.  What I had been told about, but couldn't really plan for, were the people kicking me...so I treaded water and held out in the back of the pack.  In retrospect, since I'm not the greatest of swimmers anyway, that probably wasn't the best of plans.  I never did make that time back up.  I was one of the last people to get out of the water and pretty much brought up the rear for the rest of the race. 

Which leads me to that jolt to my pride statement....

So I'm out of the water, get to the transition area, and I pretty much have it all to myself.  I look up and see Matt filming and wonder to myself why on earth he's trying to film me in the horror that is me attempting to change clothes without the world seeing anything.  He must have read my mind, because I think at that precise moment he quit filming.  Me actually trying to change clothes was a rookie mistake...I should have just pulled the dry clothes on OVER my swimsuit and ridden my bike in that, but oh well.  I get my clothes on - WITHOUT anyone seeing anything, mind you, and head out of the transition area. (Oh, and in case you're wondering, that wasn't the jolt to the pride story)  Then on my bike I go...then I realize I didn't have my sunglasses, that they're still in my purse, in the car.

Great.

Anyway, on the bike, here I go, heading out for a 15 mile bike ride.  A little bit into it an older gentleman passes me, then a motorcycle comes up behind me, comes beside me, and then says to me, "You know you're the last one, right?"  Inside my head I'm thinking, 'Gee thanks, buddy...I needed THAT right now.'  I just looked at him.  He continues, "You aren't going to let that 72 year old guy beat you, are you?  You know, the one that just passed you?"  Did you feel that hit?  Because I certainly did.  Let me just note that it wasn't coming across as nice, these comments he was making.  If he was going for motivating, he was certainly missing his mark.

So I looked at him and said, "I'm not worried about BEATING anyone.  My goal is simply to finish."  And then I smiled at him and kept right on cycling.  I was determined to NOT let that comment persuade me to quit.  And you know what, a few more miles into the cycle I wasn't the last one anymore...and he rode by me and told me so.  And he also made a point of telling me every so often how good I was doing, too.

As I was finishing the bike portion, it was ever-so-obvious that the "non-newbies", oh heck, who am I kidding, and many of the "newbies" had been done for quite some time, as the race and surrounding area was clearing out, but folks were very gracious to the steady gal on the bike, number 444, and certainly cheered her on!  It was quite nice.  There were a few of us hitting the run at the same time ('cause remember, I said I wasn't last anymore), and we wound around the lake that really tempted me to jump back in it and around the neighborhood for a "quick 3 miles".  HA! I think the exact words out of my mouth were 'smooth like butter' as I started that run and I don't exactly know where those came from...

All-in-all, I finished the race in about 2 hours 15 minutes.  Whoop!

Kids say...cont.

Kellen to me, after Tatum was being particularly...herself, or shall we say challenging, "It must be difficult to be the Mommy somedays." {Buddy, you have NO idea}

After taking Tatum's booster seat off of the table, since she no longer wants to sit in it, Kellen informed me that we needed to keep it in case he has a baby brother someday.  Because, he's ..."wanted a baby brother since forever."  Really?  'Cause I'm fairly certain that your FIRST request was for a sister.  And that request was granted buddy.

So Tatum is now ill...running a fever that disqualifies her from attending school for at least tomorrow and had a few bouts of diarrhea today.  As I was getting her ready for bed, she was desperate to give her Kellen a night-night hug and kiss.  Unfortunately, I had to tell her I couldn't let her do that because she was sick.  "I'm not sick!" she screamed repeatedly.  "I'm not supposed to be sick! I need to give Kellen a night night hug and kiss!"  Me, "But you can't, because you're running a fever and you're sick."  Her, "No I'm NOT!  I'm not sick!"

Quotable quotes

'Cause I think my kids are that funny, interesting and sometimes say the darndest things....

"Life is good." - Kellen, as said to me on our way to church this morning.  This was after detailing the beautiful day outside, the fact that we hadn't been outside playing in our backyard on our swingset much lately because of all of the rain.  Why did it have to rain so much Mommy, 'cause it had been raining for like a thousand years or something.

"Darn-it [emphasized by slamming both fists on the table], I am NOT naughty!" - Tatum, at lunchtime today while not sitting as she was supposed to be.  Sidenote:  Mommy had not actually called her naughty. 

And I'm not sure why I can't think of additional ones, because they consistently crack me up at every turn.  I MUST find ways to document them better, because they're pricess, and my memory does not remember everything it hears....it simply remembers something funny was said, and if you're lucky, it might remember the topic of the funny comment.

Shout it out...

Well, we're trying to do something of the sort with the recent illnesses in the house.  Kellen is home today and he doesn't feel well.  Perhaps I should say that he didn't feel well.  He seems to be feeling much better, which is GREAT!  He was running a low-grade fever this morning and had a variety of symptoms that assured me he wasn't faking, so I spent some time clearing my calendar, made arrangements for a conference call on the item that couldn't be put off, then got the Tatum-tot ready for school.  I apparently had too many irons in the fire, as I made it to school with Tatum but no lunch for her.  Ug.  I corrected that small oversight, then Kellen and I made a quick trip to the store to stock up on a variety of antibacterial cleaning supplies so that I could attempt to clean EVERYTHING possible in the house today.  Unfortunately, I didn't expect my conference call(s) to last as long as they did.  But you have to do what you have to do, right?

Anyway, with the assistance of some caffeine, delivered by an incredibly thoughtful friend, I feel like I have been fairly productive today...I have kept the laundry going, cleaned the kitchen (counters, including moving items and cleaning backboards); swept and mopped the floors; cleaned the trashcan exterior; and ran the dishwasher twice; cleaned the stove; and dishwasher exterior.  I disinfected the kids bathroom, including a VERY thorough cleaning of the toilet - ALL of the toilet, including behind it.  Sidenote: Daddy needs to chat with Kellen about aiming.  'Nough said.  I changed the linens in both of the kids rooms and disinfected the mattress and bed frame in Kellen's room.  In case you're wondering, I lysol'ed the loveseat, then put a clean sheet on it and he's been camped out there for the day...his own little "set-up" and he loves it.

Luckily, I like the citrus smell of the cleaner I bought, and I have really put a dent in it so far!  Hopefully I'll knock out whatever germs are floating around in this house...and hopefully they haven't already spread.

I'm not through yet, so wish me luck!  And stay healthy yourself!

Progress Report

We've made it through the first six weeks for Kellen, and Daddy and I had the parent-teacher conference today. Considering that he had come home with a few "Needs Improvement" on his weekly progress charts, we weren't surprised that he had some of those on his report card for behavior-related issues. Shocked, we were not.

It was; however, nice to know that when tested, he was at a 2nd grade reading level. And he is performing at an Excellent (Note: 95-100) level for mathematics for what is expected right now. And for the remainder of his Academics, he scored nothing below a "S" on his report card. In addition, he's getting some additional challenge practice for reading because he's reading at such a high level (teacher's aide pulling him and one other kid from his class and another from one other class out and working with them in a small group at their level) three times a week for about 45 minutes each time. In addition, he's getting "Enrichment" activities, which was explained to us as activities for students early-identified as those who most likely would be testing into GT.

All-in-all, I'm thrilled with how he's doing academically! Now, if we can simply try and pinpoint and improve on some of his behavioral issues, we'll be in better shape. Which is not to say we aren't in good shape now, it's simply to say that there is room for improvement.

So, our action plan is that for the next couple of weeks is that we'll be receiving a daily email letting us know if Kellen started the day with a positive or negative attitude. We're going to try and see if we can identify the "why" on his beginning-of-the-day attitude to see if 1) I need to change the morning routine; 2) he needs to get more sleep; 3) Daddy needs to commute more; 4) we need to scale back on some of the extracurricular activities; or 5) some combination of all of the above. If we can make progress in one area, that will be good enough for me!

Moving on....
Sparks.
Kellen is doing wonderfully at Sparks. He is FABULOUS at memorizing scripture. We went through a lesson tonight and the scripture was the first part of one, and he already knew the entire thing. It's amazing what he's learning from listening to the Sparks CD at night! So, just to see what he knew, I asked him the scriptures through the remainder of the book, and he knew all of them with the exception of 2, but knew those 2 with the one or two word reminder to start things off. His goal is to finish the book out this week - I suggested that we shoot for the end of the month.

I have gone through the book and made index cards with all of the scriptures on them in flash card style so that we can continue to go over them even after he finishes the book. Plus, it's helpful for me, even though I have no problem saying that Kellen has these verses down much better than I do!

Growing pains

In case you were wondering, growing pains are very real....and poor Kellen certainly had his share of them tonight. He's going through yet another growth spurt (I feel like he JUST did this!) and was in terrible pain tonight, complaining about his knee joints hurting. He was almost inconsolable before bedtime. Poor guy!

I think Tatum is going through one as well, although her growth spurt doesn't seem quite as painful as Kellen's. It will be interesting to see how much he's grown since his last growth spurt, which I believe was mid-summer...we'll measure him the next time he goes to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's to see....