Cloth Chronicles - Part 2

So, another whole day of cloth diapering under our belt and we're still truckin' along! I didn't wash tonight, but have the pockets here from last night that I need to stuff...and then I need to reorganize her changing table - taking away the disposables and inserting the cloth.

I ordered some more diapers today in fun colors...hot and light pink. I can't wait for those to come in! I think with that purchase, we'll probably have all the diapers we'll need for our rotation save a possible larger size at night. We'll need to look at some other insert solutions so that Tatum isn't quite so bulky, both during the day and at night, look at wetbags for daycare and a storage solution for the dirty diapers between washings for at the house. But, I guess...so far, so good!

Unfortunately, little Tatum fell today (from an elevated position) and hit her head on concrete - not so fun. I was trying to have Kellen ride his bike and watch her at the same time...and she's just too quick...trying to save Kellen from getting his leg caught in the bike and falling over off the bike onto the road and catching her...I just didn't have enough hands or quick enough reflexes. *Insert incredibly horrified and sad Mommy face here*

Other than the slight abrasion and red spot on her head, she seems just fine. She didn't eat much of her dinner (considering it was pasta, that was unusual for her), but nursed well and just wanted to go to bed a little early ~ 30 minutes). I'm not too concerned about her wanting to go to bed early tonight because we worked on moving her schedule to more of a "Guppy" schedule today. Translation: she only had one nap and it was after lunch. She slept well; though, from noon until almost 3 PM, so yay for that! She wasn't lethargic or anything like that after the fall - she was still talking and walking around and being her normal little self, albeit a slightly fussier version.

I can't say that I blame her.

Back to the riding of the bike. Kellen asked to ride his bike today, and considering that the weather was somewhat cooperative for that particular activity, we went outside and he rode his bike.

Yes, I typed that correctly. He RODE HIS BIKE! Pedaled himself and everything! Now, he's having a difficult time when he's having the pedal toward inclines, but he's still getting used to actually pedaling and not having someone push him. (And, at the time, we thought that push bar was such a good idea....) He initially got frustrated, but mean ole Mommy wouldn't let him quit. I actually made him put his helmet and pads back on, go back outside, and ride some more so that he wouldn't end up frustrated...and he rode all the way down the street and back!

Then, after Tatum went to bed and we finished eating dinner (which he actually ate, by the way - pizza pasta casserole - imagine that!) I got inspired to "help" him clean up his room. We went through all of this stuffed animals, his hard toys, and his bookshelf and he got rid of 37 items and I took out the clothes that he had outgrown. For those of you wondering, No, I didn't force him to give away these items...I asked him to go into his room and look at the things that he didn't play with and wanted to get rid of so other little boys and girls could play with them. So he put a few things in a pile for Tatum (3 stuffed animals and 1 baby toy that somehow found its way into his room) and the rest in a pile to get rid of altogether).

Let me just say...His room looks GREAT! And we didn't even tackle his actual toy box OR the blue tub under his bed.

Buzz Lightyear Superman

I just had to share...this is what Kellen decided he wanted to do and how he wanted to play on Monday morning...

He wasn't just Buzz Lightyear...oh no....He was Buzz Lightyear Superman - notice the cape!

He is just so imaginative!

Cloth Chronicles, Part 1

So I found a GREAT deal on some Fuzzi bunz (In case you want to check them out, although I didn't order them from that site - pocket style cloth diapers) from a local mom, got them ready for Tatum, and we tried them out last night. I put two inserts in the diaper (and realized that I will probably need some size larges for nighttime in the process), and went for it!

I was hesitant to have our first cloth diapering experience be an overnight one, but hey...why not jump right on into this? If I'm going to do it, just do it...and the nighttime would probably be the biggest worrisome challenge...so there we went.

So....I go in this morning, and there were NO leaks. However, she did have a nice, HUGE poopy waiting for me. What a great first cloth experience, huh? :) Seriously, it wasn't all that big of a deal.

Anyway, I took a stack to daycare today to have them try them out on her as well. Success! Although, I must admit that she was nicer to them than she was to me...no poopies at school today, but another one for Mommy just as soon as we got home! Fun stuff, right?

So, I am currently in the process of washing our first load of soiled diapers. For my own reference, I'll include my version of washing instructions here:

Washing:
1. Dump the dump (optional)

2. Rinse cycle on COLD (no detergent or anything added to the washer)

3. Wash cycle on HOT wash with COLD rinse with detergent added - half as much as normal (I have All Free and Clear, Can also use 4 TBSP of Dawn in place of the laundry detergent and/or add ~ 1/2 cup baking soda to the wash cycle in addition to the detergent/soap); Note: not supposed to use Clorox bleach or any fabric softener)

4. Second rinse cycle (Add ~ 1/4 - 1/2 cup vinegar to this IF using baking soda in the wash cycle)

5. Dryer (NO Dryer Sheet)

Now I just need to figure out the wetbag issue for both the house and daycare, and probably get both some larger size diapers for nighttime and some thinner inserts as well. She's a little bulky - but looks just adorable waddling around!

I think we're getting there. The true test will be after about a week or so, I think.

I'll keep you posted on this front.

In other news...she visited the Guppy classroom today for 2 whole hours....had lunch with them and everything! Then she went back to "her" class (I can say that for one more week) and I came to see her at lunch, then she had a GREAT nap (almost 2 whole hours, which is wonderful for her). We're going to have to work on her naps...trying to transition her from small catnaps or an early morning nap to one long nap immediately after lunch.

We'll work on that this weekend, I guess.

In other news, Kellen is still loving his Little Dragons class, and is paying attention more and more each lesson. He's actually doing really well! I'm amazed at what he's able to comprehend and "show" us later! He's like a little sponge!





Matt worked with him yesterday morning a little bit on the first step in tying his shoe. So he proceeded to show me what Daddy had taught him this morning - and did it correctly. I guess that's one more thing we'll start working on with him, too.

On the way home from school today, he asked to read one of the books that we keep in the car. Well, he began to point out all of the letters and pictures, then started telling me what letters the words/pictures started with. I guess he's officially in the pre-reading stage now.

Where did my babies go?

Long weekend...

Today is the last day of my long weekend...It sure was nice! Grandpa Gerren came yesterday morning for a visit, and was greeted by Kellen asking, "Grandpa, are you going to make pancakes?"

Can you tell that pancakes (and other breakfast foods, for that matter) are Grandpa's specialty? He made a big batch of pancakes and both of the kids enjoyed them (2 pancakes each, actually!). We had a great time just hanging out and playing yesterday with Grandpa...we never even left the house!

Today was more of the same, although Grandpa did have to leave early this morning (Kellen was disappointed that he didn't get another big, fresh breakfast). However, Daddy made it home from work fairly early, so both kids enjoyed quite a bit of playtime with him today. He and Kellen even ran quite a few errands and got a lot of things accomplished this afternoon. So much so that I guess it isn't that big of a deal that Matt completely forgot to take him to his Little Dragon's class. LOL

I need to have more of these types of weekends and days with the kids...Oh wait...that's taking a day off of work and actually using it for play, isn't it? Do people really do that? :)

Going green(er)

So I've been thinking about switching to cloth diapers for a few weeks now...for many reasons. Primarily, once you get over the initial start-up cost, they're cheaper (you just have the expense of washing them); they're better on Tatum's little bottom (and man-oh-man have we been getting some doosies in the diaper rash department!); and of course the less waste going into the landfill reason. I sound crunchy, I know.

I'm ready to take the plunge. Wish us luck!

Guppy time...

Has it come to this already? This is my reward for raising a child that is advanced, huh? I embarked on my normal lunchtime outing...to daycare to feed Tatum...and it turned my world upside down today. Sigh.

So I walk in her classroom, and the lead teacher, whom I absolutely adore, starts off with, 'Um...they're wanting to move Tatum to the Guppy room on February 4th.'

"Say wha' huh?" was my very eloquent response to this statment. I was mighty proud of myself for that one, let me tell you.

She then proceeds to tell me that the director of the daycare was covering for another teacher in Tatum's class this morning and got to witness just how truly advanced my little 10-month old actually is developmentally. There are two other kids in her class that are older than her, and they normally "graduate" children to the next class based on chronological age, not developmental progress. However, Kellen "jumped" someone to graduate to the Guppies and it appears that his sister will beat him by jumping two people. The current oldest little girl has yet to crawl - yes, I'm serious, and she's right at a month older than Tatum. The second is unfortunately having to undergo two different surgeries that will immobilize her very soon, so they'll graduate her once she's completed the healing from those.

They had previously told me that they wouldn't have Tatum jump anyone because of developmental issues, but I think at the time they told me that (about a month or so ago) they really thought that little girl #1 would start moving, which she has not yet done. Poor Carolyn, she was given the job of "breaking the ice" with me about this topic today. They hadn't (at least at lunchtime) talked with the mom of little girl #1 about not moving up, but I think that she was already really hesitant about the change because of the lack of movement. Historically, there have at times been a combination of kids in the Guppy room at both walking and crawling stages; however, currently ALL of the kids in there are completely mobile and walking. So if she doesn't get moving within the next two weeks, she is quite literally going to get run over.

Bless Carolyn's heart! She and the other teacher know that I'm desperately trying to make it to a year with nursing, and that this will REALLY put a crimp into that plan because it will take away one whole nursing session (my lunchtime session).

Oh yes, did I mention that I will no longer be able to go and nurse her at lunch? The Guppy class eats lunch from 11:00 - 11:30 AM and then goes down for their nap. So if I came at lunch, she would (hopefully) be asleep - unless I restructured my lunchtime. Oh, and they don't really like for the kids in this room to have bottles...so we'll have to work to get her used to a sippy cup so that she can take her 9 AM and 3 PM milk from a sippy cup instead of a bottle. In two weeks. So we spent a little time talking about ways to transition and things of the such during lunch today.

Sigh.

I know that this is coming across as oh-so-much more negative than it really is. She is READY to go to the Guppy room - socially, physically, emotionally, etc. I have no doubt that she'll do great there and that she is ready to move up.

I'm just not ready for her to be ready to move up. She's my baby, and she won't be in the baby room anymore. And that just makes me want to cry.

Speaking of not being a baby.................

I told Kellen at dinnertime that Tatum was going to be a Guppy. His response, a very emphatic, "I KNOW!"

Kellen: Maybe we can shrink Tatum.
Mommy: Why would we want to shrink Tatum?
Kellen: So that she'll stay small. I don't want her to get big. I want to ALWAYS have a baby.
Mommy: You know what Kellen, Mommy feels the same way sometimes. I don't want you or Tatum to get big. But you will. Does that mean you want another baby?
Kellen: No. We can't have another baby.
Mommy: We can't?
Kellen: No. God can't make another baby.
Mommy (laughing at this point in time): Oh yes he can, buddy.

Gonna be a bear

Oatmeal

For the record, I have never liked oatmeal for breakfast, much to my parents dismay. However, in an attempt to convince Kellen that oatmeal was yummy for breakfast, I actually managed to EAT AN ENTIRE BOWL OF OATMEAL this morning for breakfast.

I still don't like oatmeal.

Kellen; however, ate his whole initial bowl and then asked for seconds, so my ruse must have worked.

Sure, buddy!

Today was Matt's first day of classes....I've heard from him at various points throughout the day, but I can't wait to hear about his day when he gets home tonight from his last class!

Back to school

Well, Matt submitted his application yesterday and reapplied to Blinn for the spring semester. We met with the director of the program that he had been pursuing before the Christmas break, and there was a question about one requirement that the director was going to look into, but other than that, Matt needs 10 hours to complete his associates in this program. So we decided that he's going to go back to school this semester and take those 10 hours.

Oh, I haven't mentioned yet that it's chemistry 1411 (NOT cowboy chem), Engligh 2311 and an arson investigation class.

And he's still working his normal job(s) in Houston and at the hospital.

We really feel like this is where God is leading us, because we calculated that these 10 hours were going to cost just under $1000 - extra money that we didn't have just sitting around (who does, right?). Well, I received a departmental staff award yesterday that came with a stipend...in that amount.

However, based on his work schedule, we need VERY specific sections of chemistry and English, and he's already been told that he'll be forced into the arson investigation course. Please pray that when he registers that he'll be able to get into those specific sections - either on his own or through forcing.

It almost goes without saying that this will be hard both on Matt and our family. Without belaboring that point, I'll just ask that you guys please pray for Matt while he's taking these classes and for our family as we're trying to cope with additional pressures on his time that impact us as a family.

When did he become so grown up?

At what point in time did Kellen become such a grown up little kid? I got to school to pick him up and he was coloring...in the lines and beautifully, I might add - and he wanted to stay to finish his picture. Ok.

Then we talked about his day all the way home...he helped me with Tatum (i.e. ate his own dinner and played while I fed her and got her to bed), then we finished working on the cupcakes we started a couple of nights ago. Icing and sprinkles...yummy! We had intended to make Christmas cupcakes - white icing with red and green sprinkles, so we just kept with the original plan. He did ALL of the icing and "decorating" himself - helped me clean up, you name it!

Where did my little-boy Kellen go? I'm going to be asking that question for the rest of my life, aren't I?

It's the 3rd

It's the 3rd...that means that Tatum is officially 10 months old today. Oh goodness gracious, where has the time gone? She's walking now...at least when she wants to. Well, let's just say that she's capable of it anyway...she can walk halfway across the room if the mood strikes her, but just not when you're trying to show someone that she can do it! LOL

Kellen made the comment the other day that, "Tatum can walk now, that means she can be a Guppy."

I just about cried.

To explain what that means to those of you unfamiliar with their daycare, Tatum is in the Angelfish classroom, and the next class up is the Guppy class. Typically, the kids "graduate" to the Guppy class when they're around a year old, and when another space is needed in the Angelfish classroom. The Guppy room holds the kids until they're about 18 months old or so. They try to wait until the Angels are mobile and walking before they graduate them, but not always. Well, his comment just kind of hit me.

She could now be a Guppy.

Oh me, oh my.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas all! Yes, I'm late...but we had 5 Christmas celebrations in 3 days...so I'm a little beat!


Let me rewind, and I'll start on Christmas Eve morning...Matt got off of work and headed home, and when we were ready to have our Christmas, I had him go and play with Kellen in Kellen's room while I set out all of the presents for he and Tatum. Then Matt came out to video Kellen's reaction to the gifts, and we called him out into the living room...it was GREAT! He was so surprised, because we hadn't told him that we were going to be opening any presents. Tatum just played and played with her LeapFrog table, and Kellen was a big helper to her, opening all of her presents for her. :) She just hasn't and didn't figure out the opening presents thing, so I guess it was good that she had some help, huh? Kellen played all morning with his LeapFrog reading writing system and his Sit N Spin, and begged and begged to watch Shrek the Third. Then we got ready to leave for Matt's aunt and uncle's house in Houston for our Christmas Eve celebration there, and were delayed slightly in our departure due to a lovely garbage disposal issue. Despite being told I can, my mantra is now, "I will not put potato skins down the disposal. I will not put potato skins down the disposal."

We got there for our annual venison chili and cold-cuts dinner (yes, it seemed strange to me, too...but I married into it and now it just seems normal), and Kellen played with his cousin's rugby wheelchair...he had a BLAST running into the curbs and flying down the driveway into the street. Wait, that sounds bad...it's a cul-de-sac and there were adults present, so it was supervised fun, really! The kids were really well behaved, save for Kellen's continual attempt to get the dog to let him pet her...we tried to tell Kellen that when she went into her crate, that was her telling him to LEAVE HER ALONE...and that the growling was her way of telling him that. I think he got it, but he continued to try to pet her (outside of the crate) all night long. I don't think it ever worked. Lots of fun was had by all there, then we loaded up and went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's. We opened just a couple of gifts there from family friends, and the adults PJ's (Matt, Brenna and I all got new PJ's to wear for Christmas Eve...the kids had already worn theirs the night before because we had already started their celebrations), then called it a night.

Christmas morning was just lots of fun. Luckily for us, both of the kids slept in because it had been such a long day on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, they're BOTH doing the "catching up" sleep thing that they've NEVER done before. Let me just say that it's really nice...We opened up the presents, and Kellen's favorite - by far - was the pirate ship from the VeggieTales Pirates who Don't do Anything. Ohmygosh...He was so excited - thrilled - about that present it's almost indescribable. I got a new digital camera...that is SO nice! Now I just have to figure out how to use all of the various functions...It even has a manual fuction, which is something that I've really been wanting so that I can experiment more with pictures of the kids. Yay!! I get to play around with it now...Matt's big present he had already gotten - tires for his Trailblazer. He's thrilled about it - I guess it's a guy thing? LOL We then had a big lunch there, which was just wonderful, and then the kids went down for their naps.

Afterwards, we loaded everything up and went down into Houston for the other side of Matt's family...more family, more presents, both kids are STILL behaving remarkably well for having two full days of this intense action. Tatum just charmed everyone...and is walking better and better by the day (why am I encouraging this again? I forget...) We stayed down at Gary and Glenda's for quite a while, and didn't leave there until 10PM...got back home shortly before midnight, then got the kids down in bed, finished unpacking from that trip and getting things ready for the next and final Christmas celebration....for my side of the family on Wednesday.

I made two pot roasts in the crock pot (two crock pots, actually), with potatos, carrots, and mushrooms, and let that cook all night long. Wednesday morning we slept in until a little after 8AM (yay again for the kids sleeping in!) and Grandma and Grandpa got here shortly after 9. Most everything was ready for this group, so I finished up the last of the gifts, got lunch ready, and Michael, Jonathan, Tammy, Joey and Allyssa got here shortly after noon. Dad and Matt had run to finish up a couple of the gifts and get some things from the store (darn that missing sugar!) and made it here shortly after the rest of the gang arrived..It was almost perfect timing...I think they had to wait about 15 minutes on the green beans, corn and noodles to finish up before we were able to eat. We ate lunch...lots of lunch, and then opened presents. Kellen and Allyssa (and Joey - although he was more like a babysitter) played a LOT in their room. It eventually looked like a tornado had gone through there, but man...they were having fun!

So today has been a rest day...we ALL lounged in our PJ's until about noon...Tatum was the first to get changed out of hers just because she was getting frustrated while trying to crawl and/or walk in PJ's that were too long (18 month PJ's fit her really well except for being too long...12 month PJ's are getting too tight in her legs - my big girl...), Kellen stayed in his all the way through naptime, and I showered while they were both napping after lunch. It was a GREAT day today...both kids were well behaved, Kellen colored and played with his sticker books, played with his toys and Tatum, plus HER toys (they must be more fun for him now that he's older...dunno...). After we all woke up from naps (unfortunately, mine was just a short cat-nap on the chair), we ran errands in town. A trip to Once Upon a Child to sell some outgrown clothes and toys landed up just enough money to buy the large Shrek and Donkey stuffed toys and a Shrek 2 puzzle they had there for Kellen...I think I made 50 cents or something...but since Kellen is currently sleeping with the Shrek and Donkey and put the puzzle together all by himself almost as soon as we got home, I think it was well worth it.

Maybe tomorrow we'll get more done around the house, but it was really fun just to play with the kids today. Tatum decided that she wanted to walk - really walk. I think I lost count of the number of steps she took...if I had been counting, I guess. I was in shock that I couldn't really get my brain to count steps! Our highest outside of today had been 4 steps...I think this was at least 8...

Blur...

That's what life feels like right now!

Friday I had the day off, and Matt and I got some MAJOR errands run...then he took a short nap while I picked up the kids from school, and it was off to Houston by way of Conroe to drop the kids off with his folks for our date-night...The Nutcracker, performed by The Houston Ballet! Tickets to the show were my anniversary present, and WOW! Well, it's us...so is anyone surprised that we were running behind schedule? Quick dinner of Sonic on the way to Conroe, get them dropped off - when we realized there was a complete 24-hour miscommunication about which day the ballet was anyway...luckily MawMaw and PawPaw were actually at their house - WHEW! So they were all set to watch the kids, quick changes for Matt and I and we're off to Houston. In bound traffic was a little heavier than Matt had expected, so we knew that we were cutting it close on the start time...Get there, park, and walk (luckily, I DO know how to power and race walk) to the show, get inside, one guy tells us they're still seating people and the next lady...well, you can see where I'm going with this, right? The next lady stops us and tells us that they have stopped seating. According to my watch, it was 7:37, but we missed the door by less than 2 minutes...and were the first ones turned away...surprised? I didn't think so.

So we got to watch the first act on the monitor - a VERY nice TV hooked up to a not-so-nice feed. Ahh..There were others that joined us, and Matt and I saw a glimpse of our future in some of the families...adorably dressed little girls and oh-so-handsome little boys...doing combat rolls towards the glass and bear-crawling so as to not get in the way of people. It was hilarious!

After intermission, we found our seats and really enjoyed the show quite a bit. But what would a night out be without some drama, at least where we're concerned?

Saturday morning we get up and rush to get ready so that we can make it back to town in time for Kellen's Little Dragon class that starts at 10 AM. At about 5 minutes till we pull into the parking lot...the EMPTY parking lot. Apparently neither Matt nor I had realized that the holiday schedule began on Saturday, so we high-tailed it back to town for a non-existent lesson. Poor Kellen. He was so excited about going to his class, too. Anyway, we were able to get a lot more stuff done around the house on Saturday, and Matt really went through all of our Christmas decorations, finished decorating, and reorganized the decoration storage boxes. The house looks really nice!

We discussed yesterday that we still needed to get Santa pictures, so we looked on the mall website and saw that the mall was opening up at 7 AM today. So this morning, I got up, got ready, got the kids all decked out in their gear, and was determined to be one of the first in line for the Santa pictures. How true, how true. When we arrived at the mall and went to the castle, there was a sign on it indicating that on Sunday, the pictures were from 12 - 6 PM. And this was at 9:30 AM, mind you. So, I decided to try and finish some of the Christmas shopping that I needed to do at the mall, and just get that done before the pictures opened up...we shopped for a while - let me just interject here that Kellen inherits his non-love of shopping from me - he was not the happiest of campers at the mall - then at about 10:45, went to the food court and got an early lunch. I decided to let them eat, then go wait by the castle for Santa...smart plan, right?

We finish eating about ten minutes after 11, then walk over to the castle, only to see hustle and bustle there....Apparently, they started taking pictures at 11 AM today, not noon as the sign on their stand indicated. So instead of being EARLY, people are already there and getting their pictures made. Oh good gracious! However, the line wasn't bad, and I had been prepping Kellen quite a bit about showing Tatum that she didn't need to be scared of Santa, etc...He went first, and did just WONDERFULLY! He went right up to Santa and sat on his lap, talked to him, smiled great for his picture, everything! Then I put Tatum on Santa's other knee, and reminded Kellen to show Tatum not to be scared of Santa. I let them both sit there for just a few minutes, and Tatum was NOT happy about the big buy in the red suit. Kellen was GREAT, though! He was trying to make her laugh, and calming her down, then I got him off of Santa's lap and he and I tried to make her laugh and smile so that she could get a good picture with Santa. It turned out ok, but she isn't smiling and cheerful in the picture, which is her "normal" face and attitude. All-in-all, the pictures are ADORABLE.

Back to the house for naps, then after naps we hit Wal-Mart and then Kroger for the remainder of our items. Kellen helped me wrap a lot of gifts tonight, and he had so much fun being my helper! He was disappointed that we didn't get a chance to make any cookies or the cupcakes we had talked about, but we just ran out of time today! Maybe we'll get to that tomorrow...he's pretty insistent about making cookies for Santa.

The Shrek Song

So on the new "Shrek the Halls" show, which we have DVR'ed and watched a zillion times (I have committed it to memory, Kellen has committed it to memory, heck, I think TATUM has committed it to memory), there is a particular song with a lyric that goes,

"Bah humbug, but that's too strong...it's my favorite holiday."

Well, Matt did a search for that song - as it does have a good beat - and we found it. We've been listening to this stop nonstop, or at least it seems nonstop, since Matt found it. I can't get it out of my head! I'll say a small phrase out of it, then Kellen will finish the verse and ask to listen to the Shrek Song on the computer.

In fact, if the web site is up, he'll continually click the play button just so that he can listen to it over and over again.

Check it out...http://youtube.com/watch?v=bP_WH4heId4 - It really is cute and catchy...

Christmas Wrapping
by The Waitresses

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just 'cause it's 'tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of '81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,
Chilled this room for twenty-four days,
Evergreens, sparkling snow
Get this winter over with!

Flashback to springtime, saw him again,
Would've been good to go for lunch,
Couldn't agree when we were both free,
We tried, we said we'd keep in touch.

Didn't, of course, 'til summertime,
Out to the beach to his boat could I join him?
No, this time it was me,
Sunburn in the third degree.

Now the calendar's just one page
And, of course, I am excited
Tonight's the night, but I've set my mind
Not to do too much about it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.

Hardly dashing through the snow
Cause I bundled up too tight
Last minute have-to-do's
A few cards a few calls'
Cause it's r-s-v-p
No thanks, no party lights
It's Christmas Eve, gonna relax
Turned down all of my invites.

Last fall I had a night to myself,
Same guy called, halloween party,
Waited all night for him to show,
This time his car wouldn't go,

Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late,
Trudge on home to celebrate
In a quiet way, unwind
Doing Christmas right this time.

A&P has provided me
With the world's smallest turkey
Already in the oven, nice and hot
Oh d#$%! Guess what I forgot?

So on with the boots, back out in the snow
To the only all-night grocery,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
In the line is that guy I've been chasing all year!

"I'm spending this one alone," he said.
"Need a break; this year's been crazy."
I said, "Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?"

Then suddenly we laughed and laughed
Caught on to what was happening
That Christmas magic's brought this tale
To a very happy ending! "

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!

Written by Chris Butler (c)
1981 Future Fossil Music, BMI

A day of firsts...

Today was Kellen first dental appointment - ok, ok...I know what the "official" recommendation is...but it was a good visit - no cavities and he even let them clean and floss his teeth - don't judge me :) - We had been talking about the visit and I had been prepping him for it...we had a lot of time to just hang out in the dentists office (more than Mommy would have liked, actually), but it worked out ok because I was able to play with him a lot and get him really comfortable in the surroundings. He didn't like the bright light shining on his face - specifically his eyes - when he was getting his teeth examined, but can you really blame him? He did a decent job of getting the x-ray done, but moved during the second part of it, so half of them look really interesting. We opted NOT to redo them. He's 4...we didn't think it was necessary. The part that I think he dislikes the most was them rinsing his mouth out with the spray water...he just couldn't understand that and the suction...that part freaked him out a little, but ultimately, not a big deal. Then he called his Grandpa Gerren to share the good news and tell him about the "trophy toothbrush" he got as a present. At what point in time the toothbrush morphed into a trophy toothbrush I have no idea, but whatever!

As a reward for doing such a great job at the dentist, he went back to my office with me and played the part of a helper elf , handing out Christmas presents around the office, telling everyone "Merry Christmas!" along the way. It was adorable and he enjoyed it so much! Since he had helped make the cookies, I wanted him to be able to help hand them out, so it was really nice that we were able to make that work. He even helped "assemble" the gifts...a Christmas tub, chocolate no-bake cookies, hot chocolate mix, and some chocolate candies (yes, yes...we are a chocolate family). The folks at the office got a big kick out of him handing the gifts out, too.

Then we headed back to school in time for lunch and there ya' go!

When we got home today, he asked if we were going to make more cookies, apparently because , "It's my most favorite thing to do in the whole world!"

Really? Make cookies? I had no idea.

As for Tatum, 3 steps is our max. That's where we are at this point in time. She gets SO EXCITED when she thinks about walking and tries to walk that she's leaning more than her legs are moving...or she gets those 3 steps and then gets too excited to coordinate the rest of the movements. It's too cute to watch her try and figure this out, it really is. I still haven't figured out why I'm encouraging this development, other than I want to help my kids develop to their full potential - but walking at 9 months? I think she'll have it down pretty well by Christmas, or at the latest by the time she turns 10 months old.

She had a very vocal day today, and was apparently sharing her opinion with everyone...Opinions about what, we aren't all that sure, but she was sure letting everyone know that she was around! She is just too funny...

Decorating for Christmas...

Well, we're getting there! Kellen and I put up some of the Christmas decorations last night, and then we all went to pick out a tree this afternoon. The boxes you see in the background are decorations still waiting to be put up...most of them are for the tree, so we're still working on it!

Tatum was desperate to hug her brother, and was doing everything that she could to get close to him...it's still so cute how much she just adores him and how good he is with her!



Kellen actually found "our" tree, and did a much better job (in my opinion anyway) than the actual tree guy with picking out what we wanted and needed. We're trying to be practical this year, and needed a thin tree, because we're putting it in the corner, sandwiched between the couch and loveseat. It's our attempt to keep a little, ever-so-mobile someone (or two) away from the tree. We'll see how that works.



Kellen and Daddy trimmed the end of the tree when we got home, and we decided that we're going to start keeping the ends as a keepsake. We'll put our name and the year on them and have them to remember the Christmas and trees...


So in the midst of our holiday afternoon...we got into some singing and playing around. And we re-discovered Kellen's GREAT memory...especially when it comes to music. He was showing his skills of to me, but it took a little convincing before he would let me video him...but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity!! Enjoy the video...it's Kellen singing "Something Beautiful" by The Newsboys. He was also singing "Sing" by The Carpenters, "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2, various Toby Mack songs, and some others. Obviously, since Mommy and Daddy have varied tastes in music, he's picked up on some of that and enjoys it quite a bit!

In other news, Tatum is eating more and more off of the "big girl" menu. She ate (and LOVED) peach yogurt today, cheese squares, and bananas (a HALF of a banana - seriously). She also enjoyed some pancakes as well this weekend (from the freezer, but compliments of Grandpa Gerren). Oh my, oh my. She's just doing GREAT (if we could only figure out naps with any consistency...)

Goodness...what a week

Well, let's see where to start. This has been a pretty crazy week! To try and sum up...

Kellen went to visit Maw Maw and Paw Paw's while Daddy was at work on Tuesday, spent the night, and then he, Paw Paw and Daddy went to storytime at the library on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tatum is getting better and better at walking, and is successfully taking one step at a time...then progresses to three whole steps on Thursday! Whoa buddy!

Despite our good intentions, we still haven't gotten our Christmas decorations up (ARG!). That's REALLY high on the priority list for tomorrow (after the Little Dragons class and a birthday party...oh, and nap).

I got my new phone (yay!) and am trying to take a crash course in it. *grin* I have just spend the last hour and a half transferring my contacts from my old phone to my new one. Sigh. It wouldn't take the update from my old phone, and because it's being synced with my work computer, it would have erased those contacts anyway. So...I now have my phone numbers (or at least I should when the server pushes the next sync tomorrow morning).

Oh, and did I mention that I spent the hour before that transferring my calendar items from my old palm (which no longer communicates or syncs with my work computer) to my work calendar? BIG sigh.

But...good news is that once the next sync push happens, I should be all set up! Whoo hoo!!

I'm so looking forward to a nice family weekend!!

Christmas talk

We've been watching all of the nightly Christmas specials...many of which I grew up on and am more than happy to share with (at least) Kellen right now.

Here are some tidbits of our conversations from tonight...

Watching Frosty the Snowman
(As the opening credits are rolling and it's in the very early stages)
Kellen: Where's the hat that makes the snowman talk?
Me: Sweetie, just watch the show, ok? (HOW DOES HE KNOW THIS? I DON'T REMEMBER EVER WATCHING THIS WITH HIM BEFORE!!)

Watching the "other" Frosty that came on afterwards (which I don't ever remember watching and is kind of freaky if you think about it from a kids point of view...the adults vaporing the snow and snowman...huh? what's THAT about?)
Kellen: MOMMY, FROSTY IS GOING TO GET DISAPPEARED! Is someone going to spray Frosty?!?
Me: I'm not sure, honey.

(later)
Kellen: MOMMY, FROSTY HAS A BIG HOLE IN HIS STOMACH AND HIS LEGS ARE WOBBLY AND HE'S GOING TO MELT INTO A BOWL!
Me: Really? (Thinking...why oh why did they make this into a KIDS show? He's going to have nightmares about snowmen with holes in their stomachs melting now!)

After both of the shows are over while he's stalling to finish getting ready for bed.
Kellen: Mommy, we don't have a chimney.
Me: You're right sweetie, we don't.
Kellen: Then how can Santa get into our house to bring us presents?
Me: Kellen, do you think Santa is real?
Kellen: Yes, he's on TV.
Me: (Arg, I wanted to go along with the Santa thing but didn't want to actually "train" either of the kids to actually buy into and believe in it). Well, we have that special Santa key that we hang on the door so only Santa can use it and get into the house. But why does Santa bring presents at Christmas, Kellen?
Kellen: Because some boys and girls don't have any toys.
Me: Ok, but why else do we give presents at Christmas? What happened a long time ago at Christmas?
Kellen: I don't know. I forgot.
Me: Because God gave Jesus to us as a gift so that we could be saved and live with God in Heaven and we remember that by giving presents to other people, right?
Kellen: Right.

While being tucked into bed:
Kellen: Is tomorrow stay at home day? (Say "stay at home" very quickly and it DOES actually sound like Saturday)
Me: Yes, it's Saturday.

(later)
Me: Kellen, how did you get to be such a good big brother?
Kellen: 'Cause that's how God made me.

Spreading the Christmas Spirit...

Matt and I talked weekend about Kellen's current attitude toward Christmas "What's on my Christmas list?" and "I want that for Christmas!" and decided that we were going to HAVE to do something about it...we are going to have to put MORE emphasis on the REAL meaning of Christmas, we are going to need to downplay the "Santa" thing, gift and gift-talking aspects of Christmas, etc.

So Kellen and I have been talking more every day about what Christmas is REALLY all about.

Also, on Saturday we "cleaned" his room, and went through about half of his toys, and talked about little boys and girls that didn't have toys and made choices about giving some of the toys he didn't play with very much or like to those little girls and boys. We had a box there in the room, and he would actually go over and put things in there (not very many, mind you, but he did actually do it). We'll have to find some other place to take it where I think it will "mean" something to him to drop off the box.

He actually put one of the Percy push trains in the box..and told me, "We can give this away to a little boy that doesn't have toys because I have a little Percy that goes on my train track at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's." (Progress, right?)

If he threw too big of a fit about a particular toy that I thought he should get rid of, then we talked about whether or not he could share the toy with Tatum. If he decided he could (and it was a toy that could actually be shared), we went and put it in her room.

But he's still in the "I want it" mode (most of the time), so it's obviously a work in progress. At least we're working on it!

Oh my...her 1st one...

I completely forgot to update you all there in internet-land that Tatum had (has) an ear infection! Aw man...She had been coughing quite a bit, and last Wednesday afternoon I took her in to the doctor, thinking it was some kind of chest cold, bronchitis, or something. Well, it was certainly something, but something I didn't expect - she has an ear infection in her left ear. We go back in tomorrow for her 9 month well-check (yes, I typed that correctly...she's officially 9 months old today) and the doctor will check her ears for a follow-up.

Poor baby!

Her nose had been alternating between running like a faucet and being altogether stopped up, but I was really getting worried when it was so stopped up that she couldn't breathe while nursing. Aww!! So we started antibiotics last Wednesday night, she seems to not mind the medicine, so that's a good thing! Now she actually gets excited when I come toward her with the syringe full of medicine for her to swallow.

Crazy girl!