I am just drained right now...on so many levels. I work nonstop during the day, but can't seem to stop the never-ending supply of to-do's and deadlines (and yes, I do prioritize, practice the 80/20 rule, work the HECK out of my student worker, etc.). My boss even told me that I was going to have to start saying, "NO!" - and not just to Kellen and Matt - but to requests University-wide, and start being more selective about my outside projects and committees...I guess you know it's pretty bad when your boss is telling you that you're going to have to start saying no to things, huh? He's given the administrative staff the charge of coming up with staffing solutions, but with virtually no extra budget, it's fairly difficult to find a way to hire additional help...I told him that I would just continue to stretch myself and get it all done...His reply, an emphatic, "No way."
We're trying out a new church right now, I wonder how many times in a row you should try a church before you try the next one? What's the rule of thumb on that? Hmmm? I think that Kellen enjoyed it yesterday...as he was getting ready this morning I think he thought he was going back to church because he was talking about it again.
Today...I guess Kellen had a bad day today at school, because he bit one of his friends. Yikes! I think that's only the second time he's ever done that. Arg! He and I had a talk about biting after I read the incident report, then I saw a note in his cubby that said he had bitten himself on the wrist. What was with him today? I know that he and his Daddy wrestled a lot this weekend, so maybe they need to wrestle with boundaries...I think that Kellen is still too young to understand the difference between wrestling with Daddy and what is acceptable play with Daddy and what he's able to do with other people. He just can't make that separation yet. But what do I know? I'm just the Mommy and that's just my speculation...
I'm looking forward to this weekend...I have a goal...Matt and I are thinking about and planning to go out of town to a friends for the weekend for the Super Bowl and make a weekend of it...and I'm clearing my Monday as well in an attempt to make it a relaxing weekend. We had originally scheduled to go out of town this past weekend, but work swamped me and we had to cancel on my account...maybe I'll be able to make up for it this weekend. Something to shoot for!
UPDATED POST at 10:35 PM
Letters of nomination - I've written a few of them tonight for some awards that are due early next week, so I can scratch part of one thing off of my to-do list...at least I've gotten them started. Now I'm only waiting on two more students to send me their packets and I can work up their letters...maybe I'll even get these packets submitted early! (Did I just WRITE that???) I don't believe in jinx's, but did I just do that to myself?
I'm tired, my brain is throbbing...and I'm wondering if my letters even made any sense...I guess I'll tell that one tomorrow when I read over them again at the office where they are now waiting for me on the printer. Gotta' love that proxy!
Monday, January 30, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Raindrops
The day started very early for Matt, as he came to the rescue of one screaming toddler at 4 AM. Kellen was apparently standing at his door, light on, waiting in desperation for one of his parents to rescue him. From what we're still unsure of, but rescue him nonetheless. Matt decided to let me attempt to have one night of uninterrupted and sound sleep - would have been my first in a week - so he and Kellen laid down again in the living room. It is my understanding that they did actually go back to sleep (it must be something about Daddy that can make that happen, because it sure doesn't when Mommy tries it!). Around 6 or so, the two men come crawling into the big bed, wanting to snuggle...well, one wanted to snuggle and play, and the other just wanted to get some more sleep. Since this is a G-rated blog *grin* you can guess which one was which. Mommy still wanted to sleep, so poor Kellen was told to just lay down - no playing - it wasn't time to get up yet. At one point in time he was starting to say something to me and when Matt got onto him, he turned and said,
"Daddy, I just wanted to talk to Mommy."
Then he turned to me and said, "I love you Mommy."
Oh my goodness. What a sweet way to wake up on a Sunday morning. A little later, Kellen turned to me and whispered,
"Mommy, raindrops are falling from the sky."
Yes, it's raining here, so today will most definitely be an inside day. But it was just so sweet how he said it...like it was some big secret that he was sharing with me.
"Daddy, I just wanted to talk to Mommy."
Then he turned to me and said, "I love you Mommy."
Oh my goodness. What a sweet way to wake up on a Sunday morning. A little later, Kellen turned to me and whispered,
"Mommy, raindrops are falling from the sky."
Yes, it's raining here, so today will most definitely be an inside day. But it was just so sweet how he said it...like it was some big secret that he was sharing with me.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Truck
Well, in this last week I feel like I've been hit by a truck...a mac truck, but I was somewhat expecting this (see one of my previous posts when I discussed my expectations for the first week of classes). There hasn't been a day this week that I've taken a lunch or left the office before 6 PM...daycare closes at 6:15 PM, so I'm cutting it really close to be able to get Kellen before they close and I get charged extra $$ for being late...and was actually late on Wednesday by ~ 5-7 minutes, so they have a right to charge me but I don't know if they will. I've brought work home with me (but was just too exhausted to do it), so I guess that negates the effort, huh?
There is a lot going on, so my brain really isn't able to focus and direct for this post...more regular posts will begin again once the first week of school craziness has come to an end.
There is a lot going on, so my brain really isn't able to focus and direct for this post...more regular posts will begin again once the first week of school craziness has come to an end.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Friday the 13th
Was such the stereotype yesterday for my poor student worker...she had a wreck on the way to work on University Drive (8:00 AM) with an international student (not to stereotype - please don't take it that way - who exclaimed, "This happens to me a lot!", then after that was settled, got lost in Research Park (had never been there before), and while trying to get out of Research Park, got pulled over by a cop. Luckily (or unluckly, however you might want to look at it), at that point in time she burst into uncontrollable tears and the cop had mercy on her, just giving her a warning rather than an actual ticket. Poor thing! I was somewhat hesitant about giving her much to work on considering the day she had already had, but couldn't help it...The main lobby area of my office had been repainted this past week and was still very much is disarray...we had to get this whipped into shape before the students rolled back in (or more students, anyway, as my calendar can contest they've been pouring in since January 2nd). We recovered some of the sound boards in maroon fabric, but the fabric store was out of maroon (what fabric store in College Station doesn't stock enough maroon fabric...I ask you that question?), so we had to strategically place the recovered and original ones back on the walls and go from there. We've also gotten new office chairs for the conference room, etc., so all of those items have had to be moved around, etc., etc., etc. And this doesn't begin to cover all of the other things the I needed her to do, so she was really hopping yesterday. I do think that it helped to take her mind off of things, even for a little while, and she's really creative, so she had fun redecorating...
As I had feared, I'm starting the semester off with too many things on my project to-do list at work...some of the things that would have lessened my stress load for next week weren't able to get done this past week...so next week will be even more of a doozey than this week was. At least that's what I'm preparing myself for, anyway. That way if it turns out to be that way, ok - I've prepared myself. If not, great!
Many things at the university level are segmented undergraduate/graduate, because I think the powers-that-be assume that there are separate people in each department that do both of these segments...so having graduate fellowship/scholarship deadlines for major $$$ during the first week of school isn't a major thing if someone only deals with graduate students...but it's a MAJOR issue when that individual also deals with undergraduate students...my week is not my own during the first week of classes. My time will consist of putting out student fires. Period. But, it's a big deal to me (and the department, of course, as it increases the matriculation rate) to try and give our graduate applicants the most opportunities for "free money" that they can get...so in comes the stress. Which perhaps is why my boss approached me on Thursday and asked me to be thinking about how I would want to structure some additional, professional help for the academic area to take some of the load off of me...But the kicker is this...I can't figure out what I would want to give up. Working graduate applications helps me to know and develop relationships with the incoming graduate students, which in turn helps with the recruiting and outreach component of my job, as I can call on them and recruit them to help with the departmental recruiting...kind of a big cycle. If I wasn't involved in their graduate application packages and working with them through that process, I wouldn't develop such strong relationships with them and don't feel like I would have the rapport with them like I do with the newer students that have come in since I've been there...Undergraduate - no way am I getting rid of that. I've made too many strides in that area in the past two years...Outreach and recruiting, well - it ties in with both of those aspects as well...but perhaps a graduate assistant or someone working part-time to coordinate the actual recruiting activities with me as their supervisor would actual work. This takes quite a bit of my time. But...this was one of the aspects of my job that I was going to work into an academic course and try to teach as a 485...planning and logistics class...since I'm meeting with the students that do outreach at least once a month anyway, Dr. Heinz and I had already talked about this since I miss teaching. Arg! Pros and cons with each and every aspect of my job. Well, I'm glad he doesn't want a quick response from me!! But, I will say this...It is VERY nice to have a boss that understands - without me even saying it - that there are limits to what a person is physically, mentally, and emotionally able to do and is willing to do whatever they can to keep their employees happy and productive. After his initial comment, I agreed I was going to have some help pretty soon, especially if we were going to keep growing, and I laughed and joked that I couldn't do many more 3:30 AM - 11 PM days...he just shook his head at me and agreed...then commented that I had other people that counted on me..like Kellen and Matt and that I couldn't continue to work those kinds of hours. I am so blessed to be in this position! Thank you God for opening the right doors at the right times and putting me exactly where I needed to be.
Sorry for the work ramble...
Now...the fun stuff. I have a long weekend! Monday is a holiday for TAMU, so I have a 3 day weekend! Whoo Hoo!!! Jeff is coming into town this morning, and we're going to the Aggie Basketball game this afternoon. What fun!
As I had feared, I'm starting the semester off with too many things on my project to-do list at work...some of the things that would have lessened my stress load for next week weren't able to get done this past week...so next week will be even more of a doozey than this week was. At least that's what I'm preparing myself for, anyway. That way if it turns out to be that way, ok - I've prepared myself. If not, great!
Many things at the university level are segmented undergraduate/graduate, because I think the powers-that-be assume that there are separate people in each department that do both of these segments...so having graduate fellowship/scholarship deadlines for major $$$ during the first week of school isn't a major thing if someone only deals with graduate students...but it's a MAJOR issue when that individual also deals with undergraduate students...my week is not my own during the first week of classes. My time will consist of putting out student fires. Period. But, it's a big deal to me (and the department, of course, as it increases the matriculation rate) to try and give our graduate applicants the most opportunities for "free money" that they can get...so in comes the stress. Which perhaps is why my boss approached me on Thursday and asked me to be thinking about how I would want to structure some additional, professional help for the academic area to take some of the load off of me...But the kicker is this...I can't figure out what I would want to give up. Working graduate applications helps me to know and develop relationships with the incoming graduate students, which in turn helps with the recruiting and outreach component of my job, as I can call on them and recruit them to help with the departmental recruiting...kind of a big cycle. If I wasn't involved in their graduate application packages and working with them through that process, I wouldn't develop such strong relationships with them and don't feel like I would have the rapport with them like I do with the newer students that have come in since I've been there...Undergraduate - no way am I getting rid of that. I've made too many strides in that area in the past two years...Outreach and recruiting, well - it ties in with both of those aspects as well...but perhaps a graduate assistant or someone working part-time to coordinate the actual recruiting activities with me as their supervisor would actual work. This takes quite a bit of my time. But...this was one of the aspects of my job that I was going to work into an academic course and try to teach as a 485...planning and logistics class...since I'm meeting with the students that do outreach at least once a month anyway, Dr. Heinz and I had already talked about this since I miss teaching. Arg! Pros and cons with each and every aspect of my job. Well, I'm glad he doesn't want a quick response from me!! But, I will say this...It is VERY nice to have a boss that understands - without me even saying it - that there are limits to what a person is physically, mentally, and emotionally able to do and is willing to do whatever they can to keep their employees happy and productive. After his initial comment, I agreed I was going to have some help pretty soon, especially if we were going to keep growing, and I laughed and joked that I couldn't do many more 3:30 AM - 11 PM days...he just shook his head at me and agreed...then commented that I had other people that counted on me..like Kellen and Matt and that I couldn't continue to work those kinds of hours. I am so blessed to be in this position! Thank you God for opening the right doors at the right times and putting me exactly where I needed to be.
Sorry for the work ramble...
Now...the fun stuff. I have a long weekend! Monday is a holiday for TAMU, so I have a 3 day weekend! Whoo Hoo!!! Jeff is coming into town this morning, and we're going to the Aggie Basketball game this afternoon. What fun!
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Whooped...
This week has just taken it out of me...Monday was crazy...broken shower that began at 6:00 AM that resulted in an unplanned day off for me and an entire day of plumbing pain for Matt and I. Luckily, Matt was off on Monday and was able to fix the problem, but his extensive to-do list originally scheduled for Monday was shelved, much to his dismay. Tuesday I brought quite a bit of work home with me in an attempt to get caught up, told myself I was going to take a power nap after I put Kellen to bed, and knocked out in the recliner at 8:00...for the night...woke up at 3:30 and was just up - for good. Wednesday the candle burned from both ends, running from 3:30 AM until 11 PM. I worked from when I woke up on the things that I had brought home to do the night before, then had a normal morning, worked through lunch and then until 6, got Kellen & picked up dinner, met Matt at my office, had dinner with them there at the office, then Matt took Kellen back to the house and I stayed at the office...until later than I have ever done before (at least that I can remember). I was part of a panel presentation today and with Monday mayhem, just hadn't had a chance to catch up and prepare for it - at all, and winging it for a presentation, even a panel, just adds stress to my stress meter. Whew!
I'm trying desperately to get to some semblance of "caught-up" status before the semester starts next Tuesday...will I make it? Who knows! I estimate the answer to be an emphatic NO!
I'm trying desperately to get to some semblance of "caught-up" status before the semester starts next Tuesday...will I make it? Who knows! I estimate the answer to be an emphatic NO!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
My day
Well, today is my day...Matt had written me a "My-day" note that was supposed to be for Janaury 1st, but he had gotten off shift on New Year's Eve and they had run quite a bit, so he asked if I would want a rain check so that I could get a full day's worth of the my-day coupon. You betcha! We'll hopefully get quite a bit done today and then get the added bonus of just getting to spend some time together...both quantity and quality time. Yeah! If the day is nice, I would love to take Kellen to the park to have a picnic and fly his kite, too...he just loves doing that - especially since it's a Shrek kite with a huge Donkey picture on it.
Now if I can just get over this head cold I could really fully enjoy the benefits of "My-day." The last two days at work have just been miserable with this thing! But it's going around, so I guess I'll take my small part of the misery along with everyone else. I just wish that I could take some medicine to make me feel better, but no such luck. I think I'm on the downward side of it now...at least it feels like it this morning, except that now I feel like it's settling in my chest and throat more and I'm getting a slight touch of a cough, which I hadn't had much of before. Oh I've just got to get over this before schools starts back up! Way too much to do at work to afford getting sick! These two weeks were supposed to be for me to get caught up...I can't handle getting back into the grind if I'm heading into another semester already behind. Arg and Yikes!! I remember now why I was working from home every night in an attempt to stay in some semblence of "caught-up" status. I haven't been doing that...I actually haven't done much of that in a while...but I'm feeling the pinch to perhaps start back up to avoid what I imagine to be the landslide...
OK...enough yipping about me...What happened to Alias this week? I went to watch it back on Thursday night...and there was a new season of Dancing with the Stars on instead. What gives? Where did my show go? It wasn't on after Lost...because Lost wasn't on this week - it was the Rose Bowl. Where all of the shows just messed up this week because of Bowl Games? Hmmm. So instead of watching my show, Kellen insisted that we watch the dancing...he enjoyed it immensely, actually. He loves watching dancing, including the dancers at the Aggie basketball games, of course. But, much to my surprise, he really enjoyed this show! I had gotten him all ready for bed and was just going to check that Alias was coming on, then put him to bed, but when I noticed that there was no Alias and dancers in its place, I decided to let him watch some of the dancers and continue to play with his toys. He was so cute...dancing to the music along with the TV. What a hoot!
Hooray for the weekend!
Now if I can just get over this head cold I could really fully enjoy the benefits of "My-day." The last two days at work have just been miserable with this thing! But it's going around, so I guess I'll take my small part of the misery along with everyone else. I just wish that I could take some medicine to make me feel better, but no such luck. I think I'm on the downward side of it now...at least it feels like it this morning, except that now I feel like it's settling in my chest and throat more and I'm getting a slight touch of a cough, which I hadn't had much of before. Oh I've just got to get over this before schools starts back up! Way too much to do at work to afford getting sick! These two weeks were supposed to be for me to get caught up...I can't handle getting back into the grind if I'm heading into another semester already behind. Arg and Yikes!! I remember now why I was working from home every night in an attempt to stay in some semblence of "caught-up" status. I haven't been doing that...I actually haven't done much of that in a while...but I'm feeling the pinch to perhaps start back up to avoid what I imagine to be the landslide...
OK...enough yipping about me...What happened to Alias this week? I went to watch it back on Thursday night...and there was a new season of Dancing with the Stars on instead. What gives? Where did my show go? It wasn't on after Lost...because Lost wasn't on this week - it was the Rose Bowl. Where all of the shows just messed up this week because of Bowl Games? Hmmm. So instead of watching my show, Kellen insisted that we watch the dancing...he enjoyed it immensely, actually. He loves watching dancing, including the dancers at the Aggie basketball games, of course. But, much to my surprise, he really enjoyed this show! I had gotten him all ready for bed and was just going to check that Alias was coming on, then put him to bed, but when I noticed that there was no Alias and dancers in its place, I decided to let him watch some of the dancers and continue to play with his toys. He was so cute...dancing to the music along with the TV. What a hoot!
Hooray for the weekend!
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Basketball fun
Kellen and I went to the women's basketball Big VII conference opener tonight against Oklahoma State...it was a good game and we won 74-52 and one of the best part's was that the tickets were half-price...he and I both got in for $4.00 - Whoo Hoo! Kellen did really well..he only got restless during the last 5-6 minutes of the 2nd part of the game, which I thought was pretty good! It started earlier than previous games we had attended, which is one of the reasons that I think he did so well...a 5:30 start time is a really good thing for him! He loved to watch the Aggie Dance Team, of course, and swayed and clapped while they were on, then asked for more when they were finished. He sure is all boy, isn't he? I asked him if he wanted to go to the basketball game when I picked him up at daycare, and that's all he talked about until we actually got to the game. He really enjoyed himself and we had a great time.
We had originally planned to go and see Daddy tonight since he's on a 48, but there were too many issues with the trucks at both stations, so we decided against it...I would have hated to drive Kellen and I down there for them to get a call and us not get a chance to spend any time with Daddy - that would have really stunk. I guess it worked out all right anyway. Since we switched gears and went to the game, I had planned to come home and watch Lost, but didn't think about the fact that tonight is the Rose Bowl...Hello, Rebecca!
We had originally planned to go and see Daddy tonight since he's on a 48, but there were too many issues with the trucks at both stations, so we decided against it...I would have hated to drive Kellen and I down there for them to get a call and us not get a chance to spend any time with Daddy - that would have really stunk. I guess it worked out all right anyway. Since we switched gears and went to the game, I had planned to come home and watch Lost, but didn't think about the fact that tonight is the Rose Bowl...Hello, Rebecca!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Kellen's wish
Today Kellen really got his Daddy, shocked him right to the core, I believe...by telling him that he wanted a baby brother. Yup. I'm really not sure where he's getting this, except perhaps at daycare...one of the moms of a kid in his class is expecting their second child - perhaps their discussing this in his class?, and the director of the daycare is now back from maternity leave, but still! He can't seem to make up his mind about whether he wants a baby sister or brother. He told me the other day he wanted a baby sister, then changed his mind and ordered an older sister....today it was a baby brother. As I was putting him to bed tonight he decided to ask for an older brother & older sister, plus a baby sister and baby brother. Hold on a minute there bucko! It doesn't quite work like that! He's cracking me up with this, but it's so sweet!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Back to it
So it was back to work today for me. Matt stayed home with Kellen, as daycare was closed, and I got the report that Kellen was a bit of a handful...fussy and just cranky. Daddy's thinking that the munchkin isn't feeling well. Uh oh. Not what we need...he's had the runny nose, sneezing, coughing thing, but hasn't been running a fever, I just hope it isn't getting any worse. I haven't felt the need to give him a breathing treatment for a while - in a very long time, actually - so I hope we don't have to go back to those again. The last time I actually remember having to give him a breathing treatment was when he and I were in Ohio, I think...or did I even have to give him one when we were there? No, that was a high fever, but I don't remember breathing trouble in addition to that...I just took the breathing treatment maching and medicine just in case...did I give him a treatment there? Hmmm...when was the last time he had to have a breathing treatment? Well, my memory obviously isn't registering, so it's clearly been quite some time...
Poor guy...even as I'm typing this I can hear him coughing in his sleep. I hope that he's able to get a good night's sleep tonight and try and get over this thing.
Poor guy...even as I'm typing this I can hear him coughing in his sleep. I hope that he's able to get a good night's sleep tonight and try and get over this thing.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Blessings
As I was putting Kellen to bed, he started to say his "Bless," which is what he calls his prayers. I don't know if it was just him being cute, just himself, or not wanting me to leave the room, because he got me after he went through his normal, "Bless Daddy, bless book," etc., He added a new one tonight with asking for a sister, he actually asked for a little sister, then changed his mind and asked for a big sister. That's going to be fun to try and explain...hmmm. (Just to clarify and for those of you who might be wondering based on Kellen's prayer, no, we aren't expecting a new addition to the Hapes family). After his prayer, he thought for a while and then said, "Ok, that's all. Love Jesus. Amen." However, as I was walking out of the room, he stopped me, "Wait Mommy! I forgot bless."
"Who did you forget to bless sweetie?"
He looked me square in the eye and replied, "Bless Mommy. Happy New Year. I love you. Night-night Mommy."
Man oh man...This kiddo can just make me fall to pieces! How did I get so lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful little guy?
I'm about to start a project that will require me to remember details - facts and events in great detail actually - about the period of time when he was first born. I remember being out of my mind in love with him, but I honestly don't know what has been my "favorite" time period since he's been born. Each time period has had their own special points, wonderful and some not-so-wonderful, I'll admit, moments that I cherish. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by...and now we're embarking on yet another year.
Let the fun continue!
"Who did you forget to bless sweetie?"
He looked me square in the eye and replied, "Bless Mommy. Happy New Year. I love you. Night-night Mommy."
Man oh man...This kiddo can just make me fall to pieces! How did I get so lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful little guy?
I'm about to start a project that will require me to remember details - facts and events in great detail actually - about the period of time when he was first born. I remember being out of my mind in love with him, but I honestly don't know what has been my "favorite" time period since he's been born. Each time period has had their own special points, wonderful and some not-so-wonderful, I'll admit, moments that I cherish. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by...and now we're embarking on yet another year.
Let the fun continue!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Play day
Well, it's New Year's Eve...this holiday really isn't a big deal to Matt, and his attitude is rubbing off on me more and more, although I've always wanted to do the whole New Year's Eve thing. He's on a 24 hr shift, but we were actually able to see him twice today! What a treat! Bright and early this morning, after Kellen's haircut that was supposed to be a surprise for him, (Kellen's hair is a lesson in compromise between Matt and I...short during the summer - a 4, or when Mommy messes up and gives Daddy the wrong guard, a 2; longer during the fall and winter - he got his haircut today with an 8, and I think it looks wonderful!), he called to say that they were on their way to the Med...Well, I was literally finishing up with Kellen's haircut, and it wasn't even 8:00 AM yet, so we raced to get ready so that Kellen could see his Daddy. He sure was excited about seeing him and just ran around the inside of the ambulance playing with Daddy. We could only stay for a few minutes while they were finishing up with the paperwork, etc., as they had to get the truck back in service, but it was a nice treat.
Back to the house and Kellen and I just played and played all day long. My to-do list is written out, and there is nothing scratched off of it today...Ha! I had so much fun with Kellen that it doesn't even bother me. We played with his new toys, I tried to find homes for his new toys (where will they all go?), we read book after book, and watched lots of VeggieTales in the midst of it all. He discovered the massager that my parents got me, tried it out, and exclaimed, "Kellen like it!" He sat against it for a little while and would make noises just to hear his voice vibrate. It was so funny! Then he decided that he wanted to share, prompted me to sit forward, put it behind my back and told me, "Mommy's turn." What a sweetie! He has a bad case of the sniffles and a cough, so I gave him some medicine that I think made him drowsy, because he actually snuggled next to me a little after noon and said that he was tired...That's my cue! Naptime here we come. I read him a book then told him to get in bed and he didn't even fuss. He crawled into bed, snuggled into his pillows, surrounded himself with his stuffed animals, and was pretty much out.
I hadn't watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation yet this year, so I pulled it out of the cabinet and watched it...I just think that movie is hilarious! Then I took a short nap while Kellen was finishing up with his. How nice! I was awakened by my cell phone...I'm still getting used to its new ring...It was Matt and they were coming back to the Med. I heard Kellen stirring and talking to himself in his room, so we got ready to go see Daddy again. Lucky us! This time when we got there, the ambulance was still parked by the ER doors, and the lights were still going. As we pulled into the parking lot, Kellen exclaimed, "See Daddy! That's Daddy's big truck!" That kiddo's a smart one! We parked and he got very upset that we couldn't get out immediately and go see Daddy. I tried to explain to him that Daddy was working and we had to wait for just a few minutes until he was all through. I'm so glad that he was able to see his Daddy today...and twice...what a treat, really.
As we left, Kellen was upset because he wanted Daddy to stay and not go back to work. I told him that Daddy had to go back to work to help people. "Oh, ok. Daddy go work and save people. See Daddy 'morrow." Oh my goodness, sometimes he just makes my heart melt!
Back to the house and he and I just continued to play. I did get something constructive done though...I made some cookies. Mmmm. Yummy! I also chatted for a while with my grandma's, which was nice, too.
Maybe in 2006, I'll be a little better about sending birthday and anniversary cards, etc. I had an aunt that was wonderful about doing that. She never missed an event, and getting a card from her always made me feel so special. In an attempt to organize this effort, I've started an events excel sheet, so I'll be trying to get birthdays and anniversarys from folks and get going on this.
Well, it's now 2006 in New York. I just watched the ball drop in Times Square on TV. I'm glad that Dick Clark is able to host this event this year...he sounds pretty good despite the stroke, so it's obvious that he's been working hard to try and get back to TV shape.
2006...what does the Lord have in store for us this year?
Back to the house and Kellen and I just played and played all day long. My to-do list is written out, and there is nothing scratched off of it today...Ha! I had so much fun with Kellen that it doesn't even bother me. We played with his new toys, I tried to find homes for his new toys (where will they all go?), we read book after book, and watched lots of VeggieTales in the midst of it all. He discovered the massager that my parents got me, tried it out, and exclaimed, "Kellen like it!" He sat against it for a little while and would make noises just to hear his voice vibrate. It was so funny! Then he decided that he wanted to share, prompted me to sit forward, put it behind my back and told me, "Mommy's turn." What a sweetie! He has a bad case of the sniffles and a cough, so I gave him some medicine that I think made him drowsy, because he actually snuggled next to me a little after noon and said that he was tired...That's my cue! Naptime here we come. I read him a book then told him to get in bed and he didn't even fuss. He crawled into bed, snuggled into his pillows, surrounded himself with his stuffed animals, and was pretty much out.
I hadn't watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation yet this year, so I pulled it out of the cabinet and watched it...I just think that movie is hilarious! Then I took a short nap while Kellen was finishing up with his. How nice! I was awakened by my cell phone...I'm still getting used to its new ring...It was Matt and they were coming back to the Med. I heard Kellen stirring and talking to himself in his room, so we got ready to go see Daddy again. Lucky us! This time when we got there, the ambulance was still parked by the ER doors, and the lights were still going. As we pulled into the parking lot, Kellen exclaimed, "See Daddy! That's Daddy's big truck!" That kiddo's a smart one! We parked and he got very upset that we couldn't get out immediately and go see Daddy. I tried to explain to him that Daddy was working and we had to wait for just a few minutes until he was all through. I'm so glad that he was able to see his Daddy today...and twice...what a treat, really.
As we left, Kellen was upset because he wanted Daddy to stay and not go back to work. I told him that Daddy had to go back to work to help people. "Oh, ok. Daddy go work and save people. See Daddy 'morrow." Oh my goodness, sometimes he just makes my heart melt!
Back to the house and he and I just continued to play. I did get something constructive done though...I made some cookies. Mmmm. Yummy! I also chatted for a while with my grandma's, which was nice, too.
Maybe in 2006, I'll be a little better about sending birthday and anniversary cards, etc. I had an aunt that was wonderful about doing that. She never missed an event, and getting a card from her always made me feel so special. In an attempt to organize this effort, I've started an events excel sheet, so I'll be trying to get birthdays and anniversarys from folks and get going on this.
Well, it's now 2006 in New York. I just watched the ball drop in Times Square on TV. I'm glad that Dick Clark is able to host this event this year...he sounds pretty good despite the stroke, so it's obvious that he's been working hard to try and get back to TV shape.
2006...what does the Lord have in store for us this year?
Friday, December 30, 2005
Painting progress
Well, I feel like I've made some progress today on that spare bathroom project (yes, I'm still working on that!). However, I've gotten my motivation back and I'm actually working on it again, which is a good sign. I've gotten what I hope will be the final layer of caulk on the seam and have taped off the room. Matt will sand the caulk down later on this afternoon, depending on how it's drying. This is supposed to be a quick dry caulk, but it still seems to be a little tacky, so we'll see. I'm hoping to get a coat of primer on it today as well, but it all depends on the drying time of the caulk and subsequent sanding, so everything is up in the air on that one...But, I finally feel like I'm making progress again, which in my book is good. Yeah!
And by the way, I should no longer lose phone calls and my cell phone signal when I move into another room to talk, as yesterday Matt and I got me a new cell phone. For some unknown reason we didn't feel that the $10 to transfer the stored phone numbers into the new phone was worth it and I spent several hours yesterday afternoon converting phone numbers into my new cell phone. Urg! I will NOT do that again! The next time I get a new phone, I will spend the lousy $10 to transfer the phone numbers! On the up-side, I now know how to program phone numbers into my phone...with ease.
While I'm waiting on the caulk to dry in the bathroom, I'm going to work on another project...I'm going to try out my space bags. Yes, I ordered them off of the internet. My mom swears by them and Kellen has outgrown lots of his clothes and I have gotten them back from Julie, with no one else in line to lend them to, so now I have to actually store them. Let's see how this storage experiment works!
And by the way, I should no longer lose phone calls and my cell phone signal when I move into another room to talk, as yesterday Matt and I got me a new cell phone. For some unknown reason we didn't feel that the $10 to transfer the stored phone numbers into the new phone was worth it and I spent several hours yesterday afternoon converting phone numbers into my new cell phone. Urg! I will NOT do that again! The next time I get a new phone, I will spend the lousy $10 to transfer the phone numbers! On the up-side, I now know how to program phone numbers into my phone...with ease.
While I'm waiting on the caulk to dry in the bathroom, I'm going to work on another project...I'm going to try out my space bags. Yes, I ordered them off of the internet. My mom swears by them and Kellen has outgrown lots of his clothes and I have gotten them back from Julie, with no one else in line to lend them to, so now I have to actually store them. Let's see how this storage experiment works!
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Christmas fun!
So I finally got the docking station out of Matt's truck and have uploaded the pictures...Christmas fun and recap here we come!
Satuday
Let's go back to Saturday...Christmas Eve day...Matt was scheduled to work a 12 hour shift that night, so his aunt and uncle moved their normal evening routine (Christmas Eve chili & cold cut sandwiches) back a little bit so that he could participate this year...we got out of town a little later than we wanted to, but made it to Conroe by ~ 1:45-2:00, and the whole gang got to the Gilmer's a little after 3:00 PM...we were shooting for sometime between 2:00 - 3:00, so we really weren't that far off, especially for our gang! I don't think that anyone stopped eating once we walked into the door, but hey...what's a Christmas gathering without continuous munching? Matt & I broke the gift-opening order tradition, which normally runs from the youngest to oldest, and opened our present first, since Matt had to leave to go to work - rule-breakers are we!
Uncle Randy's sister, her son, his wife & their two daughters came as well, and the two girls are just a little older than Kellen, 3 and 5 or 6. He had fun playing with them throughout the night.
At one point in time, PawPaw was bowling the kids, which they just loved! We ended up leaving around 6:30 or so, and went to look at Christmas lights before heading back to MawMaw and PawPaw's for the Hapes Christmas Eve routine...open one present, usually new PJ's, and the reading of the Bible Christmas story.
Kellen got an incredibly cute little stuffed puppy dog...but when I asked him what the puppy's name was, he thought he needed to ask PawPaw...he didn't understand that he could name it himself! I still don't think that the puppy has a name...other than "puppy" right now.
Sunday
Christmas morning....Kellen woke up pretty early (4:30AM) scared of something, but crawled back into bed with me and actually went back to sleep. I feel like that was a Christmas miracle all in itself! We slept in until almost 7 AM...another Christmas miracle...he rarely sleeps that late! When he woke up, he told me, "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday Jesus." We're trying to make sure that he understands what this holiday is actually all about...but the true little two-year old self shone through when the next words out of his mouth were, "Open presents, Mommy!" I told him that we had to wait until Daddy got home from work until we opened presents, which I didn't figure would be too long, based on how long we had actually slept. Sure enough, we stayed in bed just talking and playing and a few minutes later, Daddy walked through the door.
He was the designated present-opener, and had a blast doing it!
I don't think that I've ever seen him, or any other kid for that matter, slide across a present like he did with his first one of the morning...a baseball set.
Elmo was, of course, a HUGE hit...Wait a minute...wasn't I the Mommy that swore Elmo would never be allowed in my house??? Oh well! I can tolerate him...But I haven't budged on the purple dinosaur (how annoying) or the Teletubbies (those things give me the heeby-geebies!).
He also got the Disney edition of Memory, much to PawPaw chagrin...he'll really enjoy this game, given how much he enjoys some of the Disney movies. I guess I'll need to introduce him to some of the others that he hasn't seen yet that have made their way to MawMaw and PawPaw's because they're on VHS (Little Mermaid & Hercules are two that I can think of off the top of my head).
I'm so glad that MawMaw and PawPaw were able to find a stick horse for Kellen. Matt and I had looked for one for him, but we just couldn't find one that we liked! This one is really cute, and it has wheels on the back! I've never seen one like this before...and Kellen loves it! He was riding the horse all over the house!
He just loves trains...so he got a Thomas the Train train set...and he played with it quite a bit over the weekend! However, he didn't actually want Thomas to pull the two cars that came with it! He would get very upset if we attached the cars to Thomas and would quickly pull them apart. He would let Thomas push the cars, but not connect and pull them...I'm not quite sure why?!?
As you can probably tell, it was just a lot of fun this year with him, as he enjoyed his presents and wanted to play with each and every one as he opened them up. We "stashed" them away as he opened them, and toward the end, he found the "stash" and remembered what he had opened earlier. Aunt Boo remarked that he had found his stash...he picked up very quickly on the terminology and yelled, "Kellen play with stash!" If the tone hadn't been what it was (read: terrible two temper tantrum), it would have been pretty funny.
Daddy got the Lord of the Rings trilogy, among other things, of course,
...and Mommy got a wonderful foot massager...mmmm.
We didn't go down to Channelview on Sunday like we normally would have...MeeMaw was actually staying with MawMaw and PawPaw, so we had Christmas dinner there in Conroe and just hung out at the house, which was actually nice and relaxing.
We watched the Polar Express with Kellen and then Sunday evening ended up being game night, which was fun as well.
Monday
Aunt Boo had planned a get-together with high school and college buddies for Monday, and the presence of "dork boy" was requested, so we stayed around for Monday as well.
Kellen enjoyed playing with the other kids, but got just a little jealous when they all wanted to play with his PawPaw. He made it quite clear that that was his PawPaw!
Whew! What a wonderful Christmas...two weekends in a row! Perhaps I should have blogged this in phases...I didn't realize it would take me quite this long to get all of the narrative and photos added...it's almost 11:30. Yikes! That's enough blogging for one night. Enjoy!
Satuday
Let's go back to Saturday...Christmas Eve day...Matt was scheduled to work a 12 hour shift that night, so his aunt and uncle moved their normal evening routine (Christmas Eve chili & cold cut sandwiches) back a little bit so that he could participate this year...we got out of town a little later than we wanted to, but made it to Conroe by ~ 1:45-2:00, and the whole gang got to the Gilmer's a little after 3:00 PM...we were shooting for sometime between 2:00 - 3:00, so we really weren't that far off, especially for our gang! I don't think that anyone stopped eating once we walked into the door, but hey...what's a Christmas gathering without continuous munching? Matt & I broke the gift-opening order tradition, which normally runs from the youngest to oldest, and opened our present first, since Matt had to leave to go to work - rule-breakers are we!
Uncle Randy's sister, her son, his wife & their two daughters came as well, and the two girls are just a little older than Kellen, 3 and 5 or 6. He had fun playing with them throughout the night.
At one point in time, PawPaw was bowling the kids, which they just loved! We ended up leaving around 6:30 or so, and went to look at Christmas lights before heading back to MawMaw and PawPaw's for the Hapes Christmas Eve routine...open one present, usually new PJ's, and the reading of the Bible Christmas story.
Kellen got an incredibly cute little stuffed puppy dog...but when I asked him what the puppy's name was, he thought he needed to ask PawPaw...he didn't understand that he could name it himself! I still don't think that the puppy has a name...other than "puppy" right now.
Sunday
Christmas morning....Kellen woke up pretty early (4:30AM) scared of something, but crawled back into bed with me and actually went back to sleep. I feel like that was a Christmas miracle all in itself! We slept in until almost 7 AM...another Christmas miracle...he rarely sleeps that late! When he woke up, he told me, "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Birthday Jesus." We're trying to make sure that he understands what this holiday is actually all about...but the true little two-year old self shone through when the next words out of his mouth were, "Open presents, Mommy!" I told him that we had to wait until Daddy got home from work until we opened presents, which I didn't figure would be too long, based on how long we had actually slept. Sure enough, we stayed in bed just talking and playing and a few minutes later, Daddy walked through the door.
He was the designated present-opener, and had a blast doing it!
I don't think that I've ever seen him, or any other kid for that matter, slide across a present like he did with his first one of the morning...a baseball set.
Elmo was, of course, a HUGE hit...Wait a minute...wasn't I the Mommy that swore Elmo would never be allowed in my house??? Oh well! I can tolerate him...But I haven't budged on the purple dinosaur (how annoying) or the Teletubbies (those things give me the heeby-geebies!).
He also got the Disney edition of Memory, much to PawPaw chagrin...he'll really enjoy this game, given how much he enjoys some of the Disney movies. I guess I'll need to introduce him to some of the others that he hasn't seen yet that have made their way to MawMaw and PawPaw's because they're on VHS (Little Mermaid & Hercules are two that I can think of off the top of my head).
I'm so glad that MawMaw and PawPaw were able to find a stick horse for Kellen. Matt and I had looked for one for him, but we just couldn't find one that we liked! This one is really cute, and it has wheels on the back! I've never seen one like this before...and Kellen loves it! He was riding the horse all over the house!
He just loves trains...so he got a Thomas the Train train set...and he played with it quite a bit over the weekend! However, he didn't actually want Thomas to pull the two cars that came with it! He would get very upset if we attached the cars to Thomas and would quickly pull them apart. He would let Thomas push the cars, but not connect and pull them...I'm not quite sure why?!?
As you can probably tell, it was just a lot of fun this year with him, as he enjoyed his presents and wanted to play with each and every one as he opened them up. We "stashed" them away as he opened them, and toward the end, he found the "stash" and remembered what he had opened earlier. Aunt Boo remarked that he had found his stash...he picked up very quickly on the terminology and yelled, "Kellen play with stash!" If the tone hadn't been what it was (read: terrible two temper tantrum), it would have been pretty funny.
Daddy got the Lord of the Rings trilogy, among other things, of course,
...and Mommy got a wonderful foot massager...mmmm.
We didn't go down to Channelview on Sunday like we normally would have...MeeMaw was actually staying with MawMaw and PawPaw, so we had Christmas dinner there in Conroe and just hung out at the house, which was actually nice and relaxing.
We watched the Polar Express with Kellen and then Sunday evening ended up being game night, which was fun as well.
Monday
Aunt Boo had planned a get-together with high school and college buddies for Monday, and the presence of "dork boy" was requested, so we stayed around for Monday as well.
Kellen enjoyed playing with the other kids, but got just a little jealous when they all wanted to play with his PawPaw. He made it quite clear that that was his PawPaw!
Whew! What a wonderful Christmas...two weekends in a row! Perhaps I should have blogged this in phases...I didn't realize it would take me quite this long to get all of the narrative and photos added...it's almost 11:30. Yikes! That's enough blogging for one night. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Potty Progress?
I know that I still haven't updated with Christmas...but that will have to wait...I just got Kellen to bed and feel like we're actually making progress with the potty...and it's been initiated by Kellen, so I just had to blog it!
We were getting ready for his bath tonight and we were walking to the bathroom and he asked to go to the potty. I sit him on the potty and seconds later...I hear him actually going pee pee. Success! Initiated by him! Bathtime ensues...an Epsom Salt bath, no less, as he has some form of sore on his finger that Matt will just have to look at when he gets home from shift tomorrow morning that I managed to lance tonight (blood and yucky green stuff came out that I'm sure was not a good sign). Bathtime was officially over when he told me he pee peed...but I must have mistaken that for him telling me he had to pee pee, because he got very upset when I let the water out and washed him off again and he asked to sit on the potty...I finally understood what he was asking, sat him down on the potty and wrapped the towel around him, and he pee peed twice more!
Yeah!
As for me today...I was just a little off...I had a doctor's appointment, looked at my PDA and was still an hour off for my appointment. I thought that I was running late, but was actually an hour early...What was going on in my brain? They were able to work me in, so I had more time to kill (read: run errands) before my haircut appointment, which actually turned out to be a good thing. I was able to get all of my errands done between the two appointments and then was done with the out-of-house errands for the day. Back to the house to try and clean up without Kellen underfoot, since he was at daycare, but I don't feel like I got as much accomplished as I wanted to, although I did get quite a bit done. Matt and I have quite a list of to-do's for ourself for this week, so we'll see how much of that list we're able to knock out while we're both off of work - him until Saturday and me until next Monday.
I promise that I'll update on Christmas...but I don't have the docking station for the pictures, and it makes more sense to do all of that (pictures and narrative) at once...I just hope I don't forget any cute details!
We were getting ready for his bath tonight and we were walking to the bathroom and he asked to go to the potty. I sit him on the potty and seconds later...I hear him actually going pee pee. Success! Initiated by him! Bathtime ensues...an Epsom Salt bath, no less, as he has some form of sore on his finger that Matt will just have to look at when he gets home from shift tomorrow morning that I managed to lance tonight (blood and yucky green stuff came out that I'm sure was not a good sign). Bathtime was officially over when he told me he pee peed...but I must have mistaken that for him telling me he had to pee pee, because he got very upset when I let the water out and washed him off again and he asked to sit on the potty...I finally understood what he was asking, sat him down on the potty and wrapped the towel around him, and he pee peed twice more!
Yeah!
As for me today...I was just a little off...I had a doctor's appointment, looked at my PDA and was still an hour off for my appointment. I thought that I was running late, but was actually an hour early...What was going on in my brain? They were able to work me in, so I had more time to kill (read: run errands) before my haircut appointment, which actually turned out to be a good thing. I was able to get all of my errands done between the two appointments and then was done with the out-of-house errands for the day. Back to the house to try and clean up without Kellen underfoot, since he was at daycare, but I don't feel like I got as much accomplished as I wanted to, although I did get quite a bit done. Matt and I have quite a list of to-do's for ourself for this week, so we'll see how much of that list we're able to knock out while we're both off of work - him until Saturday and me until next Monday.
I promise that I'll update on Christmas...but I don't have the docking station for the pictures, and it makes more sense to do all of that (pictures and narrative) at once...I just hope I don't forget any cute details!
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Future football player
Just had to blog this...it was too cute. So Kellen got a football in his stocking and was throwing it to PawPaw tonight...did this for a while and then turned to me and said, "Kellen throw football. Kellen need helmet to throw football to PawPaw."
Yup. Our future football player here...And he was throwing overhanded, fairly on target...and hard! Will give more Christmas details later in a longer blog. I just got Kellen to bed and I'm off to play cards with the gang.
Merry Christmas!
Yup. Our future football player here...And he was throwing overhanded, fairly on target...and hard! Will give more Christmas details later in a longer blog. I just got Kellen to bed and I'm off to play cards with the gang.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wishing...
Matt and I spent yesterday afternoon driving around looking at houses...some we know we can't afford...Indian Lakes, or is it Village, anyone?...and some that could actually be possibilities at some point in the future. We looked at a brand new one that I fell in love with that was just a little bit out of our price range...then another (4/2) that I adored that was way outta' our league! I love to dream that a 4 bedroom (with walk-in closets in all rooms), 2 1/2 bath, split floor plan with the great-room style Matt and I have come to like, in College Station in either the Southwood Valley area or out where we are now would just drop into our lap, well within our price range...Hey, it's Christmas Eve day...I can dream, right? We'll get there...maybe not the 4 bedroom, because we really don't need that, but the house itself will come in God's timing.
This morning has already been a busy one. We're (I'm) trying to get the last minute details ready for the trip to MawMaw and PawPaw's, and Matt isn't feeling all that well, so he's still in bed...well, he's actually gravitated toward the futon, but you know what I mean. I've gotten some more of the Christmas baking done...scratch the brownies and one batch of the peanut butter fudge off of the list...a couple of batches of no-bake cookies and another recipe of peanut butter fudge, if I have time, and I think I'll call the baking good for this year. No cherry or chocolate pie this year...that would be kinda' hard to transport, considering we have all of the gifts and the dog to get in the truck, in addition to Kellen boy...too much hassle.
Merry Christmas!
This morning has already been a busy one. We're (I'm) trying to get the last minute details ready for the trip to MawMaw and PawPaw's, and Matt isn't feeling all that well, so he's still in bed...well, he's actually gravitated toward the futon, but you know what I mean. I've gotten some more of the Christmas baking done...scratch the brownies and one batch of the peanut butter fudge off of the list...a couple of batches of no-bake cookies and another recipe of peanut butter fudge, if I have time, and I think I'll call the baking good for this year. No cherry or chocolate pie this year...that would be kinda' hard to transport, considering we have all of the gifts and the dog to get in the truck, in addition to Kellen boy...too much hassle.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Relaxing Day?
Well, I had hoped that yesterday was going to be a relaxing day, but it ended up that I tasked myself to death. That's ok, because I actually got quite a bit done. Here's how my day went:
5:30 AM Day begins with the discovery and realization that Kellen can now open the door to his room all by himself. Attempt to get him to come back to bed with Mommy to no avail.
6:00 AM Give up on attempts to get Kellen back to sleep and get up. Turn on PBS and let Kellen watch Clifford. Start cleaning house & doing laundry.
8:00 AM Put in mouse movie for Kellen (what a rule-breaker am I!) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, put away almost all of the now clean laundry.
9:30 AM Take Kellen to daycare, swinging by the dry cleaners first.
Hi everyone. Love, Matt
{What a dork}
10:00 AM Take car to get oil changed, transmission flushed...the fluid is almost black and it is my understanding it's supposed to be a pinkish color - yikes!!, then vacuumed and washed.
10:45 AM To Ross Dress for Less to try and find a pair of jeans that fit me. (No such luck, by the way). Then to TJMaxx to pick up a last minute Christmas present on Judy's behalf...luckily it was still there. YEAH! Swung by the Verizon Wireless store to scope out some phones, since Matt and I will be getting new phones at the beginning of the new year. My contract is actually up today, but his is up on January 6th, so it makes more sense to get them both at the same time. I desperately need a new cell phone, since I bought the one I carry for my beloved when we were DATING, I believe!!! I lose the signal when I'm talking if I scratch me head...it's so annoying!!
12:00 PM Back to the house to eat some chili that I made on Wednesday night...Yummy! Called Aggieland Credit Union about my missing car title (how sad is this...they mailed it to me in...wait for it...March of 2001!!, but I never got it) Got the information about what I need to do to get a replacement. Called Wells Fargo about setting up a savings account for Kellen.
12:30 PM To Wells Fargo to set up Kellen's savings account...finally. Then to the grocery store (I have an order of more homemade hot chocolate mix to fill for a couple of someones...*grin*), then to another store for some last minute Christmas gifts.
2:30 PM Back at the house, groceries are put away. Now it's time for "ME" time...manicure and pedicure...I thought that I might be able to get them done before MawMaw and Aunt Boo got here and we all went to the basketball games! That didn't happen, but I sure tried! The foot soak sure felt nice and I ended up putting color on, but had to take it off of a couple of toes this morning because their just wasn't enough drying time, so now my feet look really funny! I'll have to fix them later on tonight.
3:30 PM MawMaw and Aunt Boo got here...picked up the cooler and headed out to Readfield Meat and to Wal-Mart...I stayed behind to try and finish up the pedicure.
5:30 PM MawMaw and Aunt Boo got back and we headed out to pick up Kellen at daycare. Went to eat at Freeb!rds and Kellen got his burrito - he's so cute with the way he says that!! On to the women's basketball game and then the men's after that...Kellen was asking to go...he was ready, but I was the one that the most tuckered out I think...by 10 PM (men's halftime), I was nodding off and just couldn't take any more. So, MawMaw drove Kellen and I home and then went back to watch the rest of the game with Aunt Boo...
Anyway...today is Matt and my day. He's off today and we're going to have our day! Yeah!
5:30 AM Day begins with the discovery and realization that Kellen can now open the door to his room all by himself. Attempt to get him to come back to bed with Mommy to no avail.
6:00 AM Give up on attempts to get Kellen back to sleep and get up. Turn on PBS and let Kellen watch Clifford. Start cleaning house & doing laundry.
8:00 AM Put in mouse movie for Kellen (what a rule-breaker am I!) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, put away almost all of the now clean laundry.
9:30 AM Take Kellen to daycare, swinging by the dry cleaners first.
Hi everyone. Love, Matt
{What a dork}
10:00 AM Take car to get oil changed, transmission flushed...the fluid is almost black and it is my understanding it's supposed to be a pinkish color - yikes!!, then vacuumed and washed.
10:45 AM To Ross Dress for Less to try and find a pair of jeans that fit me. (No such luck, by the way). Then to TJMaxx to pick up a last minute Christmas present on Judy's behalf...luckily it was still there. YEAH! Swung by the Verizon Wireless store to scope out some phones, since Matt and I will be getting new phones at the beginning of the new year. My contract is actually up today, but his is up on January 6th, so it makes more sense to get them both at the same time. I desperately need a new cell phone, since I bought the one I carry for my beloved when we were DATING, I believe!!! I lose the signal when I'm talking if I scratch me head...it's so annoying!!
12:00 PM Back to the house to eat some chili that I made on Wednesday night...Yummy! Called Aggieland Credit Union about my missing car title (how sad is this...they mailed it to me in...wait for it...March of 2001!!, but I never got it) Got the information about what I need to do to get a replacement. Called Wells Fargo about setting up a savings account for Kellen.
12:30 PM To Wells Fargo to set up Kellen's savings account...finally. Then to the grocery store (I have an order of more homemade hot chocolate mix to fill for a couple of someones...*grin*), then to another store for some last minute Christmas gifts.
2:30 PM Back at the house, groceries are put away. Now it's time for "ME" time...manicure and pedicure...I thought that I might be able to get them done before MawMaw and Aunt Boo got here and we all went to the basketball games! That didn't happen, but I sure tried! The foot soak sure felt nice and I ended up putting color on, but had to take it off of a couple of toes this morning because their just wasn't enough drying time, so now my feet look really funny! I'll have to fix them later on tonight.
3:30 PM MawMaw and Aunt Boo got here...picked up the cooler and headed out to Readfield Meat and to Wal-Mart...I stayed behind to try and finish up the pedicure.
5:30 PM MawMaw and Aunt Boo got back and we headed out to pick up Kellen at daycare. Went to eat at Freeb!rds and Kellen got his burrito - he's so cute with the way he says that!! On to the women's basketball game and then the men's after that...Kellen was asking to go...he was ready, but I was the one that the most tuckered out I think...by 10 PM (men's halftime), I was nodding off and just couldn't take any more. So, MawMaw drove Kellen and I home and then went back to watch the rest of the game with Aunt Boo...
Anyway...today is Matt and my day. He's off today and we're going to have our day! Yeah!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Backseat driver
I've realized that Kellen is a backseat driver. Yesterday and today he suddenly decided that I needed help getting to and from daycare. "Mommy go this way. Mommy go that way." Um...does he think I've forgotten in the last day? I told him that we were going to go and check the mail on the way home and he replied, "Mommy no go that way." What a hoot!
Now for the delayed Santa's Wonderland update (sorry about that...I was too pooped to type last night and fell asleep in the recliner watching TV after putting Kellen to bed!)....So much for what I had hoped to get accomplished around the house after work!
MawMaw, PawPaw, Daddy & I took Kellen to see Santa's Wonderland and the walk around place (the name of that place has now escaped me) next to it on Monday night. He just LOVED the lights...I think his favorite was the frog that leaped and jumped into the water...is anyone at all surprised by this little tidbit of information?? When we were through driving through the lights, we parked and then went into the walk around place sans PawPaw. First stop was actually the pony ride to see if Kellen wanted to try this out, but he declined on the first go-round. So we went to the petting zoo area, which he just loved...Amazingly enough, he went after the fowl...any and all of the fowl, actually...couldn't seem to get enough of them! He wanted to pet the ducks, chickens, and the goose, but just couldn't understand why they weren't as excited about him petting them as he was about petting them. He did get the ducks a couple of times...they seemed to be the most tolerant of all of them towards him! They also had a donkey, one rabbit, little puppies, sheep, goats, and a calf. When I pointed out the donkey and made the reference to Shrek...he was suddenly completely excited about the donkey. Before either his Daddy or I could stop him, he had gone over and kissed the donkey on the side. Oh boy! After we played in there for a good 15 or 20 minutes (at least it seemed like that long), we decided to see if he wanted to ride the pony now that he had been playing with some animals. Sure enough, he did. And he loved it! Daddy strapped him on the pony and walked next to him during his ride. He looked like such a big boy riding the pony! It only lasted for a few minutes, but when it was over and Daddy was taking him off of the pony, he definitely did NOT want to get off.
After the animal adventures, we went to wait in line for the attempt at the Santa picture. Although the wait wasn't that great (the building is cute, but the egress isn't all that great - the entrance and exit are the same path), the Santa himself was wonderful. When we finally got to him, Kellen didn't really want much to do with him. Daddy sat next to Santa with Kellen on his lap and Santa pulled out a photo album and asked Kellen if he wanted to look at pictures of his reindeer. Of course Kellen said yes and they started to look at this photo album, which was a red velvet album and looked ok in the picture, too. Then the Santa started making jokes with Kellen, tickling him in the tummy, etc., making Kellen laugh. Kellen never did fully sit on his lap, but Santa totally impressed Mommy! So this year we have two pictures of Kellen with Santa, and both include Daddy, too!
Now for the delayed Santa's Wonderland update (sorry about that...I was too pooped to type last night and fell asleep in the recliner watching TV after putting Kellen to bed!)....So much for what I had hoped to get accomplished around the house after work!
MawMaw, PawPaw, Daddy & I took Kellen to see Santa's Wonderland and the walk around place (the name of that place has now escaped me) next to it on Monday night. He just LOVED the lights...I think his favorite was the frog that leaped and jumped into the water...is anyone at all surprised by this little tidbit of information?? When we were through driving through the lights, we parked and then went into the walk around place sans PawPaw. First stop was actually the pony ride to see if Kellen wanted to try this out, but he declined on the first go-round. So we went to the petting zoo area, which he just loved...Amazingly enough, he went after the fowl...any and all of the fowl, actually...couldn't seem to get enough of them! He wanted to pet the ducks, chickens, and the goose, but just couldn't understand why they weren't as excited about him petting them as he was about petting them. He did get the ducks a couple of times...they seemed to be the most tolerant of all of them towards him! They also had a donkey, one rabbit, little puppies, sheep, goats, and a calf. When I pointed out the donkey and made the reference to Shrek...he was suddenly completely excited about the donkey. Before either his Daddy or I could stop him, he had gone over and kissed the donkey on the side. Oh boy! After we played in there for a good 15 or 20 minutes (at least it seemed like that long), we decided to see if he wanted to ride the pony now that he had been playing with some animals. Sure enough, he did. And he loved it! Daddy strapped him on the pony and walked next to him during his ride. He looked like such a big boy riding the pony! It only lasted for a few minutes, but when it was over and Daddy was taking him off of the pony, he definitely did NOT want to get off.
After the animal adventures, we went to wait in line for the attempt at the Santa picture. Although the wait wasn't that great (the building is cute, but the egress isn't all that great - the entrance and exit are the same path), the Santa himself was wonderful. When we finally got to him, Kellen didn't really want much to do with him. Daddy sat next to Santa with Kellen on his lap and Santa pulled out a photo album and asked Kellen if he wanted to look at pictures of his reindeer. Of course Kellen said yes and they started to look at this photo album, which was a red velvet album and looked ok in the picture, too. Then the Santa started making jokes with Kellen, tickling him in the tummy, etc., making Kellen laugh. Kellen never did fully sit on his lap, but Santa totally impressed Mommy! So this year we have two pictures of Kellen with Santa, and both include Daddy, too!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Santa's Wonderland
MawMaw and PawPaw came into town today to take Kellen to Santa's Wonderland. We all had such a good time! We got back a little after 9ish, and I'm dragging, so I'll have to give details later. To tide you over, here are a couple of pictures of Kellen out there looking at the lovely stuff, playing in the petting zoo, and riding the pony. He also sat on Santa's lap (well, partly on Santa's lap and partly on Daddy's, but it was close). I'll update more tomorrow.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Spread the wealth
Well, that's what Kellen did. He spread his little wealth of virus to Mommy on Saturday. Luckily, I didn't actually feel fully ill until after the graduation breakfast was completely done and I was back home...I felt a little yucky for a few hours and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. So much for the fun Gerren family Christmas weekend! Gramma and Pap Pa Gerren were already on their way, and this was the only time that they could do Christmas with us, so we needed to have our Christmas this weekend, really. I kept hoping that maybe it was just something that I had eaten and that it would get out of my system quickly, but no such luck. Matt was wonderfully helpful, because I could barely life a finger, literally. This little virus just took it all out of me!
Despite me and my sidelined illness, Gramma & Pap Pa had a wonderful time with Kellen....is anyone surprised? When they first arrived we decided to postpone the big feast until Saturday night dinner (Pap Pa had made a chicken breast in the slow cooker & we were going to do all of the trimmings- I was so looking forward to that!), they put Kellen down for a late nap then they went to watch the Chronicles of Narnia and I took a very long nap. When they got back and I finally woke up, they ate (I watched) and then we opened up the presents - what fun! Kellen was the official present-opener, I believe, but he was also the official present-deliverer, and did a wonderful job of handing out the presents to the correct people. Then Daddy & Pap Pa went to the mens basketball game and left the women and child at the house. Poor Gramma! With Kellen and I to look after, she barely made a dent in the cleaning up of the kitchen, which she was also trying to do in addition to caring for the two of us. Kellen shocked us...he was playing with his new tool set, pulled out the two blue heart shaped wooded parts, looked at us and said, "Kellen have 2 hearts!" Whoa buddy! He also put together his new puzzle, a much harder one, with very little trouble...he's amazing when it comes to puzzles and it just astounds me!
During the course of the day, Kellen would come over to me and try to interact with me or play with me, etc. He wouldn't understand why I wouldn't really let him, although I would tell him that Mommy didn't feel well. As he said his prayers for the food, he incorporated, "Bless Mommy feel better." Also during the day, I had asked for a quick hug from him and Gramma had mentioned to him that hugs make Mommy and Gramma's happy. He smiled, walked over to me with his arms out and said, "Kellen hug Mommy. Make Mommy happy." Every so ofter he would come over and do that to me. Too cute!
To progress with the sharing, and to show that our household does our fair share of that...it's Matt's turn today. Because of his souped up immune system, his external symptoms aren't near what mine were yesterday, although he's had his share. He's been sleeping virtually all day long, so it's been pretty rough for him and I know that he feels miserable if he's staying in bed that long. As I tucked Kellen into bed tonight, Daddy got a, "Bless Daddy home. Bless Daddy happy feel better." Gramma and I went on a small excursion today...she had some Christmas shopping to do and I was going stir-crazy from being in the house non-stop for so long, so we decided to go to Ross Dress for Less and then TJ Maxx if we had the time. We did pretty well at both places, but were gone much longer than we had originally anticipated, much to Pap Pa's chagrin.
All in all, despite the illnesses, we had a pretty good Christmas weekend. Not much we can or could do about being sick, so we weathered through and made the best of it!
Despite me and my sidelined illness, Gramma & Pap Pa had a wonderful time with Kellen....is anyone surprised? When they first arrived we decided to postpone the big feast until Saturday night dinner (Pap Pa had made a chicken breast in the slow cooker & we were going to do all of the trimmings- I was so looking forward to that!), they put Kellen down for a late nap then they went to watch the Chronicles of Narnia and I took a very long nap. When they got back and I finally woke up, they ate (I watched) and then we opened up the presents - what fun! Kellen was the official present-opener, I believe, but he was also the official present-deliverer, and did a wonderful job of handing out the presents to the correct people. Then Daddy & Pap Pa went to the mens basketball game and left the women and child at the house. Poor Gramma! With Kellen and I to look after, she barely made a dent in the cleaning up of the kitchen, which she was also trying to do in addition to caring for the two of us. Kellen shocked us...he was playing with his new tool set, pulled out the two blue heart shaped wooded parts, looked at us and said, "Kellen have 2 hearts!" Whoa buddy! He also put together his new puzzle, a much harder one, with very little trouble...he's amazing when it comes to puzzles and it just astounds me!
During the course of the day, Kellen would come over to me and try to interact with me or play with me, etc. He wouldn't understand why I wouldn't really let him, although I would tell him that Mommy didn't feel well. As he said his prayers for the food, he incorporated, "Bless Mommy feel better." Also during the day, I had asked for a quick hug from him and Gramma had mentioned to him that hugs make Mommy and Gramma's happy. He smiled, walked over to me with his arms out and said, "Kellen hug Mommy. Make Mommy happy." Every so ofter he would come over and do that to me. Too cute!
To progress with the sharing, and to show that our household does our fair share of that...it's Matt's turn today. Because of his souped up immune system, his external symptoms aren't near what mine were yesterday, although he's had his share. He's been sleeping virtually all day long, so it's been pretty rough for him and I know that he feels miserable if he's staying in bed that long. As I tucked Kellen into bed tonight, Daddy got a, "Bless Daddy home. Bless Daddy happy feel better." Gramma and I went on a small excursion today...she had some Christmas shopping to do and I was going stir-crazy from being in the house non-stop for so long, so we decided to go to Ross Dress for Less and then TJ Maxx if we had the time. We did pretty well at both places, but were gone much longer than we had originally anticipated, much to Pap Pa's chagrin.
All in all, despite the illnesses, we had a pretty good Christmas weekend. Not much we can or could do about being sick, so we weathered through and made the best of it!
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