The meaning...

God's moving, but I seem to be left searching for the 'Why?' in the movement at the moment. There have been so many things this week that I've been dealing with that I simply don't know where to start, so I won't. I'm not going to rehash it all. Suffice it to say, God's been testing how broad my shoulders are and my ability to lean solely on Him. If my faith exhibited through my life this week were a class, I'm not sure that I would be passing at this point in time.

I attended a funeral for a colleague this afternoon that was a wonderful celebration of a life lived to the fullest. It was beautiful. I know that Dr. Edwards is in a better place, and is no longer in pain. His life and servant leadership is a model to emulate, and I left wondering if I'll ever "get it" and "get there" and wondered what people would say of my life and witness if something were to happen to me. These things really make you think. Especially in light of the various things I had to deal with this week.

Did I exhibit Christ's love through the various conflicts I dealt with this week? When I consciously thought about it, I tried, but how successful was I? And why should I have to consciously think about it? Shouldn't it be an outpouring of me and my innermost self without the conscious thought?

On other fronts....
Tatum busted both of her lips this afternoon on the concrete as she fell off of the swing while she and Kellen were outside playing. Matt was watching them while I was attempting to take a nap to ward off the migraine that has now taken residence upon my brain. Moments into the attempted nap, I hear Tatum's screams and Kellen runs into my room to inform me of the incident.

"Did you get your DADDY?!?" I asked, probably louder than I intended or needed.

"Yes, but her lips are bleeding."

So I rushed out to the living room to check on things. Looking back, I'm not quite sure why I did this, since the most appropriate person to check on her was doing so, but anyway...Matt asked if she wanted to snuggle with Mommy, and she did. So Tatum and I snuggled with a rag on her lips for a while to stop the bleeding. Kellen was so sweet during the whole thing. He was terribly upset that Tatum was hurt, and ran to get whatever we needed...her lovey, her blanket, a hug, a kiss, held her hand, whatever. He was the embodiment of the caring big brother and it was just precious.

Poor thing, though...both lips are quite swollen. We don't think there was any damage to her teeth, and when she brushed them tonight she didn't grimace or wince like she was in pain. When it was 'my turn' I brushed and tried to check to see if anything was loose, and nothing appeared to be.

And to back things up a little further, we had a WONDERFUL time today at Kellen's school carnival. They had all kinds of games set up and both he and Tatum had fun playing games. There were a few that Tatum was able to play, so we tried to let her play some as well so she didn't get too bored. She also got her face painted (a purple butterfly on one side and an orange flower on the other side). She was adorable during the painting...she kept perfectly still during the entire thing. She just LOVES getting her face painted!

There was an obstacle course that Kellen ran and at the time he ran it, he was the 4th fastest grade K student. They're keeping tally of the top 5 students in each grade level on a board throughout the day, and the fastest in each grade receives a prize. We were so proud of him! You could tell that when he started to run the course that he was nervous, and he really wanted us to cheer for him, which of course we did. Even Tatum got in on it, cheering her big brother along!

Matt and I got reminded of how much Kellen likes moon bounces and other bounce-type pieces, so we ended the carnival experience with a few of those games. And by the time we made it back to the house, both kids were fast asleep in their carseats, evidence that they both had a BLAST!

Spring fever

"Spring fever" is what Kellen's teacher coined as the cause for his misbehaving ways today. Darn! He had been doing so well at school! Apparently he had a lot of trouble today listening and following directions. At least enough trouble to warrant an email to me with a request to reinforce those items at home. Got it! Consider reinforcement of said behaviors done...

I feel like I've gotten a mark against me in the "bad parent" column seeing as how he misbehaved the day after I let the he and Tatum have a movie night because they both had such good days yesterday. On a school night at that! Shame on me. But I enjoyed watching Aladdin, too!

Today was picture day for Kellen...Matt and I discussed, at length, whether or not to cut his hair for the pictures, and ultimately decided against doing so. Kellen is becoming increasingly 'attached' to his hair, so much so that he'll put his hands over his head to 'protect' his hair if we discuss him actually getting a haircut. As of now, neither Matt nor I mind this, but I wonder how long that will last...Matt typically likes to give him HIS type of hair cut come late spring/early summer, and keep it that way throughout the summer time. I'm not sure if Kellen will be up for that one this summer...It might be interesting...

In another front, Tatum will be two in a week. Whoa. Where did the time go? On the one hand, I can't believe she's going to be two! On the other, I can barely remember my life - our family - without her. If you've ever met her, you'll understand that on a couple of levels, especially considering she has such a strong personality (can't imagine where she might get one of those).

She's still doing GREAT on the potty front...She's had maybe 4 accidents in the last 3 weeks or so, one at school and the others either on our way home or with me. Hmm...what does that say? I wonder if I'm not asking enough? I had a conference yesterday and today and took her with me this morning to get some coffee before I dropped her off. While we were waiting on it, I asked her if she needed to go and she said "yes," so we did. And she did. I'm working on this with her, but I'm still not really sure that I'm ready for her to actually GO to the potty. Even considering the fact that I cloth diaper, it's still a LOT easier for her to just go in her diaper and have me change her when the diaper is full and/or I get a chance, rather than when she has to go RIGHT THEN.

Mommy's got to get with it!

What streaks...

The kids are doing pretty well over here...Kellen is actually GOING to the potty (YAY for medicine that works consistently!), Tatum is NOT having accidents consistently, and on the sleep front, she's going to bed like a champ once more. Now, the next hurdle to overcome is getting BOTH (yes, I typed BOTH) kids to sleep all night in their OWN beds, and to sleep all night without having to be taken to the potty, or put back in bed at any point in time prior to 6 AM. Heck....I would even bump that back to 5:30 right now and be pretty much ok with it...

It is a little sad to take one kid back to bed only to see another asleep on the floor next to the gate containing her in her room. Awww...

But kids in bed is one habit that I do NOT want to start (on a rare occasion, ok, but every night crawling in bed with us, nope). Sadly, Matt doesn't necessarily agree with me. Either that or he's buying Kellen's sob story virtually EVERY night...or Kellen's really sneaky...Dunno.

I have some work stuff going on right now that's pretty stressful...Some university-wide student vs advisor articles that have run in the Batt that I get to deal with visa via my office this year with the advising organization on campus. Pray for guidance as I meet with some committees and navigate these political waters. I need my brain-to-mouth filter firmly in place and most of all, need the Lord to provide the correct and appropriate words to say.

The secret?

I didn't want to post for fear it might ruin it, but I believe we have found the secret to Tatum staying in her bed until she falls asleep. We haven't quite made it to the sleeping all night long in her bed until the regular morning (per the rest of the world, or at least the rest of the household, is concerned), but it's progress!

Friday night was the discovery night. I began the nighttime ritual the same as usual, with me catching her getting out of bed, then walking her back to bed, tucking her back in, and telling her 'night night'. One time I even stayed outside of her door and counted on my hand to five. Sure enough, by the time I had gotten to five fingers, she was at the door opening it up. The next time I put her back into bed, she actually told me, 'door open', so I thought I would give it a try.

Grandpa Gerren had come to visit on Friday as well, and he offered to go lay on the floor in her room to assist, but I told him I was going to try something different. I was going to leave the door open slightly and try to catch her being good.

By this point in time it had been longer than a count to five, and she was still laying in bed, so I went into her room (the door had been left slightly open), praised her for staying in bed and going night night, and told her I would be back. I put my stopwatch on, and went back in after 30 seconds and repeated the above statements. 45 seconds. Repeat. 2 minutes. Repeat. 5 minutes. Repeat. When I went back in after 7 minutes, she was asleep.

Whoo hoo!

Saturdays nap went remarkably well, too. Grandpa and I took the kids to the park while Daddy worked on the yard, and we made it back to the house slightly after noon for lunch. It was about 12:45 and Tatum was rubbing her eyes and actually asking for night night...Well, about that time, Daddy was working in the front yard immediately under her window - and he wasn't raking leaves. He was mowing and weed eating. That didn't faze her. We followed the same routine as Friday night, only we started out with the cracked door and she was asleep within 5 minutes, I believe...I went in after 2 minutes to check on her, and she was in that 'almost' phase, the next time in she was completely asleep.

Saturday night followed the same pattern, although it began a half hour earlier because her nap was abruptly cut short by an older brother screaming for mommy inside the house. (Thank you very much). The half hour shift didn't seem to bother her, and it still worked.

Sunday went smoothly as well, and so did tonight. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!

Now, if we can only get her to STAY in bed after she wakes up in the middle of the night, rather than go back to sleep by the baby gate or worse, scream until a parental figure 'rescues' her...

Any suggestions for that one? I'm open here!

Whew!

I feel like I can *almost* breathe a sigh of relief...this week has been SO HECTIC, both with work activities and with the Tatum sleep adjustment issues. I am just READY for a relaxing weekend...

Lord, PLEASE let this be a relaxing weekend!

To update...the chili went well, and Matt invented his own special chili recipe, even if he didn't intend to do so. He went to the store last night, but didn't quite get my grocery list exactly correct, so the chili wasn't made how I usually make it. But, as is his normal cooking style, he managed to pull it off and it still tasted pretty good with his "help" even if it wasn't my normal chili recipe. In fact, it was one of the only pots of chili there that I could actually EAT without needing a fire extinguisher for my mouth, so I was completely ok with it! It; however, did not win the chili cook off (as opposed to the last time I made chili and entered it in the chili cook off...it DID win). Just saying...

We now have valentines for the parties at both schools that will be taking place tomorrow. Kellen and I spend some time writing out his valentines, inserting the tatoos, and sealing then shut. What exactly is the point of sealing them shut with a sticker anyway? The 'to' and 'from' are on the outside of the card itself? I just don't get that... That, along with the chili cook off and having to go to the store to get said valentines resulted in him going to bed VERY late - I certainly hope that tonight and tomorrow go well for him. He hasn't been sleeping well at night either lately, so I hope that tonight will be different for him (and subsequently for me as well).

Hey, Tatum's visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw, so I don't have to worry about her. If Kellen has a good night sleep, perhaps that means that I will as well, right? Sound logic, huh?

A girl can dream, can't she?

3 days in a row...

Now I'm detecting a pattern. Here we are at Wednesday, and no accidents for Tater-tot at daycare again today. She's even poo poo'ed on the potty.

Now, I was expecting some problems today, but perhaps they'll show up tomorrow - she snuck a drink of unknown size of Kellen's "special" yogurt drink this morning. There are two problems with that. First, it's a strawberry flavored drink and she can't have 1) fruit and 2) strawberries, specifically, yet and the next BIG problem is that it was Kellen's "special" drink, which means it had a FULL dose of laxative in it. I have NO IDEA how much of the drink she got before I caught her. Will that catch up with her tomorrow? We shall see.

We're almost at Valentine's day and I'm quickly realizing this holiday has snuck up on me. Both of the kids have school parties on Friday afternoon, and we're currently valentine-less in this household. Yikes!

I guess I know what my project for tomorrow will be. After the chili cook off. Oh yes...the undergraduate chili cook off is tomorrow immediately after work. So as I type, the third pound of ground beef is browning on the stove for my chili. Yes, I know it's late. I might not even have the chance to throw it all together until the morning. Because other than the meat, I don't have any of the rest of the ingredients I need to actually MAKE the chili. Another yikes! Oh well, I guess it's ok for only deciding to enter it at all last night!

2 days in a row...

So for the 2nd day in a row, Tatum had zero accidents at school. She had an accident at the house this morning before we left, and one immediately before bedtime, but I think in the hustle and bustle of the morning, I didn't ask her if she needed to go as we were trying to get out of the house. As for tonight, well...that was just an accident. I asked, she said no, and went not even minutes later.

She's getting there, but I would by no means call her potty trained.

On the Kellen front...no accidents today. What a blessing!!

Big changes

So long containment, hello freedom! *Sigh*

If you've ready any of the latest posts here, you're probably guessing what happened.

Tatum got home on Friday night, and was already asleep, so Friday night was just fine. Saturday for nap; however, was an altogether different story. I returned for a quick trip to the store, after getting her down and Kellen all ready for nap, in time for Matt to ask me, "Guess who can climb out of her crib?"

I'll give you two guesses and I don't think you'll need the second one, huh?

I immediately went into mommy-panic mode...you know the kind. 'She can't stay one minute longer in the crib, it must be taken apart and she must go into a toddler bed, we have to do this NOW, she's not sleeping in that bed like that tonight, etc, etc.' All true statements, but they could probably have been said over the span of perhaps two minutes rather than two seconds...I dunno...

At any rate, our Saturday afternoon, clean up around the house and take a walk to the park plans changed rather dramatically...the kids and I ended up going to Rockdale to pick up the toddler bed that was being stored there. We left shortly after the kids woke up from their naps (much later than normal because hey...it took Tatum a while longer than normal to go to sleep - apparently a small feat of strength will do that to you - or maybe it was the small bump on her noggin from the climb/fall out of the crib that interfered with her sleep pattern?)

At any rate, we get there, my uncle and I get the bed, and Tatum is following us to the van as we are getting ready to load the bed and mattress. We stop and put the items down...Tatum didn't. She high-tailed it RIGHT into the metal foot of her new bed. In the eye. Thank God that it was at the height it was, because millimeters in either direction and I shudder to think of the damage that the metal rod could/would have caused her eye with the force of her collision. As it was, the top of the rod gashed into her eyebrow and the bottom bruised the area immediately underneath her eye.

I scooped her up and ran her into the house, with the blood pooling on her eyebrow and then dripping down her face and onto her shirt and shorts...bless her heart, she was just screaming her head off - and I don't blame her one bit! My uncle was running behind me, my aunt and Kellen were inside the house, and Kellen wanted to know what was wrong with his sister! My aunt isn't as mobile as she once was, and I'm sure it was upsetting her to no end that she wasn't able to help us. I had my head next to Tatum's and just kept repeating, 'Mommy's gonna fix it. Mommy's gonna make it all better.' I was able to stop the bleeding, then get Tatum calmed down enough to sit on my lab and let me hold ice on her eye for about five minutes or so. It's a nice cut, but not bad enough to need stitches. I do imagine that it will scar. So she'll have a scar in her eyebrow just like her mommy.

Good grief!

A few minutes later and she was running around asking for a snack like nothing had ever happened, so Praise the Lord that all things ended up like they did!

We got the bed loaded back up, and then made it back home in time for supper that Daddy made for us (YAY!). While the kids were eating, I cleaned up the bed and put it in Tatum's room. In the process, I did my fair share of crying. The room no longer looked like my baby's room. It had a toddler bed in it and looked like a toddler room. And it made me cry. Seriously cry. And I think it made my husband question my sanity. Although I'm not entirely sure about that one.

We introduced Tatum to her new bed (re-introduced, I guess I should really say) and she liked it (much better the second time around, really...). A short while later, it was time for bed.

Then the fun really began.

Due to our trip and getting the bed set up, we were about a half hour off of her normal bedtime, but I lost count of how many trips we made with her back to her room and to her new bed. After an hour and a half, I finally just went in her room, laid down in the bed with her, and patted her back until she fell asleep. (Don't judge - I had had enough!)

That worked fine. And she didn't get up. At least until 1:30 when we heard her screaming for Mommy at the baby gate we put across her door frame. So Daddy went to get her, and she spent the rest of the night in our bed, snuggled as tightly as she could get against me. She likes to snuggle tight and push. I felt like I was inches away from getting pushed out of my bed. And I don't have a really small bed!

Fast forward to Sunday nap and I think the time frame to get her down was about an hour and a half...I'm not sure what finally worked on that one, but I think it was just the Mommy-Daddy tag team combination that finally wore her down.

Sunday night we whittled the TTS (time-to-sleep) to down about an hour. We tried about 30 minutes of walking her back into her room and putting her back in bed, and then after than, I laid on the floor for a little while until she finally fell asleep. I actually think I did as well, so the full TTS might not have been a full hour - Matt came to get me at about 8:15.

Tonight was about 45 minutes. We did a few trips of putting her back to bed (maybe a half dozen or so), then I laid down in her room on the floor for about 15 minutes and she was out. I think that might have to be the plan we go with at least in the beginning, as it really seems to work with her!

On the Kellen treatment front, he seems to be doing well with this medicine. He was able to 'go' before bed tonight and said it didn't hurt at all. Praise the Lord! That's two days in a row, which is a blessing in and of itself.

On the Tatum potty front, she went all day today at school without any accidents. I'll just say a big WOW on that one. Still am not expecting it, but it's nice!

Clean Slate

So after yet another accident today....Kellen and I went to Walgreens to pick up two different medicines...his "old" medicine and an enema. The latter was HIGHLY recommended by a co-worker who is dealing with the same issue with his son, and their doctor - a specialist - recommended it as one prong in their trio approach treatment. We had, up to this point, done the two other prongs, but hadn't taken the leap for the third.

I took the leap.

So we now have a clean slate, so to speak. I won't go into details. Suffice it to say, I still want to know what's wrong with Kellen. I'll simply ask WHY should that particular medicine (or any other medicine, for that matter?) take 2-4 times the allotted time frame to take effect when the box says 2-5 minutes (it took his body almost 10 minutes to kick in). Ask yourself, if you've ever had one, if it took the full time the box indicated to take effect.

Uh...Hello????

At any rate, we'll begin the Miralax tomorrow and will try for two weeks, as was the plan the first time around.

Please pray for Kellen as we go through this. Pray for a cessation of accidents, especially at school (four in this week alone horrifies me - I shudder to think of the various impacts those are having on Kellen). Pray for us as we continue to trouble-shoot, and pray that we are making and continue to make the correct decisions for his treatment, whatever that needs to be.

Updates...

1. We're still trying to "regulate" Kellen. Unfortunately, he had another accident yesterday. I talked with Matt about switching him from this medicine back to the old medicine...his body seems to react better to it. I mentioned that last night, and Kellen was happy about it. I said something about it again this morning and Kellen was excited. He went on to make some comments about it that just made me want to cry...

'I like the old medicine, because it didn't make me have accidents. This medicine makes me have accidents. It turns my poo poo into poo poo water and it doesn't stay inside - it leaks out.'

Oh my...let me tell you...first thing in the morning - heck, any time of the day, that just broke my heart.

He had another two accidents today...So, bottom line - I'm not giving him any more of that medicine, will get some more of the Miralax, and we'll switch asap. We'll try for two weeks - same plan as before - and see if his body can start to self regulate.

2. My daughter is a chocoholic. (I wonder where she gets that from?). And she's a sneak.

Interesting combination.

There was a small container of Oreos on the computer desk this morning. She had seen it and was continually asking for 'cookie'. Considering she had only just had breakfast, I had told her no. Well, I was in another room for only a few short minutes, and that was apparently long enough for her to get into the container, get a cookie, and spill the rest of them on the floor. When her daddy walked in and busted her, she tried to cover by picking them up and returning them to the container, then taking the container to her daddy and telling him, 'cookies yucky-fell floor - yucky'.

Little stinker.

I guess that's what I get for not eating them all last night, huh?

3. Tatum is visiting Maw Maw and Paw Paw today...Well, I got an email today during work letting me know that Tatum is now capable of escaping...er, climbing out of her pack-n-play.

Nice.

To the best of my knowledge, she hasn't tried to get out of her crib here. YET. Kellen was out of it at about 20 months, if my memory serves me correctly. So we've had 3 months of extra 'containment' time with her....Let's just see how long it continues.

I'm NOT ready for that switch over here...

She what???

As many of you know, Tatum has been choosing, as she feels like it, to potty train herself. Periodically, I'll ask her whether she wants to wear undies or a diaper as she's getting dressed in the morning. The past couple of days, she's chosen undies.

And she's done ok during the day...I don't have high expectations, and it doesn't really matter to me whether or not she has accidents during the day. I take LOTS of undies, diapers, and lots of changes of clothes, just in case.

Well, I go to pick her up today, fully expecting to see her in an outfit other than that in which I dropped her off.

Not so.

She didn't have ANY accidents today. At all.

They put her in a diaper at nap time. But it was dry even after she woke up.

No accidents. None.

Now...I don't expect this to continue, but WOW! Way to go baby girl! I guess you wanted to make a big splash once you hit 23 months old, huh?

Challenge

To get the kids to work on their areas of control (ie., THEIR rooms), while I simultaneously work on the rest of the house. Plus laundry, plus whatever else happens to be on my to-do list today. (The goal is to surprise Daddy when he gets home with a clean house. The question is whether or not this is an attainable goal). And to get ALL of it done in enough time to get a birthday present for the party we have at 2 PM.

AND to make time for naps prior to that. For the kids. Not necessarily for me (who are we kidding!?!?).


We'll see how that goes...


What challenges are you up against today?

Odd week

This has been an odd week...

I've had mental moments all week long - you know the kind...the ones where you have way too much to do and tasks that should roll off your brain make you think WAY too hard and question your abilities.

Then yesterday, my assistant flipped backwards out of her chair and hurt her leg on the trash can, and a short while later I smashed my pinky finger in one of my long desk drawers. Instantaneously the nail was filling with blood...You know those kind of smashes...the ones that make you want to scream, but you can't scream because you're in an office, and that's not socially acceptable. You know, you can't just scream your head off in an office, right?

Ug...

So all day yesterday while trying to work, I fought to keep, "my throbbing finger" from seeping into every thought. I punctured it twice last night to relieve the pressure, but it still woke me up several times last night. So I punctured it again this morning.

Just in case you're wondering...I'm gonna lose that entire fingernail. I just know it.

As I got into the office this morning, I came to the realization that you actually USE that little pinky finger A LOT when you type.

Ouch.

I'm still not sure why this week has felt so "off" though...Oh well..only one more day until the weekend!

New feature

Follow me, if you want...I've added the "Followers" section to the blog on the sidebar toward the bottom on the page (you'll probably need to scroll down to see it, below the list of blogs). If you would like to follow the blog, feel free to click and follow. If not, no biggie, just thought I would add the feature.

Have you....?

I copied this from a friend's blog. The thing said to bold ones that applied.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper (can't imagine why I'm bolding this one...LOL)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (depends on your definition of "afford" - God provides...
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty (can you even do this any more after 9/11? - I'm bolding this one since I've at least been to the Statue of Liberty...)
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (Yup...taken 'em when the kids are sick)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold shower
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (just about every time I dance! LOL)
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment (Just about every time I look at one of my kiddos!)
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Money doesn't buy my satisfaction...)
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing (Does the Rec count?)
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Survived a Hurricane (Ike, anyone?)
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy (I have kids, of course I do this!)
70. Found out something significant about your ancestors
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fo
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people (I like to think I have the opportunity to do this fairly often!)
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band (Does high school count?)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style (I'm not that trendy or influential! LOL)
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in a historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Ran a marathon (Can I italicize this for a half marathon?)
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment (Can we say learning instead of learned?)
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David (And it is MAGNIFICANT!!!)
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
64. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
6. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics (Does attending a former location of the Olympics count - Munich, Germany?)
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books - Yeah, buddy!!
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
80. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog (Hmmm...)
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
198. Built your own PC from parts
199. Written your own role playing game
200. Been arrested

I forgot daddy...

I realized that in my ramblings yesterday updating everyone, I left out daddy! Oops! Daddy's working very hard in pursuit of a new direction in his life...very potentially a completely new career. It's exciting and a little scary (perhaps just for me?) all at the same time, but we're trusting that we're following what God wants for him in this, so please pray for him in this new path and that we continue to follow God!

Updates

I know I'm still woefully behind on the Christmas update, so please still bear with me on that one...

School has started back up, so I may be a little scarce for a bit...Here's a quick update on the kids.

Kellen

We started his treatment back up on Tuesday afternoon. He seems to be better from whatever upper respiratory crud he had, so it's time to try this again. Day 2 of the treatment was tonight, and Day 1's was successful in its production WHILE HE WAS AT HOME this morning before school. A BIG HUGE YAY on that one. I don't even care (too much, anyway) that I was late for work this morning. Thank you, Lord, for not having him repeat the incident from the last go-round again, and for sparing us ALL from having to go through something like that again today. Please allow Day 3+ to go smoothly as well.

He's doing well both in school and in Kids Klub, other than regular bumps, etc. He had an ice pack on his head when I picked him up today, but he's ok.

Tatum

Tatum is enjoying school, so much so that she runs AWAY from me in the afternoon when I pick her up. She doesn't ever seem ready to leave when I get there. That helps to alleviate some of the mommy guilt that I get when she cries in the morning when I leave her. :-) I know that it's developmental and completely normal for her to do that, but it sure is wearing for me to see and hear her cry for me almost every morning. However, her love of her activities and the fact that she isn't begging to leave as soon as I gets there tells me that she DOES like her school. That and the fact that she asks to GO to school are both clues.

She did; however, have a slight issue today. I picked her up and it looked like she had been scratched by a cat. Seriously. She has ENORMOUS scratches on her face, apparently from another kiddo who decided that verbal "Mine" arguments weren't sufficient, so she resorted to scratching Tatum and got a good swipe in before she was grabbed. And I guess her nails were jagged and did a NUMBER on Tatum. I seriously hope they don't leave scars, and I'm NOT overreacting. I doctored it again tonight with some antibiotic ointment, so I'm hopeful that it 1) won't get infected and 2) Tatum will leave it alone. Please let Tatum leave it alone as it heals...

Mommy

My knees felt like they were back to normal today, but they apparently are not. As I was getting ready to leave the office today, the fire alarm went off in the building. I had to close down the computer quickly, not sure if it was a false alarm or not, and of course, couldn't take the elevator. For those of you that aren't aware, my office isn't on the first floor...but on the fourth. My knees haven't completely recovered from the race.

And speaking of the race, I thought I would throw in a few pictures from this weekend, for those of you interested...

Prior to the race, in front of the George R. Brown...


During the race...and I have no idea what mile marker this was taken at, but I believe it was fairly early in the race...

After the race at the George R. Brown...

And then with some of my biggest fans...

So my question is this...what next? I set a rather lofty goal, really...didn't adequately prepare for it (I'm being altogether truthful here - running up to 6 miles doesn't prepare you for 13.1) and chanted Phil 4:13 through a good portion of this race. As a sidenote, 'I can do all things, through Christ who strenghens me,' is a GREAT pace setter, by the way...I did it, but certainly NOT on my own strength and ability.

So what's next? I personally do best with goals that I work to accomplish, and right now I'm not working towards any. Well, that's not completely true...I always have goals that I'm working towards, but this one really stretched me further than I could do on my own. At least that's how it felt. And since I've done this, I want to be working towards another physical goal...especially since I can see the spiritual significance in pushing our physical bodies to the limit of what WE think we can do.

Any ideas? Another half? Working on a better time? A biathalon? A 10K? I'm open to suggestions....

02:45:28

2 hours, 45 minutes and 28 seconds seems to be my chip time...My pace was a 12:38 min/mile...

I made it, I'm alive, I had no acute injuries during the race, my hip flexors and toe nails hurt, and I'm tired. *grin*

I had a wonderful experience, and my next one (yes, I feel that there will be a next one) will probably go even better with more adequate training.

YAY!!

ETA:

Some stats, for those of you interested:
Of my age group of females, (F30-34), I came in 484/696.

Of all females, I came in 2591/4085.

Of all half-marathon participants, I came in 4414/6327.

Of course, these are still the unofficial results as of about a half hour ago...

A kiss...

Or at least an attempt, was had by Kellen today. *sigh* Are we there already?

I walked in to Kids Klub today and was greeted by Kellen with ice on his head (fun fact #1 - slight head injury from running into the wall in the gym). Then I was asked to stay for a second while another one of the counselors came over so she could speak with me. (Fun fact #2 - Just in case you didn't know, that's almost NEVER good.)

She then proceeds to tell me that she saw a girl pushing Kellen today, separated the two of them and then reminded the girl about the 'we don't push' rule. The girl then defended herself and replied that she was pushing Kellen away because he was trying to kiss her.

Uh.

The counselor then confirmed this fact with Kellen.

Yup. He did indeed try to kiss her.

She then reminded Kellen that we don't kiss our friends at school. (I have reiterated this and went a little further...we don't kiss our friends. That's something for grown-ups.)

However, at this point in time when I was hearing the story, my first question to him was, "Where did you try and kiss her?"

His response, "Down there," while pointing to an area in the cafeteria.

Still so innocent. And I desperately want to keep it that way!

What a day...

So I went for a short run this morning in my new shoes. I didn't realize how poorly cushioned my OLD shoes were until I ran in my NEW shoes.

NICE!!

It was brutally cold this morning. Brutal might be overstating it some, but it was cold. If it's going to be as cold on Sunday, I might have to add another layer for the race. And/or gloves that I don't mind parting with at some point in time during the run.

Hmmm...

Today was also the awards ceremony for the Vice Chancellor's Awards in Excellence (part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference). I was part of a team that was nominated and received one of these awards for our recruiting efforts as it related to diversity (it was actually the Diversity award).

I'm glad that God chose to allow our team to be blessed in this manner, and that He's allowed me to be blessed with such wonderful co-workers who will work so hard alongside me, and to take time out of their days to nominate us for such an award. I'm blessed that He's allowed me to work in an environment where I truly feel that my contributions and ideas make a difference, not only to those with whom I work, but those with whom I interact - mainly the students. I am blessed to be in this particular work environment and truly feel that this is where I'm supposed to be. God seems to continually remind me that I'm exactly where He wants me to be and that this is what He wants me to be doing. He knows that there are certainly times when I need that reminder.

Lord, thank you for reminding me today that what I'm doing IS making a difference, and that everything that I'm doing is ultimately for You.

Interesting thought..

Four Benefits of Putting Margin in Your Life
by Rick Warren
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
Here are four immediate benefits you’ll receive by building margin into your life:

1. Peace of mind. When you’re not always hurrying and worrying, you have time to think, time to relax, time to enjoy life. We had a bird come into the building one evening before service. He started singing, and it was just like we’d been given an invitation: “Just relax. Everybody except those sitting directly under the bird, relax.”

2. Better health. Unrelenting stress harms our bodies. We all know that, yet we let it continue day after day after day. Many times we only build margin in our lives after the heart attack almost happens or does happen, or the blood pressure skyrockets. Why do we wait until our health plummets before we make this decision? Why not realize thatwe need to build some margin intoour lives now? The truth is your body needs downtime in order to heal. Race cars make pit stops occasionally in order to get repaired. You can’t fix anything going 200 miles an hour. Yet, we try to repair ourselves while we’re still racing through life. Margin builds in time for better health.

3. Stronger relationships. Lack of margin is one big reason for the collapse of the American family today. When we don’t make relationships a priority and make time for each other, our relationships suffer. Relationships take time; and margin provides the time to sit and talk, to listen and enjoy one another, and to provide the comfort we each need.

4. Usefulness in ministry. When you’re overloaded by activity, you can only think of yourself. You’re in survival mode, just trying to make it through another day. But being available to God for his use makes all the difference in this world.

When you have no margin in your life and God taps you on the shoulder, saying, “I’d like you to do this for me,” your first response isn’t joy. Your first response is, “Oh, no! Another thing to do! Sorry, God – I’d like to do that, but I’m just too busy.”

We end up resenting the great opportunities God brings into our lives. But when you have margin, you’re available for God to use.

You don’t have to live on overload. You don’t have to live in survival mode. Begin today to build a buffer around your schedule. Then enjoy the benefits of margin and see what God does next!

********************************

I was sent this email and it got me thinking...what do I need to say "No" to for me so that I can say "Yes" to God?

Sick kiddos...it stinks!

I guess that's the way it works with more than one kid. One gets sick, gets over it, then the other gets it or some version of illness number 1 and the cycle perpetuates itself.

Ug.

We're in the cycle, so to speak, right now. And I'm hoping that we can stop it at one cycle.

Tatum went in for a nasty, persistant cough, and pulling on her ears about two weeks ago. Sure enough, double ear infection. The cough was dismissed with the suggestion to give her mucinex. Since she isn't age-appropriate for that medicine, at least per the dosage chart on the actual medicine itself, I get it and her prescription with her appropriate, doctor prescribed dosage in hand.

Fast forward to Thursday morning and we hit stage two of this cycle. Tatum is through with all of her medicine, seems to be fine other than the fact that she REALLY LIKES her medicine and taking her medicine. Hmmm...And Kellen wakes up with a slew of problems...he's having trouble walking, his back hurts, his throat hurts, his stomach hurts (ya' think?? See previous posts for additional details on that one..) and his side hurts. I checked his leg and it was actually warm to the touch, so it was obviously apparent that he had done something to himself. Initially, I was concerned that he just didn't want to go back to school after the potty incident the day before, but that wasn't the case (or at least not all of the case). So I packed Tatum up, got her to daycare, and proceeded to try and clear my calendar at work - rescheduling where I could and getting people to fill in where I couldn't reschedule.

Have I mentioned that I had been out of the office the entire week already for some intensive training? Ouch. But everyone knows that my kiddos are my priority, so there ya' go...

Fast forward through the day and Kellen and I just hung out and rested. We watched movies, took a nap, colored, and just generally took it easy. His most persistant symptom continued to be his cough. He never did run a fever. And he refused to take any medicine...wouldn't gargle with salt water, wouldn't drink apple juice, wouldn't even take the mucinex for his cough.

The next morning (Friday) he seemed to be fine, so off to school he went. Well, in the midst of the craziness that was my attempt to catch up in the office, including non-stop student appointments and, my assistant walked into my office, interrupted me with a student to let me know that the school had just called, Kellen had a fever, and they needed someone to pick him up. Thankfully Matt was able to tag team on that one, pick him up and take care of him for the remainder of the day. Again, the primary complaint was the cough, but it was joined by Kellen saying he felt sore all over.

Uh oh.

So today, Kellen has run a fever pretty much all day long. He started with 100.4, spiked to 102, then went back down to 100.4. He's lounged in our bedroom watching movies and resting, as we've tried to keep him sequestered in an attempt to avoid any additional spreading of germs to Tatum, at the very least.

It's interesting how different the kids are in some respects as well. As I got the medicine out to give it to Kellen (mucinex), Tatum begs for it and Kellen covers his mouth. I can BARELY get Kellen to choke it down without throwing it back up and Tatum would drink the entire bottle if I let her or if she managed to get into the medicine cabinet. Same flavor. Same texture. Kids out of the same genetic pool. Just interesting.

Bless the kids hearts...Kellen's just wanting to be snuggly, Tatum doesn't understand why she can't play with her Kellen and is oh so concerned with him when he goes into a coughing fit. We've been trying our hardest to keep them apart but MAN, I can totally understand how this cycle can repeat itself continually in a multiple kid household! We weren't concerned with keeping Tatum away from Kellen while she was ill because he wouldn't have been able to catch her ear infection but now.....we just aren't sure what Kellen has!

Hopefully he'll get the rest he needs over the weekend to be ready to go on Monday!

Treatment, Day 1

Well, what I/we DIDN'T want to happen today happened.

The doctor anticipated that the medicine would take 4-6 hours to "kick in" and cause a bowel movement. After 2 hours Kellen had an every-so-slight movement last night, very watery and not much came out, but it was something. However, the real movement came 17-18 hours later.

Yup. Today during school.

Unfortunately, he didn't quite make it to the bathroom for it. He asked to go to the bathroom, had an accident prior to getting there, finished on the potty, but couldn't get anyone's attention for assistance afterwards to help with clean up and a change of clothes for some unknown/undetermined period of time. He told me he felt like he was going to be stuck on the potty in the bathroom forever because he was yelling and screaming for help and no one came. As he and I continued to discuss what happened and I asked him how it made him feel, his response just made me want to bawl...sad and scared were the two primary feelings that he indicated he felt during this incident today.

Incidentally, my back hurts from the mommy guilt that is now piled onto it, because I MEANT to email his teacher last night, thought about it again this morning, and didn't get a chance or make the time to do it (sidenote: I was in an intensive all day training, so it wasn't like I just didn't get around to it during the day) to be sure that she was aware that his treatment plan had been changed. I have now rectified that situation. Please understand that I'm not angry or upset with anyone at the school because of what happened today. No one is to blame - no one did anything wrong. I am upset with myself because I could have most likely prevented this with an email giving everyone at the school a heads-up. Kellen did everything correctly by asking to go to the bathroom and then yelling for all he was worth when he needed help.

This is just what I didn't want to happen. This is the reason that I gave him the medicine as soon as I possibly could once I had it in my possession.

But I have to wonder...what is so horribly wrong with my child's intestines that a medicine that should work in 4-6 hours takes 17-18 instead? Perhaps we won't ever find out the answer to that question.....

So...he got the medicine today at 5 PM. We also added some "sit" time to our regime today, both in the morning and tonight after dinner (approx. 5 minutes this morning and about 30 minutes tonight after dinner). Neither time was productive, but I didn't expect them to be so soon in the process. I did; however, write this all down in my spiral journal, much to Kellen's enjoyment. He thinks it is incredibly 'awesome' that I'm journaling all about his poo poo.

My heart broke for him as he told me how scared and sad he felt today. I wanted to turn back the time and make all of that go away for him...to protect him from that situation happening to him in the first place. I kept apologizing to him, hugging him, stroking his hair, snuggling with him. He let me, but kept saying things like, 'Mommy, you didn't do anything to be sorry for.' and 'But Mommy, you didn't do it.'

Lord, PLEASE don't let the same thing happen to him tomorrow at school. If he has to go, at least allow him to make it all the way to the potty. And guide us as to the correct time to administer his new medicine so that he can go while he's at the house, NOT while he's at school so this becomes a non-issue altogether!

Diagnosis and treatment

**WARNING**

This is a post about poo. If you don't want to read details about poo, or Kellen and his poo, then click the "X" at the top of the screen and come back tomorrow. I'll still love you, promise.



We had our consultation with our pedi about Kellen and his digestive issues today, and all-in-all, I think it went well. I went into the appointment armed with my notes, internet print-outs of what I thought the diagnosis was, pictures - albeit not great ones since our ink is going out in our printer - of his 'achievements' as he likes to sometimes call them, and our 2008 calendar adorned with stickers marking the poo occasions. Unfortunately, the stickers are few and far between in many of the months, hence one of the reasons for the visit. To give an example, November had three stickers. And I don't think I just missed or overlooked any poo poos that month. I can't say that with 100% certainty for all months, but we captured the vast majority with stickers, since the occasions are so rare that they're pretty hard to miss around here. October had six stickers, September had four, August three.

Poor guy.

Anyway...stats:
40 lbs
40.5 inches tall
bp 90/54

Yet another reminder that I MUST get out the car seat booklet and convert his car seat into a booster seat. Ug.

So the doctor, Kellen and I discussed the current status of poo in Kellen's life. We detailed the L-O-N-G history of this, prior dosage of Miralax, dosage since my being off work in December, that outcome, my concerns, a short term (next two weeks) treatment plan, then scenarios for if the treatment plan goes as we hope and then what our options are if it doesn't. We discussed dietary concerns - while acknowledging that virtually every diet has room for improvement, our diet seems fine by all accounts. The doctor discounted/discarded the notion that this was a predominantly diet-related issue, which had been a concern for Matt.

Conclusions:

• The doctor agreed to my diagnosis of encopresis.
• Daily medicinal regime will change for the next two weeks from Miralax to 1 oz Milk of Magnesia (I went after the appointment and got the Wild Cherry flavor and he LOVED it!) The doctor indicated that it generally took 4-6 hours for the medicine to work, so we'll try giving it to him as soon as we get home from school to see how that works. I think that would be better than him trying to go at school. If we realize it takes longer for the medicine to impact his body, then we might switch to the morning so he can have an after-school sit. We'll see.
• By the end of the two weeks, he should be going at least every other day with taking the Milk of Magnesia.
• If not, we'll need to go the barium enema route at the hospital (not what we really want to do, but might be a necessary route at this point in time if we've exhausted other possibilities)
• If milk of magnesia is working, then we'll go to phase two and use mineral oil (2-4 Tablespoons) daily for 4-6 weeks, gradually weaning him off of even that toward the end of that time frame to see if his body will self regulate.

More about the barium enema, in case you're wondering why we're considering that at all. The barium enema is a diagnostic tool for Hirschsprungs disease , but this would be our next treatment/diagnostic step in the process. The doctor also indicated frequently once a child having severe constipation problems underwent this procedure, the process of cleaning them out so well, which is what the procedure will do, served as a treatment itself due to its nature (paraphrasing how he said it, but that's the gist) by ensuring all hardened stools within the colon were expelled.

General dietary comments discussed included:

• Milk limited to under 20 oz daily (includes cheese/yogurt as well)
• Fruits/veggies - 3 servings daily [could stand to work on this area, particularly with the variety that we have in the house; more (servings/day) isn't necessarily better]
• Probiotics (already included in yogurt, adding additional packets is fine!)
• Drink lots of water (check!)
• Some juice for Kellen is ok (apple, prune) [nice try...but I've done my milk & water only job too well...the doctor just laughed at me on that one]
• Try actual prunes/dried prunes as a snack

Again, I feel pleased about our direction, and no longer feel like we're aimlessly wandering with no end point in sight. Let me clearly state that I don't want Kellen to have to undergo the barium enema. I WANT the new treatment to work, but at least now if it doesn't, I feel like we have some other option that is more than simply, 'give MORE of the XXX medicine that you were giving.'

Despite the continued reassurances that all is well and that Kellen taking this medicine for so long is ok, after over 4 years on medicine for what should be a normal bodily function, I am just wary...at some point in time bulimics get hooked on laxatives and their bodies can't function without them...what is this prolonged exposure doing to my 5 year old?

I just want him to be able to go to the bathroom without pharmaceutical assistance and not scream in pain and agony. Is that too much to ask?

My not-so-bright moment with my girly girl

I should have posted this days ago, but hey...if you're following my blog you're probably still wanting to know how Christmas and New Years went, right?

Newsflash: I'm still behind! LOL And I'm not feeling guilty about it! (Well, that's not entirely true...I'm desperately trying to not feel guilty about it...I'm working on accepting that I can only do so much, and that my ideal isn't always practical...I'm a work-in-progress on that one)

Anyway...I made the decision to paint my daughters toenails a few days ago.

Yup. My 22 month old daughter.

Considering that I attempted this after bath and shortly before her actual bedtime, it wasn't one of my more shining mom-moments, if you know what I mean. Add to that the fact that I was wearing BRAND new jeans, a BRAND new shirt, and that I hadn't put down a towel to protect the carpet and you HAVE to wonder what I was thinking.

Apparently I wasn't. I didn't think or plan ahead for this momentous occasion.

Did I mention that my little girl is lightning fast? And that she likes to grab at virtually all things pink, which is, of course, the color that I chose to paint her toenails because when given the choice, she'll choose pink or purple and pink generally looks better on toes, now doesn't it?

Luckily for me, when she grabbed the open jar of nail polish from my hands and knocked it onto the carpet, I was quick enough to grab it before any spilled onto the actual carpet. Or my jeans. Or my new shirt. Or any other fabric that shouldn't have come into contact with fingernail polish. The only casualty of the lightning quick 22 month old and the subsequent stray fingernail polish was my hands, and they came clean.

WHEW!

After quickly correcting my horrid errors, I made quick work of her tiny toes (and in case you're wondering, she didn't get a base or top coat, and only got one coat of color), then tried desperately to keep her still while they dried.

As a sidenote, I don't think I've EVER said, 'don't touch those!' in such quick succession before in my LIFE!

Luckily for us all, her cute little piggies dried quickly, and she made the rounds of the room, showing everyone here her freshly painted toes. "Pretty piggies" was the phrase of the night until our princess went to bed.

This got me to thinking. Tatum seems to be the daughter that my mom always wanted. Now that statement might sound weird, coming from my mom's daughter. But let me explain. My mom always wanted a 'girly' daughter...one that liked dolls, thought her Barbies - the ORIGINAL Barbies that she kept from when she was little - were cool, and that was, you know, a girly girl.

I was not that child.

I didn't like to play with dolls. I thought her Barbies were cool because I could pop their heads off - a fact which did NOT amuse my mom. I played with BB guns. I climbed trees to prove they were safe for my older brother. I rode go-carts in the pasture. My hair was cut short because I got upset if it was tangled (well, let's get real here...I threw fits when my mom tried to fix it when I was REALLY young - so she kept it short). Bottom line - I was not a girly girl.

But it appears my daughter is.

She remarked, "Pretty!" when her daddy hung up the pink fan in her room. She LOVES to play with her dolls, and constantly pushes them around the house in their stroller or shopping cart. She wraps them in blankets and puts them to bed in their cradle (incidentally, she's playing with the cradle that my great grandfather made for me when I was little...I love that it's actually getting some use in its intended way). She loves her pretty pink painted piggies. She grabbed my hand the other day just to look at my wedding ring. Yes, my wedding ring...remarking, 'pretty!' as she looked at it. Then told me that she wanted it on her. Uhhh...she's 22 months old and already wanting diamonds.

Folks...I'm in serious trouble here with this little girly girl! But I'll get the hang of it...I've already become familiar with Sam Moon and hey, they have these super deals on GREAT bows.....

God doesn't get tired

After Awana's tonight, when I realized that Kellen was/is woefully behind in his workbook, (sidenote: how I got that we should go through one lesson a week is beyond me...we are a quarter behind - YIKES!!), we came home and went through two lessons, both in Genesis. We read from my Bible and then went through his lessons.

After reading about the six days of Creation and learning that God rested on the 7th day, Kellen remarked, "But God doesn't need to rest, He doesn't get tired."

He went on to ask, "Why did God need to rest? All he did was talk."

(You know, He SPOKE the world into creation...)

LSD...and no, NOT the drug

Long, slow distance...

Ok...so my training is going just AWFUL, and I haven't been consistent (it's difficult with Matt's schedule to hit the pavement since I can only run when he's home to watch the kids)...but...Maw Maw and Paw Paw are here to celebrate new years and watched the kids while I went for a run...

Wait for it....




6 miles
1 hr, 13 min, 49 seconds.

YAY!!!

This is the longest I have E-V-E-R run...and I ran it continuously, stopping only at red lights, to tie my shoes, and to take off my long sleeve shirt when I got hot.

I just HAD to share my news!! (Yes, I know I'm behind in blog-world and will post on the Christmas activities soon...bear with me...for the moment, just celebrate with me, ok?)

This gives me hope that I'll at least be able to finish the half in 3 weeks (YIKES!!!)

Things to work on:
1. Lip balm for my lips
2. Something for my hands because my knuckles got chapped by the weather/wind
3. A quicker method for taking off my long sleeve shirt and attaching it to me while I'm running
4. A methods for assuring my shoes don't come untied

Any suggestions on the above (or things I'm not thinking of) from the more experienced runners?

Night in Bethlehem

Last night we took the kids to A Night in Bethlehem, an event that the preschool ministry of our church put on for the kiddos. There were TONS of crafts and activities for the kids, a few animals outside for petting, and the inside of the church was transformed into Bethlehem. There were various booths with activities that corresponded (loosely) to some of the activities that might have taken place in the olden days...kneading dough, pottery, etc. Then some of the crafts were just for fun...painting nativity scene ornaments and stickery nativity scenes.

Both the kids really got into it...we let Tatum do all of the activities that she wanted except for painting the clay pot...we figured that might be a bit much...They BOTH thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and Matt and I actually ran into quite a few folks we hadn't seen in ages!

One of Kellen's comments that really cracked me up took place shortly after this picture was taken. He understood the concept of Mary and Joseph and waiting on Baby Jesus to be born in the stables...So a little while later, after he finished one of his craft projects, he asked if we could go back and see Mary and Joseph and check to see if Baby Jesus had been born yet.

We walked back to the manger area, he looked in and observed the empty manger, and simply stated, 'Nope, not yet. I guess it still isn't Christmas.'

He thoroughly cracks me up...and I have NO idea where he gets this stuff from (w-e-l-l...I guess that's not entirely true...I have a slight idea of where he gets it from...)

I guess I should have gotten some pictures of the many people dressed in the garb of the time...they did a wonderful job! Kellen was working the well pretty hard here. He had a great time with this, and they guys tricked him into thinking that he was fishing...so he kept putting the bucket back down and rolling it back up, telling me that he was trying to get some fish.

Silly boy.

I finally had to tell him that they were teasing him and that there weren't any fish in the well...Then I think the guys felt bad that he took them so seriously!

I'm so glad that the church put this on, and I really think they had a GREAT turnout. I don't know how many they were expecting, but it was packed the entire time that we were there...and considering that it ran from 6-8 and we were there from about 6:30 - 7:30, I would call that a success!

I'm so thankful that we go to a church that puts on events such as these for the kids! I'm really working this Christmas on instilling the true meaning of Christmas to Kellen, and these types of events and programs help tremendously in doing just that...

Finished product

Well, imagine my amazement when I realized that I DID actually stay up last night to finish the painting of the darker color clothespins. It's great how you get better with something the further along you get into a project. LOL I found a method for painting the clothespins that worked really well, in my opinion, that took much less time than how I had done the light green ones. So, I did actually finish all of the painting last night, despite my reservations about accomplishing that particular task.

After naps, Kellen and I strung the clothespins and beads together to create the final product. Here it is without the bow.

And here it is with the bow, hanging up. It actually looks better with a few Christmas cards on it, but I wanted to take a picture of the finished product all by itself, just because.

We then rushed out of the house (we all had nice naps at the house this afternoon...what a blessing!) and headed to the church. My Sunday school class went caroling to the individuals within the church that are shut-in while Awana's was taking place.

Let me just say, my family went caroling to the elderly families in our church growing up, and I have very fond memories of those times. We would sing songs, then sometimes go inside and visit for a while and spend time with them. We may not have enjoyed it then, but I do cherish those memories now (see Mom and Dad, it really DID stick!).

At any rate, the looks on those ladies faces were priceless...you would have thought we were the Publishers Clearinghouse coming to tell them they had won some money with how excited they were. One stop had cookies and pumpkin bread of some kind waiting for us, another had some other friends there to share in the moment, and the last was probably the best one of all. Despite the efforts of the group organizer, she didn't know we were coming, so when we arrived, she was as thrilled as could be. I think she actually cried during some of the songs and then shared how much she had been through this past year.

I'm so glad that we were able to bring some joy to these ladies during this time! I think next year if we do this again, I might pull the kids, at least Kellen, and have him come with me to begin experiencing that.

Full, fun day

I actually made it back out for a run this morning...it was a horrible run by my standards, but a run none the less. It's been a w-h-i-l-e since my last run, so taking that and my sore foot into consideration, I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I just have to start getting out there a LOT more. Mid-January is going to be here before I know it and is going to kick me in the tail.


Less than positive run or not, it felt REALLY good afterwards (I mean, not immediately afterwards), but a little while later.


Then Kellen had his belt test today for Taekwondo. (Which we found out about on Wednesday, but I'll leave that alone).


I wasn't sure what all he was actually getting tested on, but considering everything they were having the white belts do, I was concerned about him actually earning his orange belt.


They ran them all through the routines (I'm sure there is a different word for that...), and then had them do the board break. The students were lined up in height order, so Kellen was the last one to go. There were actually several in front of him that had to hit the board a few times to get it to break, but I'll let you take a look at the video to see how well Kellen did.






I think the other observers were concerned about him because he was the smallest, but he sure showed them! He did so great!

Like I mentioned, they ran them through a variety of things, but it was mentioned that not everyone was actually getting tested on everything they were doing, so I just wasn't sure...But he did it!

He got his orange belt! We're so proud of him and he's just thrilled!




I made a run to Hobby Lobby for the supplies for a craft project that I've worked on off and on all day. In case you're wondering, it takes a L-O-N-G time to paint clothespins. 48 clothespins, to be exact. I do have a better system now, though, so it's going quicker, thank goodness! I'm painting half each two different shades of green to make a wreath suitable for holding Christmas cards, and I'm hopeful that I'll at least finish the painting portion of that project today. I'm about 3/4 of the way done, so we'll see. But it's 10:30, so it doesn't look promising.



I also have another wreath that I'm wanting to make from the cut portions of our Christmas tree. I fear if I don't finish with that project before Matt gets back from his next shift, that those cut portions will end up in the trash. *grin*



Then tonight we did some other decorating and finally got the rest of the Christmas tree decorated. We've done this in stages this year because of Matt's schedule and Tatum's bedtime...I really wanted us all to enjoy the decoration aspect.

So last Friday night we got the tree, earlier in the week we put the lights on it, then tonight we finished with the ornaments and the angel topper. Tatum understood the concept somewhat...she enjoyed trying to put the ornaments on the tree, she just also thoroughly enjoyed taking them OFF of the tree as well. Repeatedly.




And of course, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas while we were decorating...I'm so glad that Kellen loves that one just as much as I do! It makes it much easier to justify watching it while we're getting in the holiday spirit!



And here is our finished product. Matt and I realized that we could have easily gone another two feet with the height of our tree this year, but oh well. We all like it, and for this year, it suits us just fine!

Snow!

Well, it snowed yesterday here. Yup. You read that correctly. It snowed. And not just the little flurries that make you "think" snow...SNOW.

Snow that stuck.

Snow that meant after 2 hours, I had to use my windshield wipers to be able to see out of my windows.

Snow that allowed us to make snowballs.

Snow that was deep enough for snow angels.

Snow that stuck enough to make a snowman.

Snow.

Really.

In Texas....and since my kids will probably be able to count the number of times on one hand that this happens in their life, I allowed them to P-L-A-Y in it after we got home. At least as much as they wanted.

Can you tell from the pictures who wanted to play and who didn't?

First we'll start out with some general, untouched, snow pictures...this is what we found when we opened the back door yesterday after work.


And like I said, it was deep enough for a snow angel, even right there on the deck. And how is it that someone...a little someone who has never really experienced snow can automatically know how to make a snow angel?

Interesting.

And Tatum....w--e--l--l, she didn't really know what to make of all of this. She walked around with an odd look on her face, then when the snowflakes hit her face and eyes, she was NOT liking life. I just couldn't get her into playing with it, even to have the snowflakes land on her hands. I had a pretty funny video of her asking to go back inside.

Kellen, on the other hand, immediately got into making snowballs. And then proceeded to throw them at me. How fun! He didn't throw any at Tatum, if you're wondering, so that wasn't a reason for her displeasure with the adventure.


And then I just had to get a random shot of part of the back yard and all of the snow. Amazing! Look at the snowflakes in the picture...it was so beautiful (and I'm not even a good photographer!)

And then try as I might, I couldn't get a "good" shot of the two kids next to a snow covered something. Let me once again reiterate how DONE Tatum was with the snow and being outside in the snow. Of all of the ones that I took, this is probably the best, so don't be surprised if this ends up on a Christmas card or some other photo-related gift. *grin*

So then Kellen was not-so-patient while I put Tatum to bed, and then he and I went back outside to finish playing in the snow. He started out by helping with the snowman, but ended up tricking me by making more snowballs to throw at me.

Mischevious stinker.

I wonder where he gets that from?

Then we went to work on the snowman. It had been AGES since I had made one, and I had forgotten how long it took for the initial "ball" to stick and form. After I got that started, it snowballed from there (sorry...I just couldn't help it).

It wasn't quite as big as I thought we would end up with, but my fingers got too frozen to continue trying to make one any larger than this. If you're wondering what he's made of, his eyes and "buttons" are raisins, and Kellen found wonderful sticks for his arms and nose. We didn't have a carrot one in the house.

And then Kellen took great pleasure in knocking the snow off of the branches of the various bushes in our yard. He loved seeing the snow fall off of the branches and had quite a bit of fun with this...

All in all, the second time around I think we played outside for about 45 minutes. My hands could feel it, too...I think my gloves ended up frozen since I did the lions share of the snowman, but Kellen never uttered a word of complaint.

It was a wonderful night, and I truly hope that they remember this! Days like this don't come often in Texas!

Phone call....and other milestones

Normally phone calls from daycare in the middle of the day to me at work are a bad thing.

However, I received one today on my cell while I was in a meeting and had a message waiting for me when I got finished...Tatum was fine, they were calling to tell me that as of then (between 2:45 - 3 PM), she was DRY and had gone on the potty probably at least 4 times. Really!

I was then told that her cheeks and mouth area were red, but we've already pretty much figured out that's from her intense sucking on her pacifier. *sigh*

I got to daycare to pick her up after work, was about to walk out of the classroom, and she tells me that she has to go potty. I listened. And she did.

Fast forward to home...before bathtime, she tells me again. Success. After bath before getting ready for bed. Success again.

I guess I really should pull out the existing cloth training pants we might have and get to shopping for some new ones for her, huh? 'Cause we're talking about success on both numbers here, if you get my drift.

I'm not really ready for all of these milestones....(Although I love each and every one of them.)

'Cause did I mention that Kellen is now 39.4 pounds, according to MawMaw and PawPaw's scale, anyway? That may not mean anything to anyone, so let me explain the relevance of that statement. Our carseat is only good as a forward facing, 5-pt harness carseat up to 40 pounds. Once they hit the 40 pound mark, it's supposed to be converted into a booster. I have barely a half a pound left before that oh-so-huge milestone.

Goodbye

My Pap passed away on Friday, after suffering a lengthy illness. My parents called me at 3 PM Friday afternoon, I returned their phone call an hour later (not realizing that they had called - I was awaiting this phone call, and thought I was checking my phone more frequently than that for this particular call...). They made flight arrangements and left early Saturday morning, and the family viewing and calling hours were held yesterday, and the funeral is today.

I'm glad that he's no longer in pain, but wish so desperately that his final hours, even his final years, could have been like he wanted. He NEVER wanted to live his life like he did in these last few years...in and out of the hospital, repeatedly cut on (he had both legs amputated in different places), reduced to a portion of what, and who, he once was. But that's what happened. He didn't even get to die pain-free...his last hours were misery and suffering.

I don't understand that.

I don't understand why he couldn't have had a heart attack while out fishing and died in his boat, doing one of the things that brought him so much joy. Or even in his workshop with his tools. Why? Why wasn't that the end chosen for him? Why was he allowed to go through so much pain?
I just don't understand. And probably never will, until one day when it won't matter anymore.

Please pray for our family, as this situation is oh-so-much-more complicated than just my grandfather passing away. They are going to have to make some very important decisions in the next few days. Pray for the Lord's guidance and peace as they discuss and decide.

I'll post some other time about all of the things that I've inherited, learned and have come to appreciate from my Pap...