Yes...Kellen is reading.
We got our first "Take Home Reader" sent home on Friday, and I remembered it when I pulled it out of the backpack today (you know, before he went BACK to school - yes, flame me now, I can handle it).
So tonight, after getting home from his McDonald's treat and putting Tatum to bed, he and I sat down to read it. I read it to him ONCE and he had it down. Completely. I think I had to 'help' him once, because he wants to say 'puppy dog' instead of just 'dog', so we're working on pointing to the words on the page as we're reading.
He's getting SO excited about reading. He's calling out the sight words, he's devouring these books, and read that particular one to me at least a half dozen times. Then we had to call Grandma Gerren and read it to her, too...Considering she specialized in reading for her masters, I thought it highly appropriate...No, she doesn't work with it now, but I got my love of reading from somewhere, now didn't I?
I am just loving watching him learn...he's like a little sponge! His explanation of a period and an exclamation point is great. He can tell you the difference and 'show' you how you need to use the exclamation point. We had to work on that one since Tatum was asleep while we were reading...he really wanted to 'show' me by shouting as loudly as possible when reading the sentence. But he's understanding and comprehending and wanting more and more....
It's the same way he is about his memory verses for Awana's...he's got them memorized within 15-20 minutes or less. It's truly remarkable! And he'll tell you the previous weeks verse without us having to go over it. For instance, when he called to read to Grandma Gerren, he also recited the memory verse from two weeks ago (we haven't worked on it or practiced it since then, other than HIM saying it as he was practicing THIS weeks verse) and the one from this past Sunday.
I love it, I love it, I love it!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Atta boy!
Well, for those of you who don't know, Kellen hasn't quite made it to the completely night-trained world yet. And we're ok with that. At one point in time I was somewhat stressed about it (shocker, yes, I'm sure), but am now just really and truly letting him go at his own pace for when he's physically ready. I've discovered his issue is not a battle of wills, (well, at least not 100% of the time) it's more a physical thing...he's a fairly hard sleeper and I just don't think he's been able to know when he's going (once he's actually asleep, that is).
Back to the point of this post.
A few days ago he tells me that he doesn't have any pull-ups. *ARG* He's supposed to let me know when he's running out so I can be sure and get more, but either he forgot to tell me or I wasn't listening when he did. At any rate, it was nighttime and he didn't have pull-ups to wear to bed. So we improvised, as we sometimes have to do in a pinch, and he wore a pair of his sisters large fuzzibuns to bed that night. He was laughing about it, put his clothes on, and walked around remarking about how big his booty was.
Uh huh...It really bothered him, huh.
Well, for one reason or another I didn't get a chance to get pull-ups that next day, and we were in the same situation on night two (oh wait, it was Saturday...there's your reason right there!). So another one of his sisters diapers it was...only this time along with the remarks about how big his booty looked there were a couple about how it smushed his "man parts". Now why these smushed it and the pull-ups don't I'm not quite sure...But apparently there is a difference.
Move to night three and there's more of the same, didn't get a chance to go to the store and get pull-ups (and yes, I will say by this point in time I was wondering if I even should....), and Kellen was getting ready for bed. When I asked him what we were going to do about his pull-up, he proclaimed, "I'm just gonna wear my undies to bed tonight, Mommy."
It was the first time in a L-O-N-G time that he had JUST wanted to wear undies to bed, so he and I had a long talk about getting up and going to the bathroom, not pee peeing in the bed, etc, etc. So I decided to try it. (Sure, what's the harm, right? I had all weekend to try this and didn't, so why not try it out the night before I'm headed back to work, right? LOL)
Anyway, he went to bed around 8, and before I went to bed I took him to the bathroom and he went again (so close to 10), Matt did the same when he was through studying, and I did it again before I went running this morning (only he wasn't able to actually go then). When he woke up for good this morning, he and the bed was still dry.
HE MADE IT!!!
He says that he doesn't remember Matt nor I taking him to the potty, but that he got up himself a couple of times and went to the bathroom. So it doesn't seem like his bladder can make it all night, but if he's waking up to go, that's ok, I guess!?
Matt and I were just so stinkin' proud of him! Now, we aren't naive enough to think that we're in the clear...but we were just really happy for him for the first night that he tried it. So, as a reward (and I made it clear that he wasn't getting a reward for every night that he was dry - this was just extra special), he got to pick the dining location of his choice tonight...
Any guesses on where we went??
Yup...Ronald McDonalds...AKA McDonald's.
So we'll see how tonight goes! Wish him luck!
Back to the point of this post.
A few days ago he tells me that he doesn't have any pull-ups. *ARG* He's supposed to let me know when he's running out so I can be sure and get more, but either he forgot to tell me or I wasn't listening when he did. At any rate, it was nighttime and he didn't have pull-ups to wear to bed. So we improvised, as we sometimes have to do in a pinch, and he wore a pair of his sisters large fuzzibuns to bed that night. He was laughing about it, put his clothes on, and walked around remarking about how big his booty was.
Uh huh...It really bothered him, huh.
Well, for one reason or another I didn't get a chance to get pull-ups that next day, and we were in the same situation on night two (oh wait, it was Saturday...there's your reason right there!). So another one of his sisters diapers it was...only this time along with the remarks about how big his booty looked there were a couple about how it smushed his "man parts". Now why these smushed it and the pull-ups don't I'm not quite sure...But apparently there is a difference.
Move to night three and there's more of the same, didn't get a chance to go to the store and get pull-ups (and yes, I will say by this point in time I was wondering if I even should....), and Kellen was getting ready for bed. When I asked him what we were going to do about his pull-up, he proclaimed, "I'm just gonna wear my undies to bed tonight, Mommy."
It was the first time in a L-O-N-G time that he had JUST wanted to wear undies to bed, so he and I had a long talk about getting up and going to the bathroom, not pee peeing in the bed, etc, etc. So I decided to try it. (Sure, what's the harm, right? I had all weekend to try this and didn't, so why not try it out the night before I'm headed back to work, right? LOL)
Anyway, he went to bed around 8, and before I went to bed I took him to the bathroom and he went again (so close to 10), Matt did the same when he was through studying, and I did it again before I went running this morning (only he wasn't able to actually go then). When he woke up for good this morning, he and the bed was still dry.
HE MADE IT!!!
He says that he doesn't remember Matt nor I taking him to the potty, but that he got up himself a couple of times and went to the bathroom. So it doesn't seem like his bladder can make it all night, but if he's waking up to go, that's ok, I guess!?
Matt and I were just so stinkin' proud of him! Now, we aren't naive enough to think that we're in the clear...but we were just really happy for him for the first night that he tried it. So, as a reward (and I made it clear that he wasn't getting a reward for every night that he was dry - this was just extra special), he got to pick the dining location of his choice tonight...
Any guesses on where we went??
Yup...Ronald McDonalds...AKA McDonald's.
So we'll see how tonight goes! Wish him luck!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Them Ags....
Well, IT happened. I really thought I would NEVER see the day. Yes, I typed NEVER in reference to this occurance.
My husband left an Aggie FOOTBALL game early.
Really.
Yes, you read what I typed correctly.
Pick your jaw up off of your keyboard now.
If you watched the Aggies vs Texas Tech yesterday, you'll know the part that I'm about to mention, if not...well, then what WERE you doing on a Saturday afternoon, anyway?
4th quarter, 5 minutes left...Aggies needed two scores to win (yes, I am almost an eternal optimist). We had the ball and it was 4th and 15. What play was called???
Wait for it...
THEY PUNT THE BALL!!!
Sure, we hadn't been able to stop Tech's offense all day long, but perhaps we can make that happen in the next minutes or so...in enough time to 1. stop them; 2. take the ball down the field for a touchdown; 3. kick and recover the onside kick and; 4. score again.
Um...I don't think so.
The WORST that could have happened (well, not the absolute worst, but bear with me on my rant), is that we DIDN'T get the 4th down and we had a turnover on downs. Did I mention that we were on the 50 yard line? So BIG DEAL!!! It wasn't much different than what happened ANYWAY.
Which was.....1. My husband subsequently getting so angry at the play call that he left the stands; and 2. Tech took about 4 and a half minutes to score (yes, ANOTHER SCORE, because hey, they're ranked and need to run up that score for the rankings, right?), leaving us with a grand total of less than 30 seconds to try and make something happen.
R-I-G-H-T
So ladies and gentlemen, what does that tell us? In MY humble opinion, it tells us that our coach wasn't calling plays to win. He was calling plays to try and not lose badly.
Heads-up, Sherman. That isn't what we hired you for!
Now, if someone has an opinion on another reason as to why he called that particular play at that particular time given those circumstances, I would be happy to hear it...Feel free to leave your comments. However, none of the guys that attended the game with our group could give me another explanation, nor could the call in show when Matt called in asking about that part of the game...I believe their response was slightly more "PC" but along the lines of, 'playing the odds, but that wasn't the right time to do it.'
Thoughts?
My husband left an Aggie FOOTBALL game early.
Really.
Yes, you read what I typed correctly.
Pick your jaw up off of your keyboard now.
If you watched the Aggies vs Texas Tech yesterday, you'll know the part that I'm about to mention, if not...well, then what WERE you doing on a Saturday afternoon, anyway?
4th quarter, 5 minutes left...Aggies needed two scores to win (yes, I am almost an eternal optimist). We had the ball and it was 4th and 15. What play was called???
Wait for it...
THEY PUNT THE BALL!!!
Sure, we hadn't been able to stop Tech's offense all day long, but perhaps we can make that happen in the next minutes or so...in enough time to 1. stop them; 2. take the ball down the field for a touchdown; 3. kick and recover the onside kick and; 4. score again.
Um...I don't think so.
The WORST that could have happened (well, not the absolute worst, but bear with me on my rant), is that we DIDN'T get the 4th down and we had a turnover on downs. Did I mention that we were on the 50 yard line? So BIG DEAL!!! It wasn't much different than what happened ANYWAY.
Which was.....1. My husband subsequently getting so angry at the play call that he left the stands; and 2. Tech took about 4 and a half minutes to score (yes, ANOTHER SCORE, because hey, they're ranked and need to run up that score for the rankings, right?), leaving us with a grand total of less than 30 seconds to try and make something happen.
R-I-G-H-T
So ladies and gentlemen, what does that tell us? In MY humble opinion, it tells us that our coach wasn't calling plays to win. He was calling plays to try and not lose badly.
Heads-up, Sherman. That isn't what we hired you for!
Now, if someone has an opinion on another reason as to why he called that particular play at that particular time given those circumstances, I would be happy to hear it...Feel free to leave your comments. However, none of the guys that attended the game with our group could give me another explanation, nor could the call in show when Matt called in asking about that part of the game...I believe their response was slightly more "PC" but along the lines of, 'playing the odds, but that wasn't the right time to do it.'
Thoughts?
Friday, October 17, 2008
Randomness...
Time article re: Schoolyard Bullying: Which kids are most vulnerable?
I thought this was interesting, especially the part about the (and I'll paraphrase) parents that were overly-disciplining their children. Really? That is a CAUSE of a child BEING bullied?
Hmmm....seems to me that a LACK of discipline in the home is more of a problem now-a-days, but hey, maybe that's just my opinion....
Discipline, respect for authority, ethics, integrity...who's lining up to teach THOSE things to the youth of America?
Anywhooooo....
So the department had a picnic after work today...and I took both the kids along with me (hey, they were serving hot dogs...one of BOTH of the kids favorites!). They kids behaved remarkably well, and we only had one melt-down moment. Unfortunately, that melt-down moment came at the expense of one of my co-workers, who was desperately trying to be sweet with Tatum, who wanted NOTHING to do with him.
Really. Nothing.
She was shrinking back in the stroller away from him, and he thought he saw a small flirty smile come from her and did the whole, 'Gonna get you' gig and tried to tickle her.
Yeah, that didn't go over well.
She started screaming, and reached her arms for me while wailing, with some of the largest tears streaming from her eyes that I think I've ever seen.
I don't think I've EVER seen her do that before in her life. She's almost always warmed up to people...she's just now getting to the separation anxiety stage (see earlier post from this week)...and especially with guys, she's warmed up to them quickly because she's such a flirt!
And poor thing...he was the ONLY person there tonight that she did this to...everyone else she was smiling, waving, flirting, talking to, you name it. I was even handing her off to some of the graduate students to hold for a bit when I got tired of chasing her all over the park - you know, 'cause SHE was chasing the boys around...And all he ever wants to do is talk and be sweet with my kids...he does that when I bring them into the office, too...but neither of them have ever reacted like THIS before!
We also had another opportunity for Tatum to interact with "puppy" - several puppies, to be truthful. And we got no closer to her actually petting ANY of them. Including the small, calm, VERY well-trained poodle that was incredibly willing to allow Tatum to do whatever to her. Once again, Tatum was fascinated with the "PUPPY!", but kept her own personal space from each and every one of them. When I tried to get her closer than her comfort zone, she was having NONE of it...she tensed up, grabbed me tightly, and squeezed me for all she was worth. It's truly a physical reaction that her ENTIRE body goes into when she's too close to them. Perhaps she'll overcome this as she gets older and we continue to casually expose her to them? I certainly don't think that we need to push her - especially not based on what I continue to see as her reaction when she's around them.
Any suggestions?
I thought this was interesting, especially the part about the (and I'll paraphrase) parents that were overly-disciplining their children. Really? That is a CAUSE of a child BEING bullied?
Hmmm....seems to me that a LACK of discipline in the home is more of a problem now-a-days, but hey, maybe that's just my opinion....
Discipline, respect for authority, ethics, integrity...who's lining up to teach THOSE things to the youth of America?
Anywhooooo....
So the department had a picnic after work today...and I took both the kids along with me (hey, they were serving hot dogs...one of BOTH of the kids favorites!). They kids behaved remarkably well, and we only had one melt-down moment. Unfortunately, that melt-down moment came at the expense of one of my co-workers, who was desperately trying to be sweet with Tatum, who wanted NOTHING to do with him.
Really. Nothing.
She was shrinking back in the stroller away from him, and he thought he saw a small flirty smile come from her and did the whole, 'Gonna get you' gig and tried to tickle her.
Yeah, that didn't go over well.
She started screaming, and reached her arms for me while wailing, with some of the largest tears streaming from her eyes that I think I've ever seen.
I don't think I've EVER seen her do that before in her life. She's almost always warmed up to people...she's just now getting to the separation anxiety stage (see earlier post from this week)...and especially with guys, she's warmed up to them quickly because she's such a flirt!
And poor thing...he was the ONLY person there tonight that she did this to...everyone else she was smiling, waving, flirting, talking to, you name it. I was even handing her off to some of the graduate students to hold for a bit when I got tired of chasing her all over the park - you know, 'cause SHE was chasing the boys around...And all he ever wants to do is talk and be sweet with my kids...he does that when I bring them into the office, too...but neither of them have ever reacted like THIS before!
We also had another opportunity for Tatum to interact with "puppy" - several puppies, to be truthful. And we got no closer to her actually petting ANY of them. Including the small, calm, VERY well-trained poodle that was incredibly willing to allow Tatum to do whatever to her. Once again, Tatum was fascinated with the "PUPPY!", but kept her own personal space from each and every one of them. When I tried to get her closer than her comfort zone, she was having NONE of it...she tensed up, grabbed me tightly, and squeezed me for all she was worth. It's truly a physical reaction that her ENTIRE body goes into when she's too close to them. Perhaps she'll overcome this as she gets older and we continue to casually expose her to them? I certainly don't think that we need to push her - especially not based on what I continue to see as her reaction when she's around them.
Any suggestions?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
So what is normal, anyway?
What does "normal" look like for you and your family?
I'm not sure that I know what it looks like for ours...Matt and I were talking about that today...we've been trying to get to a "normal" schedule recently. One where we can plan to see each other on a regular basis, discuss things, spend time together, take the kids to the park or on walks after work and school, you know...all of the things that couples should be able to do on a regular basis...the "normal" things that occur in familes.
Except in our case, one thing after another has popped up in our schedule for so long that despite our attempts to grasp that so-called "normal", we seem unable to attain it.
So I'm wondering, it is just us? Or is there even such a thing as "normal" - in the way in which our brains are thinking of it, anyway? In our world that now consists of two full-time working parents - one with an alternating schedule, church and Bible study activities, one kid with football numerous time a week and the other that does best with a 7 PM bedtime, random "misc" work events and school stuff, are we striving for something that simply doesn't exist?
I'm not sure that I know what it looks like for ours...Matt and I were talking about that today...we've been trying to get to a "normal" schedule recently. One where we can plan to see each other on a regular basis, discuss things, spend time together, take the kids to the park or on walks after work and school, you know...all of the things that couples should be able to do on a regular basis...the "normal" things that occur in familes.
Except in our case, one thing after another has popped up in our schedule for so long that despite our attempts to grasp that so-called "normal", we seem unable to attain it.
So I'm wondering, it is just us? Or is there even such a thing as "normal" - in the way in which our brains are thinking of it, anyway? In our world that now consists of two full-time working parents - one with an alternating schedule, church and Bible study activities, one kid with football numerous time a week and the other that does best with a 7 PM bedtime, random "misc" work events and school stuff, are we striving for something that simply doesn't exist?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Separation Anxiety...
Man oh man...I just LOVE this developmental stage (please note the sarcasm as it drips heavily from that statement)...Separation Anxiety.
They HAVE to go through it.
It's developmentally appropriate.
And normal.
And it makes me feel like my heart is being worn on the outside of my body and pierced with a thousand swords - heck, this is the world of TAMU, a thousand sabers - every day when I drop Tatum off at her class and she immediately cries, looks at me with tears streaming down her face, reaches her arms toward me, all the while crying out for me.
I adore the words "Mommy" coming from her lips, but the sound of her screaming "Mommy!" in that manner as I walk out the door just makes my heart break in a million pieces...and I walk over those pieces in my clunky boots on my way out the door heading to work.
*sigh*
It's a developmental stage that she MUST go through. Kellen did it and survived.
It's proving that she's realizing that she is an individual. And that I'm comfortable AND comforting to her.
And she's fine minutes after I leave.
However, many times the "head" knowledge of all of this makes every morning of this routine NO easier on me.
They HAVE to go through it.
It's developmentally appropriate.
And normal.
And it makes me feel like my heart is being worn on the outside of my body and pierced with a thousand swords - heck, this is the world of TAMU, a thousand sabers - every day when I drop Tatum off at her class and she immediately cries, looks at me with tears streaming down her face, reaches her arms toward me, all the while crying out for me.
I adore the words "Mommy" coming from her lips, but the sound of her screaming "Mommy!" in that manner as I walk out the door just makes my heart break in a million pieces...and I walk over those pieces in my clunky boots on my way out the door heading to work.
*sigh*
It's a developmental stage that she MUST go through. Kellen did it and survived.
It's proving that she's realizing that she is an individual. And that I'm comfortable AND comforting to her.
And she's fine minutes after I leave.
However, many times the "head" knowledge of all of this makes every morning of this routine NO easier on me.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Flag Football
So I don't know if I've mentioned that Kellen is playing flag football or not...Much has happened in the last couple of weeks and I simply cannot remember.
At any rate, his concentrattion on the field has been less than stellar during some of his games. He did; however, during one game find a hotwheels car on the field. And the grass has also proven very interesting for him to admire as well.
I've chalked all of this up to the fact that the games are at 6 PM after a full day of school and then Kids Klub (his after school program) where he's had to behave and pay attention, etc. With us rushing to get to practice and/or the game, eating on the way, it's just tough, to say the least. So we have just encouraged him during the games and then discussed how he can improve afterwards, without really getting onto him too much. After all, he's out there to have fun and learn the basics of football, right?
Well, he had a COMPLETE turn-around during Monday nights game...perhaps it was because he was with Daddy all day long; perhaps it was because he hadn't been in school all day; or hadn't gone to Kids Klub; or maybe it was that L-O-N-G late nap that he took after the parent-teacher conference. Who knows.
But he did FANTASTIC during the game! He paid attention, hustled, and even scored a touchdown! His team ended up losing (man, there was one kid on the other team that we're sure we'll see highlight reels of later...and some of these games will be played with the 'even as a young child...' voice-overs in the background - he was juking and was just plain ole' FAST!) but he was just spectacular on Monday night!
We don't have a game on Wednesday, have canceled practice for Saturday (practice at 1 PM with the TAMU vs Tech game at 11 AM doesn't lend itself to too many kiddos showing up), and then don't have a game the following Monday either, but are looking to schedule practice at an alternative location just so the kids don't lose their momentum totally. Because they were ALL doing really well on Monday night! We had 3 different kids score touchdowns and many of them blocking really well!
Whoo hoo! I think he's actually starting to enjoy it a lot more now that he's getting into it!
At any rate, his concentrattion on the field has been less than stellar during some of his games. He did; however, during one game find a hotwheels car on the field. And the grass has also proven very interesting for him to admire as well.
I've chalked all of this up to the fact that the games are at 6 PM after a full day of school and then Kids Klub (his after school program) where he's had to behave and pay attention, etc. With us rushing to get to practice and/or the game, eating on the way, it's just tough, to say the least. So we have just encouraged him during the games and then discussed how he can improve afterwards, without really getting onto him too much. After all, he's out there to have fun and learn the basics of football, right?
Well, he had a COMPLETE turn-around during Monday nights game...perhaps it was because he was with Daddy all day long; perhaps it was because he hadn't been in school all day; or hadn't gone to Kids Klub; or maybe it was that L-O-N-G late nap that he took after the parent-teacher conference. Who knows.
But he did FANTASTIC during the game! He paid attention, hustled, and even scored a touchdown! His team ended up losing (man, there was one kid on the other team that we're sure we'll see highlight reels of later...and some of these games will be played with the 'even as a young child...' voice-overs in the background - he was juking and was just plain ole' FAST!) but he was just spectacular on Monday night!
We don't have a game on Wednesday, have canceled practice for Saturday (practice at 1 PM with the TAMU vs Tech game at 11 AM doesn't lend itself to too many kiddos showing up), and then don't have a game the following Monday either, but are looking to schedule practice at an alternative location just so the kids don't lose their momentum totally. Because they were ALL doing really well on Monday night! We had 3 different kids score touchdowns and many of them blocking really well!
Whoo hoo! I think he's actually starting to enjoy it a lot more now that he's getting into it!
Snake?!?
So Matt and I were cleaning up outside on Sunday - we moved around our swingset, put up a basketball goal for Kellen (and Tatum, apparently, since she tried to dribble the basketball as well), picked up leaves, etc., when a small snake slithered out from the leaves I was sweeping off of our concrete sidewalk area...
I thought nothing of it as it slithered away from me and under the fence to the neighbor's yard and casually mentioned it to Matt, and was even calling the kids over to come and telling them that it had gone on the other side of the fence and everything. Matt then proceeds to get the broom, somehow gets it back on our side of the fence, and starts pounding on it...I was wondering "Why?" the whole time until I heard him mutter to me, 'It's a copperhead!' - then I immediately got the kids back - yes, at this point in time they were watching Daddy and were still WAY too close.
UG!
He finally killed it with the tail end of the broom and threw it into the trash can - poor Kellen was still asking to see the snake the entire time!
As a side note...I think Matt felt so bad about him not getting to see the snake that this incident was partially responsible for their trip on Monday to the Brazos Center and the Natural History Museum...Kellen got to play with a snake there! I had lunch with he and Matt on Monday before our parent-teacher conference and Kellen told me that the snake was wrapped around him like a necklace! Matt did take some pictures, so I'll have to post them when I get a chance.
Matt made me feel ZERO better when he told me we probably have copperheads slithering all over the backyard. Grass snakes I can handle, but...um...copperheads?? No thanks!!
So how do we get rid of these things, anyway?
I thought nothing of it as it slithered away from me and under the fence to the neighbor's yard and casually mentioned it to Matt, and was even calling the kids over to come and telling them that it had gone on the other side of the fence and everything. Matt then proceeds to get the broom, somehow gets it back on our side of the fence, and starts pounding on it...I was wondering "Why?" the whole time until I heard him mutter to me, 'It's a copperhead!' - then I immediately got the kids back - yes, at this point in time they were watching Daddy and were still WAY too close.
UG!
He finally killed it with the tail end of the broom and threw it into the trash can - poor Kellen was still asking to see the snake the entire time!
As a side note...I think Matt felt so bad about him not getting to see the snake that this incident was partially responsible for their trip on Monday to the Brazos Center and the Natural History Museum...Kellen got to play with a snake there! I had lunch with he and Matt on Monday before our parent-teacher conference and Kellen told me that the snake was wrapped around him like a necklace! Matt did take some pictures, so I'll have to post them when I get a chance.
Matt made me feel ZERO better when he told me we probably have copperheads slithering all over the backyard. Grass snakes I can handle, but...um...copperheads?? No thanks!!
So how do we get rid of these things, anyway?
Parent-Teacher Conference
In liu of the first 6-weeks grades for Kellen, we had a parent-teacher conference yesterday. All-in-all, it went really well, and it seems that Kellen is doing exceedingly well academically in kindergarten. The ONLY thing that wasn't "checked" on his list was "Listens without interrupting" - and he comes by that honestly. *sigh* I'm realizing more and more just how often I have a tendency to interrupt, so I'm sure I'm not helping him with that issue. Plus, when his brain thinks of something, he wants to say it right then. He doesn't mean any disrespect, that's just how his brain works - the teacher even recognized that and said that she hesitated in not checking that particular area...
He already knows all of the 'sight words' that they've covered in class (the kindergarten list has a total of 20 words - they haven't finished all 20 of them yet, but the teacher expects them to finish those up quickly and move on to the first grade sight word list), and LOVES to point them out while we're reading books or even in conversation. He's LOVING to read...and getting really excited when he's recognizing words and is able to sound them out. I don't think it will be too terribly long before he's able to read simple books on his own, but we'll see. I want him to enjoy reading, so I certainly don't want to pressure or push him.
We discussed a variety of things, and I'll just sum up by saying that I'm SO GLAD that Kellen has the teacher that he does this year! She's just a perfect match for him and understands his temperment and personality wonderfully!
He already knows all of the 'sight words' that they've covered in class (the kindergarten list has a total of 20 words - they haven't finished all 20 of them yet, but the teacher expects them to finish those up quickly and move on to the first grade sight word list), and LOVES to point them out while we're reading books or even in conversation. He's LOVING to read...and getting really excited when he's recognizing words and is able to sound them out. I don't think it will be too terribly long before he's able to read simple books on his own, but we'll see. I want him to enjoy reading, so I certainly don't want to pressure or push him.
We discussed a variety of things, and I'll just sum up by saying that I'm SO GLAD that Kellen has the teacher that he does this year! She's just a perfect match for him and understands his temperment and personality wonderfully!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Budding artist?
So Kellen has decided to express himself artistically lately. Only in the not-so-good way.
Saturday morning I wake up to the realization that he's found a green marker in his room and colored all of the fingers of one hand (don't ASK me how). I took a deep breath and decided to laugh that one off....then thought for a second and asked the question, "Kellen, what ELSE did you color?"
Kellen looked at me, then looked down, and sheepishly answered, "My bed."
I wasn't laughing on that one, as I worked REALLY hard with the soap and scrub brush to get the very artistic green marker off of his headboard. His ENTIRE headboard. I will say though, it was an interesting pattern.
*sigh*
He DID tell the truth, which meant he didn't get in as much trouble as he would have if he would have lied, so his discipline wasn't as bad as it could have been - a lesson which Daddy was certain to reiterate to him. Now, we don't want him to think telling the truth equates to a "get out of jail free" card, but we do want him to understand that telling us the truth means a lesser punishment than lying to us and us finding out the truth later.
Fast forward to a day later. Yes, you read that correctly - TODAY. We're back from church tonight and I'm getting Kellen ready for bed when I see some new strange markings on his headboard. I should know that they're new, since I just scrubbed that bright and fresh yesterday, right? This time they're red (and again very interesting-looking - he IS quite the artist!).
So I called Kellen to me and asked him about this newest of artwork. He proceeded to tell me that he colored on his bed during nap with a red crayon. (I REALLY thought I had gotten all of the possibly offending coloring-type items OUT of his room!! REALLY!!) We then have yet ANOTHER talk about taking care of our belongings, what we are allowed to color on and what we aren't, disobeying Mommy and Daddy, resting and sleeping vs. playing during naptime, etc.
I walk out of the room to cool down, and when I walk back in he had gone into the bathroom, gotten a washrag, and was scrubbing the bedframe - in a different spot than the one I had noticed. Apparently he had colored in TWO spots, but was taking it upon himself to try and start cleaning it up.
Atta' boy.
At any rate, thankfully crayola crayons DO come out of wood (mostly), so I was once again able to (for the most part) clean up the incident. But wow...twice in as many days. I do not know what has come over him!
Add the coloring incident to the fact that he ripped the stylus off of the string on his Leapster this evening when we got home from church - yes, ripped it off - and I'm at a loss here. When asked why he did that, his reasoning was very OCD, "I just don't like the string sticking out." I had a vague awareness that the string bothered him, but nothing to this extreme...
Do we need to allow him to act out at home so that he can maintain his good behavior at school? I can't expect him to be perfect all of the time, and would rather have him misbehave at home, but I can't let him just get away with everything at home, either.
This parenting gig...wow. So it seems like I need to provide more creative and artistic outlets for Kellen during the day and keep all possible writing utensils OUT of his room during nap and nighttime. The kicker to that idea is that I did just that - on Friday night (the night prior to incident #1) he made the two most wonderful pictures with his markers for me that I think he's ever done - and he did them right before bedtime...so it is a timing issue?
Lord, please help us with this...I can't stand for him to be in trouble with us every day...it's not good for him and it's so hard on us!
Saturday morning I wake up to the realization that he's found a green marker in his room and colored all of the fingers of one hand (don't ASK me how). I took a deep breath and decided to laugh that one off....then thought for a second and asked the question, "Kellen, what ELSE did you color?"
Kellen looked at me, then looked down, and sheepishly answered, "My bed."
I wasn't laughing on that one, as I worked REALLY hard with the soap and scrub brush to get the very artistic green marker off of his headboard. His ENTIRE headboard. I will say though, it was an interesting pattern.
*sigh*
He DID tell the truth, which meant he didn't get in as much trouble as he would have if he would have lied, so his discipline wasn't as bad as it could have been - a lesson which Daddy was certain to reiterate to him. Now, we don't want him to think telling the truth equates to a "get out of jail free" card, but we do want him to understand that telling us the truth means a lesser punishment than lying to us and us finding out the truth later.
Fast forward to a day later. Yes, you read that correctly - TODAY. We're back from church tonight and I'm getting Kellen ready for bed when I see some new strange markings on his headboard. I should know that they're new, since I just scrubbed that bright and fresh yesterday, right? This time they're red (and again very interesting-looking - he IS quite the artist!).
So I called Kellen to me and asked him about this newest of artwork. He proceeded to tell me that he colored on his bed during nap with a red crayon. (I REALLY thought I had gotten all of the possibly offending coloring-type items OUT of his room!! REALLY!!) We then have yet ANOTHER talk about taking care of our belongings, what we are allowed to color on and what we aren't, disobeying Mommy and Daddy, resting and sleeping vs. playing during naptime, etc.
I walk out of the room to cool down, and when I walk back in he had gone into the bathroom, gotten a washrag, and was scrubbing the bedframe - in a different spot than the one I had noticed. Apparently he had colored in TWO spots, but was taking it upon himself to try and start cleaning it up.
Atta' boy.
At any rate, thankfully crayola crayons DO come out of wood (mostly), so I was once again able to (for the most part) clean up the incident. But wow...twice in as many days. I do not know what has come over him!
Add the coloring incident to the fact that he ripped the stylus off of the string on his Leapster this evening when we got home from church - yes, ripped it off - and I'm at a loss here. When asked why he did that, his reasoning was very OCD, "I just don't like the string sticking out." I had a vague awareness that the string bothered him, but nothing to this extreme...
Do we need to allow him to act out at home so that he can maintain his good behavior at school? I can't expect him to be perfect all of the time, and would rather have him misbehave at home, but I can't let him just get away with everything at home, either.
This parenting gig...wow. So it seems like I need to provide more creative and artistic outlets for Kellen during the day and keep all possible writing utensils OUT of his room during nap and nighttime. The kicker to that idea is that I did just that - on Friday night (the night prior to incident #1) he made the two most wonderful pictures with his markers for me that I think he's ever done - and he did them right before bedtime...so it is a timing issue?
Lord, please help us with this...I can't stand for him to be in trouble with us every day...it's not good for him and it's so hard on us!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
2 Truths & a Lie - Not my Kellen
So I went to pick Kellen up today and the Kids Kamp counselors told me that he cracked them up (again) today. They proceed to tell me the full story, and it made me so proud.
They were playing the game 2 Truths and a Lie, and when it was Kellen's turn, he told the counselor that he wasn't going to play the game because he wasn't allowed to lie and that he got in trouble with his Mommy and Daddy for lying. They tried to use a different word for lie and explain it in a different way to convince him to play, but he stuck his ground and told them, 'No." He basically told them that if he lies he gets in trouble at home and gets a spanking.
I am just SO PROUD of him for sticking up for himself and for not doing something that he was being told by a teacher, an authority figure in his eyes, to do that went against what we had been teaching him. I can only imagine how confusing that must have been for him. We've told him to obey his teachers, yet here they were telling him to do something in direct contradiction to values we've tried to instill in him.
Now you may be reading this and thinking, 'Come on, Rebecca, it's only a game,' but I think to a 5-year old, something as simple as lying in a game setting could be potentially confusing. I think that was a tremendous lesson for Kellen and again, I'm just so proud of him!
They were playing the game 2 Truths and a Lie, and when it was Kellen's turn, he told the counselor that he wasn't going to play the game because he wasn't allowed to lie and that he got in trouble with his Mommy and Daddy for lying. They tried to use a different word for lie and explain it in a different way to convince him to play, but he stuck his ground and told them, 'No." He basically told them that if he lies he gets in trouble at home and gets a spanking.
I am just SO PROUD of him for sticking up for himself and for not doing something that he was being told by a teacher, an authority figure in his eyes, to do that went against what we had been teaching him. I can only imagine how confusing that must have been for him. We've told him to obey his teachers, yet here they were telling him to do something in direct contradiction to values we've tried to instill in him.
Now you may be reading this and thinking, 'Come on, Rebecca, it's only a game,' but I think to a 5-year old, something as simple as lying in a game setting could be potentially confusing. I think that was a tremendous lesson for Kellen and again, I'm just so proud of him!
Under attack
It's amazing when you are really and truly seeking God's will...I mean actively working to be in His will and correcting areas of your life where you've been disciplined and/or you've simply realized aren't where they need to be when you get hit - both barrels - by Satan. That's where our family is right now. I ask that you simply pray for us. I'm not going to go into details, simply understand that Satan is really coming after Matt and I in a variety of ways...at least we are both realizing what is taking place and are actively guarding against the attacks. Please pray that we both continue to realize what is happening and trust and rely on the Lord to guide us through this.
On a lighter note, Tatum decided to take her personal potty training forward in a quantum-leap manner today. We were finishing with our dinner and she says and signs "all done" to me, then says, "poo poo". Being the slow to catch on mom that I sometimes am, I repeated this back to her and asked if she needed to go poo poo on the potty, to which she replied, "uh huh". Finally taking my cue, I unbuckled her from the table and carried her into the bathroom, and proceeded to get her ready for the potty. Considering that she was fully dressed and that she's cloth diapered, this is sometimes no small feat. At any rate, she waited for me to prepare her for the potty, then sat and went. Really. And as she was in-the-process, she said, "bye bye poo poo", when she was finished, she said, "all done", then told her 'accomplishment' bye bye again as it was flushed, after she cheered herself. I have TOTAL faith that she understood what she was doing.
I still can't believe it. At 18 months old? Really?!?
On a lighter note, Tatum decided to take her personal potty training forward in a quantum-leap manner today. We were finishing with our dinner and she says and signs "all done" to me, then says, "poo poo". Being the slow to catch on mom that I sometimes am, I repeated this back to her and asked if she needed to go poo poo on the potty, to which she replied, "uh huh". Finally taking my cue, I unbuckled her from the table and carried her into the bathroom, and proceeded to get her ready for the potty. Considering that she was fully dressed and that she's cloth diapered, this is sometimes no small feat. At any rate, she waited for me to prepare her for the potty, then sat and went. Really. And as she was in-the-process, she said, "bye bye poo poo", when she was finished, she said, "all done", then told her 'accomplishment' bye bye again as it was flushed, after she cheered herself. I have TOTAL faith that she understood what she was doing.
I still can't believe it. At 18 months old? Really?!?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Already?
I can't believe it!
Tatum was in the bath, and said pee pee, so I got her out and put her on the potty. I heard water splashing, and thought she had actually gone, so I made a really big deal about it, then put her back into the bath to finish the bath.
I was getting her ready for bed, and she was running around naked for a little bit (we have yet another rash - investigtor mommy is going to have to go into gear to find out what it was that she ate that did this to her), and she went into a crouching stance. I asked her if she needed to go pee pee, and put her on the potty. She sat there for a minute, then said all done, although she didn't actually do anything. No biggie. I certainly don't want to push, and am only doing this much because she seems interested. I have been encouraging her, as she has been showing interest in the potty - you know, when I'm on it. *lol*
A minute or so later, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom, said pee pee, walked over to the potty and patted it. I asked her if she had to go potty, she said pee pee again and I put her on the potty. Seconds later, she's peeing.
Of course, I made a HUGE deal of this, but I still can't believe it. I guess I need to go get a childs potty....
Wow. She's not even 19 months old. Where did my baby go?
Tatum was in the bath, and said pee pee, so I got her out and put her on the potty. I heard water splashing, and thought she had actually gone, so I made a really big deal about it, then put her back into the bath to finish the bath.
I was getting her ready for bed, and she was running around naked for a little bit (we have yet another rash - investigtor mommy is going to have to go into gear to find out what it was that she ate that did this to her), and she went into a crouching stance. I asked her if she needed to go pee pee, and put her on the potty. She sat there for a minute, then said all done, although she didn't actually do anything. No biggie. I certainly don't want to push, and am only doing this much because she seems interested. I have been encouraging her, as she has been showing interest in the potty - you know, when I'm on it. *lol*
A minute or so later, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom, said pee pee, walked over to the potty and patted it. I asked her if she had to go potty, she said pee pee again and I put her on the potty. Seconds later, she's peeing.
Of course, I made a HUGE deal of this, but I still can't believe it. I guess I need to go get a childs potty....
Wow. She's not even 19 months old. Where did my baby go?
New adventures
...for Kellen today.
Today was the first day for Taekwondo in Kids Klub for him today. He'll be doing this once a week for the semester (instead of Little Dragons, which was three days a week). He says he didn't like it, but that seems to be a common response to things recently, so I'm not sure if that's accurate or not.
The bonus for Mom and Dad on the Taekwondo - it occurs DURING Kids Klub hours. Translation: we don't have to exhaust extra effort to trying to make it to lessons in addition to our other activities. That is a DEFINITE bonus in MY book, at least!
After school was the first practice for his flag football team as well. He actually SAID that he had fun during practice for that, so I'll take that as a good sign. He has one of his former daycare friends in class with him, so he's not starting from scratch with making all new friends with the kids on his team. YAY!
All-in-all, he's had a VERY eventful day!
Today was the first day for Taekwondo in Kids Klub for him today. He'll be doing this once a week for the semester (instead of Little Dragons, which was three days a week). He says he didn't like it, but that seems to be a common response to things recently, so I'm not sure if that's accurate or not.
The bonus for Mom and Dad on the Taekwondo - it occurs DURING Kids Klub hours. Translation: we don't have to exhaust extra effort to trying to make it to lessons in addition to our other activities. That is a DEFINITE bonus in MY book, at least!
After school was the first practice for his flag football team as well. He actually SAID that he had fun during practice for that, so I'll take that as a good sign. He has one of his former daycare friends in class with him, so he's not starting from scratch with making all new friends with the kids on his team. YAY!
All-in-all, he's had a VERY eventful day!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
God is good and we are blessed
Once you read the entire post, you may this the title doesn't fit, but God has shown just how good He is over the last few days. Really.
I'll try to take it one day at a time and give you the update...
On Thursday morning, I got a phone call from my mom (she FINALLY reached me via my cell phone at 6:30 AM, despite trying to call us since about 3 AM) indicating that my dad had suffered a heart attack. She said that he was being transported to Providence in Waco from the ER in Mexia and that she they had just walked in the doors, she would call me with an update. A short while later, she called to tell me he was having a catherization done at noon and that they were going to repair whatever needed repairing at that time. So I headed out of town to try to make it there before the catherization.
I spoke with him before I left, so I knew he was doing ok, or as well as could be expected, considering.
Elsewhere, my sweet husband was concerned that he was going to get called into work early because of the pending hurricane...you may have heard of it...Hurricane Ike. He was scheduled to work his regular shift on Friday, and anticipated the possibility of him having to go into work early on Thursday. However, as I was getting ready to get out of town, he was making calls to find out that he most likely wasn't having to go into work early. Whew.
So, to the hospital I go, and I'll fast foward to the catherization results. The catherization went well. He has/had a total of 3 blockages. The one that caused the heart attack was a 100% blockage at the circumflex artery. They inserted a stint there and have full function and anticipate no permanent long-term damage to the heart from the blockage and subsequent heart attack. As for the other two (located in the descending portion of the left anterior artery), the doctor decided against treatment with them at this time. What they will do is a stress test in a month to determine whether they're functionally significant. If they are, then he'll go in again to have stints placed in them.
I was able to see dad both prior to and after the catherization, which I'm thankful for. Dad's nurses' name was Michael, and he was keeping an eye out for me so that he could get me in to see Dad before he went in for the catherization if I was able to get there in time, which I luckily was. Michael, huh. Isn't God good? ;) I am VERY glad that I was there, as I was able to help my mom understand some of what the doctor was saying and showing with regard to the blockages and overall meaning. She was being so strong, but when we walked out after the doctor called us in for the catherization results, she just looked at me and said, "So does all that mean that he WILL be ok?" I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for her...
He was still in ICU on Thursday, as they simply didn't have a bed for him, and he was number 10 or 12 in line to receive a room. Mom wasn't allowed to stay with him, so we both left Thursday afternoon (and the ICU nurse was kicking us out...just doing her job, but not making us really happy though...).
I made it back to College Station in time to pick up both kids, as Matt was in a slew of emergency preparedness meetings taking place all that evening. I found out, through a variety of emails throughout the day, that TAMU and Kellen's school was closed for the pending hurricane. Hello, Ike!
Thursday night was pretty rough, Kellen was incredibly scared about the hurricane, and moreso scared about his Daddy going INTO the hurricane while everyone else was going AWAY from the hurricane. He was TERRIFIED that his Daddy was going to die. So much so that Matt and I were BOTH trying to console him throughout the night as he was having multiple nightmares and waking up screaming. And one of his nightmares ended with him falling off of the bed and busting his eye open, a fact that neither Matt nor I realized it until Friday morning. Apparently it could have stood stitches, but we didn't realize it quick enough...so there's another scar on "Crash Kellen" - Ug. His eye is so swollen...it hurts me just to look at it!
So Friday we start to prepare for Ike...Matt heads off to work, and I start picking up everything that could become a projectile - or at least as much as I can pick up while trying to watch Kellen and Tatum playing in the yard. So yeah, I didn't get everything done outside. Our evacuees from the Conroe area started to arrive mid-day on Friday, and all told we ended up with an additional 7, then 5 people and 6 animals at the house. I'm so glad that they came here and escaped from Conroe! They, of course, help get the rest of the outside ready for the storm.
I'm continuing to try and touch base with mom, and she was able to get a ride to the hospital early on Friday. Dad was moved to a private room early in the day, so she had planned to spend the night in case he was moved to a private room. She called me later in the afternoon and dad was having some problems with both his blood pressure and his heart rate. His blood pressure was dropping rapidly and his heart rate was spiking, and the doctors weren't sure why...it happened while he was sleeping, so that kinda' rules out normal "I'm stressed because I'm in the hospital" stress-type stuff, at least in my book...They gave him a bag of meds and were monitoring him closely, then changed from an IV medication to an oral medication when the IV infiltrated his arm.
Friday night comes and at the house we're all just hunckerin' down and getting ready for the storm. We haven't watched much else but the weather channel.
I wonder what their ratings were last week and this weekend?
Matt sent text messages periodically updating us on the weather in Houston, and throughout the night as well. God protected him and those around him, and continued to bless us by allowing there to be an adequate number of volunteers on Saturday so that Matt was able to come home *safely* mid-day on Saturday.
Saturday rolls around and I called to check on Dad, only to be told by Mom that she was in with the doctor. I immediately called back and suggested that she suggest they keep him another night. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my suggestion, but that's what the doctors decided to do, which made me feel much better. I would MUCH rather have my parents in a hospital in Waco when the remnants of Hurricane Ike goes up I45 than in the middle of a peach orchard directly in its path.
By Saturday, the kids are going a little stir-crazy, so we decided to take them to McDonalds for dinner and let them R-U-N on the playground. Considering that they had been cooped up in a house without being able to really get their energy out too well, they had been fairly well-behaved. The two older ones act like they're siblings. I mean REALLY act like they're siblings. Wow. I can see what I have to look forward to now. We tried to keep them busy with a variety of activites, and naps were mandatory, but there's only so much you can do.
Sunday rolls around and despite my best efforts, we just weren't making it to church. The boys decided that they were going to make a trip back to Conroe to assess the damage to the houses, so they were getting ready to head out at about the time that the kids and I should have been getting ready to go to church, so I just wasn't able to make it happen. Shortly after they left, the kids and moms headed out for a walk - off to the park! We went and fed the ducks, then played on the playground, and timed it perfectly so that we were back just in time for lunch and a nap. Yay us!
During our energy-expenditure walk, I called to find out what was going on with Dad, and was told that they made the decision to release him. So they were getting ready to head out as I was talking to them.
Sunday afternoon included naps for EVERYONE - I kinda' think we all deserved them, don't you? Then I got a call from Dad at around 3 PM Sunday afternoon letting me know that he and mom were home and resting comfortably. That was a great call to get!
Although my timing was a little off for our Sunday night church activities (a whole hour off - the wrong way...) and Kellen and I missed the first night of our new fall programs, Sunday still was a good day.
Despite the seemingly endless stream of misadventures...heart attack, busted eye, working in the hurricane, the hurricane itself, God has continually blessed us. Everything could have been so much worse, and God has shown his grace and goodness through all of this.
I'll try to take it one day at a time and give you the update...
On Thursday morning, I got a phone call from my mom (she FINALLY reached me via my cell phone at 6:30 AM, despite trying to call us since about 3 AM) indicating that my dad had suffered a heart attack. She said that he was being transported to Providence in Waco from the ER in Mexia and that she they had just walked in the doors, she would call me with an update. A short while later, she called to tell me he was having a catherization done at noon and that they were going to repair whatever needed repairing at that time. So I headed out of town to try to make it there before the catherization.
I spoke with him before I left, so I knew he was doing ok, or as well as could be expected, considering.
Elsewhere, my sweet husband was concerned that he was going to get called into work early because of the pending hurricane...you may have heard of it...Hurricane Ike. He was scheduled to work his regular shift on Friday, and anticipated the possibility of him having to go into work early on Thursday. However, as I was getting ready to get out of town, he was making calls to find out that he most likely wasn't having to go into work early. Whew.
So, to the hospital I go, and I'll fast foward to the catherization results. The catherization went well. He has/had a total of 3 blockages. The one that caused the heart attack was a 100% blockage at the circumflex artery. They inserted a stint there and have full function and anticipate no permanent long-term damage to the heart from the blockage and subsequent heart attack. As for the other two (located in the descending portion of the left anterior artery), the doctor decided against treatment with them at this time. What they will do is a stress test in a month to determine whether they're functionally significant. If they are, then he'll go in again to have stints placed in them.
I was able to see dad both prior to and after the catherization, which I'm thankful for. Dad's nurses' name was Michael, and he was keeping an eye out for me so that he could get me in to see Dad before he went in for the catherization if I was able to get there in time, which I luckily was. Michael, huh. Isn't God good? ;) I am VERY glad that I was there, as I was able to help my mom understand some of what the doctor was saying and showing with regard to the blockages and overall meaning. She was being so strong, but when we walked out after the doctor called us in for the catherization results, she just looked at me and said, "So does all that mean that he WILL be ok?" I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for her...
He was still in ICU on Thursday, as they simply didn't have a bed for him, and he was number 10 or 12 in line to receive a room. Mom wasn't allowed to stay with him, so we both left Thursday afternoon (and the ICU nurse was kicking us out...just doing her job, but not making us really happy though...).
I made it back to College Station in time to pick up both kids, as Matt was in a slew of emergency preparedness meetings taking place all that evening. I found out, through a variety of emails throughout the day, that TAMU and Kellen's school was closed for the pending hurricane. Hello, Ike!
Thursday night was pretty rough, Kellen was incredibly scared about the hurricane, and moreso scared about his Daddy going INTO the hurricane while everyone else was going AWAY from the hurricane. He was TERRIFIED that his Daddy was going to die. So much so that Matt and I were BOTH trying to console him throughout the night as he was having multiple nightmares and waking up screaming. And one of his nightmares ended with him falling off of the bed and busting his eye open, a fact that neither Matt nor I realized it until Friday morning. Apparently it could have stood stitches, but we didn't realize it quick enough...so there's another scar on "Crash Kellen" - Ug. His eye is so swollen...it hurts me just to look at it!
So Friday we start to prepare for Ike...Matt heads off to work, and I start picking up everything that could become a projectile - or at least as much as I can pick up while trying to watch Kellen and Tatum playing in the yard. So yeah, I didn't get everything done outside. Our evacuees from the Conroe area started to arrive mid-day on Friday, and all told we ended up with an additional 7, then 5 people and 6 animals at the house. I'm so glad that they came here and escaped from Conroe! They, of course, help get the rest of the outside ready for the storm.
I'm continuing to try and touch base with mom, and she was able to get a ride to the hospital early on Friday. Dad was moved to a private room early in the day, so she had planned to spend the night in case he was moved to a private room. She called me later in the afternoon and dad was having some problems with both his blood pressure and his heart rate. His blood pressure was dropping rapidly and his heart rate was spiking, and the doctors weren't sure why...it happened while he was sleeping, so that kinda' rules out normal "I'm stressed because I'm in the hospital" stress-type stuff, at least in my book...They gave him a bag of meds and were monitoring him closely, then changed from an IV medication to an oral medication when the IV infiltrated his arm.
Friday night comes and at the house we're all just hunckerin' down and getting ready for the storm. We haven't watched much else but the weather channel.
I wonder what their ratings were last week and this weekend?
Matt sent text messages periodically updating us on the weather in Houston, and throughout the night as well. God protected him and those around him, and continued to bless us by allowing there to be an adequate number of volunteers on Saturday so that Matt was able to come home *safely* mid-day on Saturday.
Saturday rolls around and I called to check on Dad, only to be told by Mom that she was in with the doctor. I immediately called back and suggested that she suggest they keep him another night. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my suggestion, but that's what the doctors decided to do, which made me feel much better. I would MUCH rather have my parents in a hospital in Waco when the remnants of Hurricane Ike goes up I45 than in the middle of a peach orchard directly in its path.
By Saturday, the kids are going a little stir-crazy, so we decided to take them to McDonalds for dinner and let them R-U-N on the playground. Considering that they had been cooped up in a house without being able to really get their energy out too well, they had been fairly well-behaved. The two older ones act like they're siblings. I mean REALLY act like they're siblings. Wow. I can see what I have to look forward to now. We tried to keep them busy with a variety of activites, and naps were mandatory, but there's only so much you can do.
Sunday rolls around and despite my best efforts, we just weren't making it to church. The boys decided that they were going to make a trip back to Conroe to assess the damage to the houses, so they were getting ready to head out at about the time that the kids and I should have been getting ready to go to church, so I just wasn't able to make it happen. Shortly after they left, the kids and moms headed out for a walk - off to the park! We went and fed the ducks, then played on the playground, and timed it perfectly so that we were back just in time for lunch and a nap. Yay us!
During our energy-expenditure walk, I called to find out what was going on with Dad, and was told that they made the decision to release him. So they were getting ready to head out as I was talking to them.
Sunday afternoon included naps for EVERYONE - I kinda' think we all deserved them, don't you? Then I got a call from Dad at around 3 PM Sunday afternoon letting me know that he and mom were home and resting comfortably. That was a great call to get!
Although my timing was a little off for our Sunday night church activities (a whole hour off - the wrong way...) and Kellen and I missed the first night of our new fall programs, Sunday still was a good day.
Despite the seemingly endless stream of misadventures...heart attack, busted eye, working in the hurricane, the hurricane itself, God has continually blessed us. Everything could have been so much worse, and God has shown his grace and goodness through all of this.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Kellen the computer whiz?
Ok, well maybe whiz is too strong, but Kellen started telling me today how he liked his "old" school better than his "new" school. So I began the questions to investigate why. Come to find out, they have a longer rotation before they're able to use the computer, and he really likes playing on the computer more often than he's able to now given the number of students in his class.
Who knew?
I guess I should have realized that because he was often at the computer center when I picked him up from daycare, but I obviously never gave it a second thought.
So, we went straight to the computer, and he immediately asked me to go to playhousedisney.com, or to pbskids.com, or to noggin.com, "Whatever choice you want to make, Mommy."
Uh huh. Can you tell which channels are on the TV at our house? And can you tell we have lots of discussions about 'choices' over here as well?
Playhouse Disney it was, and he proceeded to play several games, and he did great! These weren't just your standard video games, these are of the educational variety, so bring 'em on!
I told him as he was getting ready for bed tonight that if he has good days at school, playing on the computer can be his reward.
He was so excited! I love learning more about my kids every day! I love that I can be around them every day, and STILL learn new things about them....
Who knew?
I guess I should have realized that because he was often at the computer center when I picked him up from daycare, but I obviously never gave it a second thought.
So, we went straight to the computer, and he immediately asked me to go to playhousedisney.com, or to pbskids.com, or to noggin.com, "Whatever choice you want to make, Mommy."
Uh huh. Can you tell which channels are on the TV at our house? And can you tell we have lots of discussions about 'choices' over here as well?
Playhouse Disney it was, and he proceeded to play several games, and he did great! These weren't just your standard video games, these are of the educational variety, so bring 'em on!
I told him as he was getting ready for bed tonight that if he has good days at school, playing on the computer can be his reward.
He was so excited! I love learning more about my kids every day! I love that I can be around them every day, and STILL learn new things about them....
Monday, September 08, 2008
18 month check up
Wow. Just wow...Tatum is a trooper. Really.
Her 18 month check up was today (yeah, I know, we're a few days over...but just a few!), and she did just GREAT!
First of all, it wasn't at the best time...11:15 AM for a little girl who is used to eating at that time and taking a nap immediately after doesn't bode well for a happy and peaceful doctors visit. But, being the planner I am, I entered the doctors office armed with Ritz crackers and a sippy cup, hoping beyond hope to ward off pending meltdowns with food.
(It worked, by the way.)
The first, 'Aw' moment of the visit I had was when I pulled into the parking lot, exited the car and proceeded to get her out of the car and into the stroller when I realized that she had fallen asleep en route. *sigh* Poor baby! Not only do I have to wake you and disturb your nap, but I have to do so to to take you into the doctors office, AND to have you get shots. Ug.
So into the doctors office we go, and I start pointing out the painted animals on the wall, only to realize that she CAN make the sound and arm movements of a monkey. We've been demonstrating this to her (I call her my little monkey all the time - wierd, you might say, but she's a climber...) and she does it. How utterly delightful! It was just precious! (If you're counting, 'Aw' moment number two).
Then my little girl exhibits her total girliness by throwing a semi-fit as she's getting weighed. Now, before you question my comment above, let me explain. She had her cracker, and her water, I simply had to put both down for her to get weighed, and you DO NOT take food AWAY from this child. That's a BIG NO NO in Tatum-land. Another no-no is taking OFF her shoes. Hence the exhibition of her girliness. She wanted those shoes ON HER FEET. Period.
So as for the getting weighed part...she weighed in at a whopping 25.5 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly. Somewhere in the writing down of the weight we lost a half pound, so the "official" weight is 25 pounds, but I saw the number on the scale and it was 25.5. Uh huh. No wonder my back aches some days, especially when BOTH Kellen and Tatum want me to carry them. Goodness!
So, as for stats:
Weight: 25(.5) pounds = 70%
Height: 32 1/2 " = 70-75%
Head cir: 47.5 cm = 75%
We had a few issues to discuss with the doctor, including her inability to properly digest fruits (specifically acidic fruits or anything acidic). Our conclusion = she just can't. Perhaps she'll grow out of it, he's fairly optimistic about that, but for the time being, she simply doesn't get them. So we're adding a multivitamin to her daily regime (hello Flinstones!) to be sure that she gets the vitamins and nutrients she isn't getting from that food group (specifically Vit C).
And then she got her shots, and she really did quite well with those. She tried to be a big girl, and let out one big wail after the first one, took the seond like a champ (heck, she was still in the middle of the first wail, so what could she do?), and then I gave her the paci, her lovey, and snuggled with her. And that was all it took for her to put her head on my shoulder, snuggle into my neck, settle herself down, then realize she had done something good and clap for herself. Another 'Aw' moment, and now I've lost count...
Matt and I seem to continually make comparisons between Kellen and Tatum at their different stages, and he and I both thought that Kellen was more advanced than Tatum at this age verbally. After the questions they asked to gauge her verbal development at this check-up, we've realized she's JUST FINE (can she say 6-8 words? uh huh!). So, after the appointment, I decided to come up with a list, as best I could, of the words that I've identified that Tatum has and can say, as of now. Here they are (not necessarily in the order in which they appeared in her vocabulary)
Her 18 month check up was today (yeah, I know, we're a few days over...but just a few!), and she did just GREAT!
First of all, it wasn't at the best time...11:15 AM for a little girl who is used to eating at that time and taking a nap immediately after doesn't bode well for a happy and peaceful doctors visit. But, being the planner I am, I entered the doctors office armed with Ritz crackers and a sippy cup, hoping beyond hope to ward off pending meltdowns with food.
(It worked, by the way.)
The first, 'Aw' moment of the visit I had was when I pulled into the parking lot, exited the car and proceeded to get her out of the car and into the stroller when I realized that she had fallen asleep en route. *sigh* Poor baby! Not only do I have to wake you and disturb your nap, but I have to do so to to take you into the doctors office, AND to have you get shots. Ug.
So into the doctors office we go, and I start pointing out the painted animals on the wall, only to realize that she CAN make the sound and arm movements of a monkey. We've been demonstrating this to her (I call her my little monkey all the time - wierd, you might say, but she's a climber...) and she does it. How utterly delightful! It was just precious! (If you're counting, 'Aw' moment number two).
Then my little girl exhibits her total girliness by throwing a semi-fit as she's getting weighed. Now, before you question my comment above, let me explain. She had her cracker, and her water, I simply had to put both down for her to get weighed, and you DO NOT take food AWAY from this child. That's a BIG NO NO in Tatum-land. Another no-no is taking OFF her shoes. Hence the exhibition of her girliness. She wanted those shoes ON HER FEET. Period.
So as for the getting weighed part...she weighed in at a whopping 25.5 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly. Somewhere in the writing down of the weight we lost a half pound, so the "official" weight is 25 pounds, but I saw the number on the scale and it was 25.5. Uh huh. No wonder my back aches some days, especially when BOTH Kellen and Tatum want me to carry them. Goodness!
So, as for stats:
Weight: 25(.5) pounds = 70%
Height: 32 1/2 " = 70-75%
Head cir: 47.5 cm = 75%
We had a few issues to discuss with the doctor, including her inability to properly digest fruits (specifically acidic fruits or anything acidic). Our conclusion = she just can't. Perhaps she'll grow out of it, he's fairly optimistic about that, but for the time being, she simply doesn't get them. So we're adding a multivitamin to her daily regime (hello Flinstones!) to be sure that she gets the vitamins and nutrients she isn't getting from that food group (specifically Vit C).
And then she got her shots, and she really did quite well with those. She tried to be a big girl, and let out one big wail after the first one, took the seond like a champ (heck, she was still in the middle of the first wail, so what could she do?), and then I gave her the paci, her lovey, and snuggled with her. And that was all it took for her to put her head on my shoulder, snuggle into my neck, settle herself down, then realize she had done something good and clap for herself. Another 'Aw' moment, and now I've lost count...
Matt and I seem to continually make comparisons between Kellen and Tatum at their different stages, and he and I both thought that Kellen was more advanced than Tatum at this age verbally. After the questions they asked to gauge her verbal development at this check-up, we've realized she's JUST FINE (can she say 6-8 words? uh huh!). So, after the appointment, I decided to come up with a list, as best I could, of the words that I've identified that Tatum has and can say, as of now. Here they are (not necessarily in the order in which they appeared in her vocabulary)
- Mommy
- Daddy
- Maw Maw
- Paw Paw
- Bubby (I'm working SO HARD on getting her to say Kellen, but we said brother so much that this is what that word turned into - *sigh*)
- Please
- Outside
- Night-Night
- Dolphin
- Thank you
- Cheese
- Fish
- Eat
- Shoes
- Bath
- Bye
- Baby
- Ball
- Cracker
- No
- Mine
- Door
- Puppy
- Apple
- Banana
- Sit down
- Who's that?
- Love you
- More
I'm sure I've forgotten some, because I've just thought about this list for a short while this afternoon. And this doesn't count the number of signs that she does as well. So really, she's pretty verbal, and there's no telling how verbal she would be if we could get the paci out of her mouth more...*grin* But, we're not worried about that one, yet...with blessings from the doctor (and yes, it was a discussion item as well).
So I took her back to daycare and, you guessed it, she fell asleep in the car on the way back to school. 'Aw' I walked inside carrying her and went into her classroom where they had saved her lunch, and whispered to her about lunch...it took a minute, but she finally realized there was food ready for her and she woke up long enough to sign "eat" and walk to the table to be served, while saying, "night night" and looking at her nap stuff. 'Aw'
According to her chart, she ate "some" and then did take a little nap, so her day has been a little outta whack. But again, she's been quite the trooper!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Sunday morning sounds
(As I'm exiting the shower and getting ready for church)
Kellen: Why didn't you make MY breakfast when you made Tatum's breakfast?
(The fact hasn't quite sunken in to him that once you pour the milk onto cereal, it begins the soggification process. But whatever.)
****
Kellen: I think Tatum has a stinky!
(Which was proven true)
****
(As both children are now dressed for church, but wearing capes over their church attire)
Kellen remarks: I am a super hero and Tatum, you look like a super girl or a princess.
Now THAT'S just music to my ears!
Kellen: Why didn't you make MY breakfast when you made Tatum's breakfast?
(The fact hasn't quite sunken in to him that once you pour the milk onto cereal, it begins the soggification process. But whatever.)
****
Kellen: I think Tatum has a stinky!
(Which was proven true)
****
(As both children are now dressed for church, but wearing capes over their church attire)
Kellen remarks: I am a super hero and Tatum, you look like a super girl or a princess.
Now THAT'S just music to my ears!
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Makin' Gingi
Kellen's class, in fact all of kindergarten in his school this week, is doing a theme on gingerbread men. They're reading several versions of the book, and decorated gingerbread men on Monday. Much to their dismay, the gingerbread men ESCAPED from the oven while the lunch people were making the chicken nuggets.
Oh my!
Kellen has been oh-so-enthused about this latest adventure. He told me about how he made his gingerbread man, what he looked like - down to the last blue hair, pink shirted, rainbow pants, green shoed detail. Really.
Kellen's gingerbread man and the other gingerbread men made a break for it, they all said, "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man." Then the baby one said, "Catch me, catch me if you can. Catch me if you can."
(I really don't do this justice...Kellen talked about NOTHING else but this for quite a while yesterday afternoon/evening. You should hear him discussing this...it's quite entertaining!)
So Kellen decided to take his net to school today to see if he could find and catch his gingerbread man, but he wasn't able to find him. He's so worried that his gingerbread man is running amuck around the school being naughty. He's also worried that the gingerbread man is going to mess up the school and that he's going to have to stay home FOREVER. Uh huh.
Kellen's teacher (and the rest of the kindergarten teachers, I'm sure) have devised a plan to lure the gingerbread men back. They've sent home paper gingerbread men so that we can all decorate them and encourage the "real" gingerbread men to come back.
Here is Kellen decorating Gingi tonight:
Please note: Gingi doesn't have any hair because he's made to look like Daddy. However, Daddy doesn't have bags or backpacks to match his shirts like Kellen had me to make for Gingi. Yes, you read that correctly. This Gingi has a matching bag with a green handle. Very chic.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Happy Labor Day!
Whatcha' doing on this holiday?
I'm taking Kellen to school (we're in charge of snacks this week for his class, so I'll get to go into his class and drop off a couple of days worth of snacks - grapes, crackers, etc) and then Tatum and I are hanging out. I took the day off of work because her daycare was closed today...
Daycare closed.
TAMU open.
Elementary school open.
Hmmmm......
I'm taking Kellen to school (we're in charge of snacks this week for his class, so I'll get to go into his class and drop off a couple of days worth of snacks - grapes, crackers, etc) and then Tatum and I are hanging out. I took the day off of work because her daycare was closed today...
Daycare closed.
TAMU open.
Elementary school open.
Hmmmm......
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