After our memory making Thursday night, Kellen went off to daycamp on Friday, ready to round out the week full of good behavior. So I was a little nervous when I received a phone call, then a voicemail, from the number I recognized as the daycamp cell phone. Only when I listened to the message, it had nothing to do with his behavior. It was one of those, 'Ms. Hapes, Kellen had an accident at the bowling alley. He's ok, but you may want to come and get him a little early today.'
When I returned the phone call to find out what happened, I was told that, 'We've stopped the bleeding, but some of the counselors think he might need stitches.'
On my way out of the office, I put in a phone call to the pedi's office, checking to see if I could bring him in after I picked him up from camp. I left a message with the nurse and she was slated to call me back.
I walked in to the bowling alley, went over the Kellen, and checked out the cut. It was a pretty good one, but not stitch-worthy. As I'm making this determination, Tatum decides she wants to call and talk to me ('cause she's spending a few days with Maw Maw and Paw Paw), so I have to break her heart and tell Maw Maw that I just couldn't talk right then. Then I get the return call from the pedi's office telling me that I could bring him in for the stitches that I had decided he didn't really need. So I let them know that it wasn't necessary. Then Matt calls to tell me to take a picture of said wound and send it to him.
One at a time people. One at a time. I'm in the middle of trying to actually handle this perceived crisis here...Because of course, my phone is ringing while the poor counselors are trying to talk to me about what actually happened with Kellen, and he's trying to tell me what happened, and they're trying to get me to sign paperwork.
It was quite the chaotic sight, I'm sure!
I told the head counselor that I had been expecting a phone call of this nature, and then gave Kellen the option to either stay or come home with me (by this time, it was shortly after 3 PM). Needless to say, he wanted to come home with me!
So after a quick stop by Whataburger to pick up a consolatory milkshake, we headed home. Milkshakes make almost anything better, don't they?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sorry you missed it...
If a house is clean and no one is there to see it, was it ever really clean?
I'm beginning to wonder. Because you can't really tell I did all that much work last week. *sigh*
Such is life with kids and a crazy, full schedule. At least one when you don't work your fingers to the bone and are trying not to put too much pressure on yourself, huh?
I got up this morning, looked around, and lamented that my hard work and effort hadn't stayed visible for longer than it did. Then you know what I did about it tonight when Kellen and I got home?
Nothing.
We ate cereal (his dinner request), changed clothes, and went to the pool. We had a BLAST, came home, played a game of Investigate (AKA Go Fish), read a book, then I tucked him in bed.
So, if you happen to stop by my house, it was clean last week - sorry you missed it!
I'm beginning to wonder. Because you can't really tell I did all that much work last week. *sigh*
Such is life with kids and a crazy, full schedule. At least one when you don't work your fingers to the bone and are trying not to put too much pressure on yourself, huh?
I got up this morning, looked around, and lamented that my hard work and effort hadn't stayed visible for longer than it did. Then you know what I did about it tonight when Kellen and I got home?
Nothing.
We ate cereal (his dinner request), changed clothes, and went to the pool. We had a BLAST, came home, played a game of Investigate (AKA Go Fish), read a book, then I tucked him in bed.
So, if you happen to stop by my house, it was clean last week - sorry you missed it!
Monday, June 22, 2009
The verdict...
Yes, Matt was COMPLETELY shocked, amazed, thrilled, and wondered HOW and WHEN I managed to get the project done.
Oh, and he also wondered WHAT POSESSED me to get ORANGE rugs and towels for the bathroom. (How well do I know my husband??)
I actually beat him home on Friday, so had a chance to do a few of those things that I had run out of time on (take out the kitchen trash, tidy up a bit more with some of the toys that inevitably had managed to spill out of their 'homes', you know...just some general stuff). No, in case you're wondering, I still didn't get the bedrooms done.
He walked in as I was putting Tatum to bed with a sleeping Kellen on his shoulders and the first words out of his mouth were, "The house looks GREAT!"
My response, "I'm SO GLAD that's the first thing you said to me!"
After we got the kids down, I asked him to tell me all of the things that he noticed that I did. With a deer-in-the-headlights look, he pointed out a few things, then just begged me to tell him the rest. As I rambled through the litany of things I had managed to get done throughout the week, his mouth continued to drop in amazement.
'WHEN did you get all of that done?'
I then had him then close his eyes and walked him to the bathroom. He reacted just as I thought he would....'Orange? Why did you get orange? Orange? Really?' And the rest of his comment was something along the lines of, 'You HAD to know I wasn't going to like that, didn't you?'
Instead of getting upset, I just laughed, and told him it was the KIDS bathroom. I reminded him that he had wanted a FUN bathroom for the KIDS, and that the orange was the PERFECT accent.
Then I told him about the project, WHY I had done it, and had him read the blog. And then laughed when he got to the part where I knew he was going to flip over the orange.
All-in-all, it was a perfect reaction and he LOVED it!!
Oh, and he also wondered WHAT POSESSED me to get ORANGE rugs and towels for the bathroom. (How well do I know my husband??)
I actually beat him home on Friday, so had a chance to do a few of those things that I had run out of time on (take out the kitchen trash, tidy up a bit more with some of the toys that inevitably had managed to spill out of their 'homes', you know...just some general stuff). No, in case you're wondering, I still didn't get the bedrooms done.
He walked in as I was putting Tatum to bed with a sleeping Kellen on his shoulders and the first words out of his mouth were, "The house looks GREAT!"
My response, "I'm SO GLAD that's the first thing you said to me!"
After we got the kids down, I asked him to tell me all of the things that he noticed that I did. With a deer-in-the-headlights look, he pointed out a few things, then just begged me to tell him the rest. As I rambled through the litany of things I had managed to get done throughout the week, his mouth continued to drop in amazement.
'WHEN did you get all of that done?'
I then had him then close his eyes and walked him to the bathroom. He reacted just as I thought he would....'Orange? Why did you get orange? Orange? Really?' And the rest of his comment was something along the lines of, 'You HAD to know I wasn't going to like that, didn't you?'
Instead of getting upset, I just laughed, and told him it was the KIDS bathroom. I reminded him that he had wanted a FUN bathroom for the KIDS, and that the orange was the PERFECT accent.
Then I told him about the project, WHY I had done it, and had him read the blog. And then laughed when he got to the part where I knew he was going to flip over the orange.
All-in-all, it was a perfect reaction and he LOVED it!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
And it's confirmed...
I have been wondering about Kellen's insane ability to hoarde large quantities of food and eat nonstop for large periods of time - hours, really. I was going through various options in my head...tapeworm, hollow leg, growth spurt, you know...all of the "normal" things, right?
Well, it's been officially diagnosed and confirmed. Growth spurt it is!
Matt had measured him on the 3rd of June and then again this week and he's grown a 1/4 inch in that amount of time. Yes, a quarter inch in a span of barely two weeks.
Goodness gracious!
He and I just went through all of his t-shirts and weeded out the ones that are too small for him. Luckily, I hit a sale not too long ago and stocked up on shirts in what is currently his size (who knows how long that will last). If you are a mom, you know the sale drill, right? One shirt of each color in the appropriate size. I bought 10 shirts. So perhaps we'll be set through the summer at least.
Well, it's been officially diagnosed and confirmed. Growth spurt it is!
Matt had measured him on the 3rd of June and then again this week and he's grown a 1/4 inch in that amount of time. Yes, a quarter inch in a span of barely two weeks.
Goodness gracious!
He and I just went through all of his t-shirts and weeded out the ones that are too small for him. Luckily, I hit a sale not too long ago and stocked up on shirts in what is currently his size (who knows how long that will last). If you are a mom, you know the sale drill, right? One shirt of each color in the appropriate size. I bought 10 shirts. So perhaps we'll be set through the summer at least.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Final project status
Just in case you're wondering...the bedrooms didn't get finished. But, everything else on the list was completed.
WHEW!
I did a little "sprucing" before I left the house this morning, ran the dishwasher, and since Matt will most likely beat me home, he should be pleasantly surprised.
Might have been nice if I would have remembered to take out the trash, but hey...it's good enough, right?
My project reflections:
What really struck me throughout this project though, is how much pressure I put on myself. Yes, I gave myself a large project (for what I think is good reason - a nice gift for a reasonably small pocket-book price...a labor of love, a gift that cost time and effort, not $$$). But even as I reached completion of parts of the project, instead of feeling satisfied, I continually found things that I thought would be good to add to the list. WHAT's THAT ABOUT???
Instead of looking around and enjoying what I had done and accomplished, I looked around and thought, 'Well, the next to-do list I make should include the top of the TV, and I should really tackle cleaning out the closets, and....'
How did the perfectionism get so ingrained? And how long will it take for me to un-train and re-train myself to finish something and then REST, while waiting on direction from the Lord for HIS next project for me?
I might be overthinking things here, but hey...these are just my musings anyway...
WHEW!
I did a little "sprucing" before I left the house this morning, ran the dishwasher, and since Matt will most likely beat me home, he should be pleasantly surprised.
Might have been nice if I would have remembered to take out the trash, but hey...it's good enough, right?
My project reflections:
What really struck me throughout this project though, is how much pressure I put on myself. Yes, I gave myself a large project (for what I think is good reason - a nice gift for a reasonably small pocket-book price...a labor of love, a gift that cost time and effort, not $$$). But even as I reached completion of parts of the project, instead of feeling satisfied, I continually found things that I thought would be good to add to the list. WHAT's THAT ABOUT???
Instead of looking around and enjoying what I had done and accomplished, I looked around and thought, 'Well, the next to-do list I make should include the top of the TV, and I should really tackle cleaning out the closets, and....'
How did the perfectionism get so ingrained? And how long will it take for me to un-train and re-train myself to finish something and then REST, while waiting on direction from the Lord for HIS next project for me?
I might be overthinking things here, but hey...these are just my musings anyway...
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Day 3 project update
Well, I'm officially running out of steam. It was bound to happen, considering the magnitude of the project goals.
This morning I managed to get the baseboards, trim, walls and vents done in the master bathroom and unload/load/run the dishwasher (yeah, no real big feat there).
I added a "side" project to the list, and while dinner was cooking tonight, Tatum "helped" me clean the kids bathroom (she cleans REALLY well with a wipee, let me tell you, and did a GREAT job on the decorative wooden fish that sometimes serves as a doorstop in the bathroom), in preparation for the new decorations that are now in place in there. She did that while I attacked the baseboards, walls, trim, swept and mopped, and cleaned the mirrors (how is it that I always look at them, but rarely think about cleaning them? anyone else?) then she then opened the new shower curtain hooks and helped me string the new shower curtain (BRIGHT fish theme) onto the hooks. I then hung it up while she named all of the various marine creatures on the shower curtain.
It was great!
After the floor dried, I layed out the new, bright orange floor mats down. Yes, orange. Pick yourself up off of the floor. They aren't in any way, shape or form burnt orange. They are BRIGHT orange and match the bottom of the shower curtain, therefore staying with the theme. They also match the set of towels that I got for the room.
Matt is gonna flip that I got orange and the kids are gonna LOVE it. Tatum was already laying down on the new mats saying they were "hers" and feeling of them.
It's amazing the difference in new versus old mats...even cheap ones, 'cause hey...it IS the kids bath, and we know what's going to happen to those rugs, right? And lets face it, the old ones were O-L-D...they were from my college days and predated Matt. You do the math.
So now that I've established that anything having to do with Tatum's room is off the list, basically, I still need to do the baseboards/trim/walls in the master bedroom and Kellen's room, mop the kitchen/entry and master bathroom and then vacuum the master bedroom and Kellen's room. Oh, and put away all of the clean laundry that is now piled on the couch, loveseat and the green chair. Have I mentioned my tendency for piling clean laundry?
I've just Febreezed the curtains that can't be laundered and "spritzed" them up, and now that I've written out the remaining "to-do" list, it doesn't actually seem that bad. I think I can do it, but if it doesn't get done, the house is in better shape than in was on Sunday. And that's pretty much what I was going for. Matt should still be surprised and I think he'll appreciate the effort.
This morning I managed to get the baseboards, trim, walls and vents done in the master bathroom and unload/load/run the dishwasher (yeah, no real big feat there).
I added a "side" project to the list, and while dinner was cooking tonight, Tatum "helped" me clean the kids bathroom (she cleans REALLY well with a wipee, let me tell you, and did a GREAT job on the decorative wooden fish that sometimes serves as a doorstop in the bathroom), in preparation for the new decorations that are now in place in there. She did that while I attacked the baseboards, walls, trim, swept and mopped, and cleaned the mirrors (how is it that I always look at them, but rarely think about cleaning them? anyone else?) then she then opened the new shower curtain hooks and helped me string the new shower curtain (BRIGHT fish theme) onto the hooks. I then hung it up while she named all of the various marine creatures on the shower curtain.
It was great!
After the floor dried, I layed out the new, bright orange floor mats down. Yes, orange. Pick yourself up off of the floor. They aren't in any way, shape or form burnt orange. They are BRIGHT orange and match the bottom of the shower curtain, therefore staying with the theme. They also match the set of towels that I got for the room.
Matt is gonna flip that I got orange and the kids are gonna LOVE it. Tatum was already laying down on the new mats saying they were "hers" and feeling of them.
It's amazing the difference in new versus old mats...even cheap ones, 'cause hey...it IS the kids bath, and we know what's going to happen to those rugs, right? And lets face it, the old ones were O-L-D...they were from my college days and predated Matt. You do the math.
So now that I've established that anything having to do with Tatum's room is off the list, basically, I still need to do the baseboards/trim/walls in the master bedroom and Kellen's room, mop the kitchen/entry and master bathroom and then vacuum the master bedroom and Kellen's room. Oh, and put away all of the clean laundry that is now piled on the couch, loveseat and the green chair. Have I mentioned my tendency for piling clean laundry?
I've just Febreezed the curtains that can't be laundered and "spritzed" them up, and now that I've written out the remaining "to-do" list, it doesn't actually seem that bad. I think I can do it, but if it doesn't get done, the house is in better shape than in was on Sunday. And that's pretty much what I was going for. Matt should still be surprised and I think he'll appreciate the effort.
Substitute
I have to share this absolutely adorable thing that Tatum has been doing this week....Kellen is attending a sports camp at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's and his sister misses him terribly. So, her substitute is the Baby Jamz video that he is a part of, and we watch this over and over and over and over and over and...well, you get the idea.
"I watch Kellen on there (pointing to the computer)," and "More Kellen song," are two phrases that I have become increasingly familiar with these past few days.
It's really adorable, and it's a good thing that I can handle the songs. Really.
"I watch Kellen on there (pointing to the computer)," and "More Kellen song," are two phrases that I have become increasingly familiar with these past few days.
It's really adorable, and it's a good thing that I can handle the songs. Really.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Project update
Just in case you're wondering how the project is going this evening...
I've gotten two additional fans cleaned, leaving a lone fan left (again, not counting the one in the living room). Since it's the one in Tatum's room and she's asleep, there is a very good possibility that it's just not getting done. Oh well!
The kitchen curtain is in the washing machine as we speak, awaiting an empty dryer. Thankfully, I was warned to check the capabilities for laundering on my curtains PRIOR to actually washing them, and am unable to launder the living and dining room curtains myself, so they'll just get dusted/vacuumed off. (Thank you, Maw Maw!!)
And completely OFF of the to-do list is polishing the wooden cabinets dispersed throughout the house. I've done the kitchen cabinets, the wet bar, both bathrooms, including the hanging storage. You know what I'm talking about, right, the cabinets above the toilet... I completely forgot about them until I was looking into the spare bathroom in wonder and amazement at the difference a little furniture polish can do and realized they were wooden cabinets too! When I finished it off, it seemed like it was a completely different bathroom!
I guess the wood was thirsty. Who knew?
Realistically, I'll get the mopping done in the kitchen and possibly the bathrooms, but will probably not get all of the baseboards/trim/walls done in all three bedrooms and in the master bath by the end of the week. The master bath stuff is a maybe. I can't do ANYTHING in Tatum's room, really, considering that very shortly after we get home, she's going to bed. So scratch anything having to do with her room off of any list.
The laundry will most likely get done, but really and truly, is laundry EVER really done? I'll say I accomplished my goal on this one (at least the washing part of the goal), since the majority of the sorting baskets in the laundry area of the garage are empty, and all of the baskets inside the house are empty. You can't wash a load with one item by itself, now can you?
Now, if I can just get it all put away.....where did I put that easy button? Oh wait...we're going for excellence, NOT perfection, and good enough is ok, right?
Great, then I'm taking a break. Blue Bell is calling.
I've gotten two additional fans cleaned, leaving a lone fan left (again, not counting the one in the living room). Since it's the one in Tatum's room and she's asleep, there is a very good possibility that it's just not getting done. Oh well!
The kitchen curtain is in the washing machine as we speak, awaiting an empty dryer. Thankfully, I was warned to check the capabilities for laundering on my curtains PRIOR to actually washing them, and am unable to launder the living and dining room curtains myself, so they'll just get dusted/vacuumed off. (Thank you, Maw Maw!!)
And completely OFF of the to-do list is polishing the wooden cabinets dispersed throughout the house. I've done the kitchen cabinets, the wet bar, both bathrooms, including the hanging storage. You know what I'm talking about, right, the cabinets above the toilet... I completely forgot about them until I was looking into the spare bathroom in wonder and amazement at the difference a little furniture polish can do and realized they were wooden cabinets too! When I finished it off, it seemed like it was a completely different bathroom!
I guess the wood was thirsty. Who knew?
Realistically, I'll get the mopping done in the kitchen and possibly the bathrooms, but will probably not get all of the baseboards/trim/walls done in all three bedrooms and in the master bath by the end of the week. The master bath stuff is a maybe. I can't do ANYTHING in Tatum's room, really, considering that very shortly after we get home, she's going to bed. So scratch anything having to do with her room off of any list.
The laundry will most likely get done, but really and truly, is laundry EVER really done? I'll say I accomplished my goal on this one (at least the washing part of the goal), since the majority of the sorting baskets in the laundry area of the garage are empty, and all of the baskets inside the house are empty. You can't wash a load with one item by itself, now can you?
Now, if I can just get it all put away.....where did I put that easy button? Oh wait...we're going for excellence, NOT perfection, and good enough is ok, right?
Great, then I'm taking a break. Blue Bell is calling.
Monday, June 15, 2009
My project...
6/16 - AM UPDATE: I feel the need to explain WHY I'm doing this project...It's actually part of Matt's fathers day present, hence the "shhh" part of the original post.
So far, I've gotten all of the baseboards and walls wiped down in the entire house, save for the 3 bedrooms and the spare bathroom (but I JUST did that when the toilet EXPLODED a couple of weeks ago with Kellen - and I was thorough, at least with the baseboards).
I've also cleaned both hallway fans, and the fan in the kitchen. I still need to do to the ones in the bedrooms, and I'm skipping the one in the living room because it's too high.
I vacuumed the front hallway, dining room and living room, but didn't do the hallway between the bedrooms or any of the bedrooms since Tatum was already asleep when I was vacuuming (I'm not COMPLETELY crazy!).
I cleaned both of the bathroom toilets and scrubbed both of the bathtubs and got two (I think) loads of laundry done and put away. I put another load in this morning before I left to take Tatum to school and come to work.
I feel like I'm on a roll...
Shhhh...don't tell Matt. (I can post this on here because he really doesn't read this blog...)
I know I just ranted about the fact that I don't clean, right? And about the fact that I'm working toward excellence and "good enough." So here's my project for the week...
I want to see just how much of the house I can get REALLY CLEAN to surprise Matt. And I'm not talking "picked up" kind of clean, I'm talking spring cleaning kind of clean.
My primary goals:
So far, I've gotten all of the baseboards and walls wiped down in the entire house, save for the 3 bedrooms and the spare bathroom (but I JUST did that when the toilet EXPLODED a couple of weeks ago with Kellen - and I was thorough, at least with the baseboards).
I've also cleaned both hallway fans, and the fan in the kitchen. I still need to do to the ones in the bedrooms, and I'm skipping the one in the living room because it's too high.
I vacuumed the front hallway, dining room and living room, but didn't do the hallway between the bedrooms or any of the bedrooms since Tatum was already asleep when I was vacuuming (I'm not COMPLETELY crazy!).
I cleaned both of the bathroom toilets and scrubbed both of the bathtubs and got two (I think) loads of laundry done and put away. I put another load in this morning before I left to take Tatum to school and come to work.
I feel like I'm on a roll...
Shhhh...don't tell Matt. (I can post this on here because he really doesn't read this blog...)
I know I just ranted about the fact that I don't clean, right? And about the fact that I'm working toward excellence and "good enough." So here's my project for the week...
I want to see just how much of the house I can get REALLY CLEAN to surprise Matt. And I'm not talking "picked up" kind of clean, I'm talking spring cleaning kind of clean.
My primary goals:
- wipe down all baseboards and walls (include tops of trim & doors)
- clean all fan blades (exluding the living room, since there's no way I can reach it unless I got the ladder out, and I think he might have my head if I did that)
- launder all curtains & rehang
- polish all the cabinet doors (kitchen, wetbar, bathrooms)
- all laundry done and put away
- general cleaning (bathrooms, vacuum, mop, etc)
If I have time:
- go through kids clothes that they've outgrown and package for give-a-way
So whatcha' think? Will I be able to get this done in three nights?
Pursuit of perfection
I have come to the realization that the pursuit of perfection is paralyzing. Or at least I'm trying to remind myself of this as I make a mental shift from pursuing perfection to striving for excellence.
I really think this is the area that God is working on me with right now...striving for excellence, not perfection and just doing the best that I can do without stretching myself to the point of breaking.
I'm ready to be really real. I have a full life. A really full life. I am a wife, a mom to two kids, a full-time employee (read: mom to another 300 or so students). My husband has had a crazy schedule for our entire marriage that has rarely involved working in the same town. Cleaning is a low priority. News flash...if you drop in on me, my house is probably messy, there are probably clothes on the couch. They're most likely clean and laid out, waiting to be put away, but they're there.
That isn't how I envision my house in my head. I WANT it to look like a picture out of a magazine. I WANT it to smell like the "correct" scent for whatever season it is. I WANT to have all the ingredients for homemade cookies all of the time so that I can just "pop" them in on a whim. I WANT to always have the stuff for the cutsie crafts for me and my kids to do.
But hey, that doesn't happen.
I make cupcakes from the box. We colors in coloring books. We use sidewalk chalk. Matt buys whatever scent candles he wants, because somewhere, I have a wonderful wickless candle and warmer set that hasn't been plugged back in since the move (yes, almost a year). Kids craft magazines come to my house with wonderful ideas for me, and *someday* I'll get the stuff for them and we'll do them some weekend.
Let's just get real.
- In the pursuit of perfection, nothing is good enough...I overanalyze to find the "perfect" way to do something. The "good enough" way is just fine and still gets the job done. For the most part, the only one that's going to know the difference between the two is me.
- In the pursuit of perfection, I constantly compare myself with others who I think have it more "together" than I do, and then feel inferior and/or guilty that I can't do what they do, how they do it. God didn't make me THEM, he made me ME. I'm not SUPPOSED to do things the way they do them per se, or live their lives the way they live it. I'm supposed to live mine the way HE WANTS ME TO, to the BEST OF MY ABILITY, allowing HIM to shine through me, ESPECIALLY in the areas of my deficiencies, so that HE is glorified.
- In the pursuit of perfection, we mask our true selves. We don't necessarily allow others to get to know us, warts and all. How can we grow, or allow ourselves to be used in others lives if we don't walk with them...through both the good and the bad? How do we know that our bad times aren't being sent for the purpose of helping a brother or sister in Christ? If we pursue perfection and mask our pain, our difficulties, our deficiencies, don't let others know what we're experiencing, how can those experiences help them?
I really think this is the area that God is working on me with right now...striving for excellence, not perfection and just doing the best that I can do without stretching myself to the point of breaking.
I'm ready to be really real. I have a full life. A really full life. I am a wife, a mom to two kids, a full-time employee (read: mom to another 300 or so students). My husband has had a crazy schedule for our entire marriage that has rarely involved working in the same town. Cleaning is a low priority. News flash...if you drop in on me, my house is probably messy, there are probably clothes on the couch. They're most likely clean and laid out, waiting to be put away, but they're there.
That isn't how I envision my house in my head. I WANT it to look like a picture out of a magazine. I WANT it to smell like the "correct" scent for whatever season it is. I WANT to have all the ingredients for homemade cookies all of the time so that I can just "pop" them in on a whim. I WANT to always have the stuff for the cutsie crafts for me and my kids to do.
But hey, that doesn't happen.
I make cupcakes from the box. We colors in coloring books. We use sidewalk chalk. Matt buys whatever scent candles he wants, because somewhere, I have a wonderful wickless candle and warmer set that hasn't been plugged back in since the move (yes, almost a year). Kids craft magazines come to my house with wonderful ideas for me, and *someday* I'll get the stuff for them and we'll do them some weekend.
Let's just get real.
Misbehavin'
Well, Kellen rounded out last week with two days of misbehaving. Arg.
Thursday he decided to reconnect with his friend from the afterschool Kids Klub. You may remember her...she's the one that the counselors had to continually separate him from and, oh yes, the very same one that professed her love for him at the beginning of the school year. Oy. Those two. The two of them got into a variety of michevious trouble...nothing too terrible, but enough that it was brought to my attention in addition to the other items to be mentioned (I informed the lead counselor that things might be better if the two of them were simply split up, if possible). He also talked another boy into holding down the flush valve on the toilet in the bathroom and creating a waterfall. Yup. That's my boy. (They did make him clean it up, which he thought was gross.) But the icing on the cake was when they told me that he ran away from the rest of the kids and the counselors. Um...no. That's a safety issue and completely NOT ok with us.
Don't get me wrong, the other issues aren't ok with us, but they're to be expected from an almost 6 year old. Safety issues; however, are in no way, shape or form tolerated in this house.
So he was greeted with, "I guess you made some pretty bad choices today and we aren't going to the pool after all." And we had a stern talk-to at the house.
I apparently didn't work, as I get a phone call on Friday from Matt, who is on his way home with Kellen after he's picked him up. Kellen, the aforementioned girl, and another unnamed girl tried to sneak out of the gym.
WHAT??
So Matt dealt with him primarily Friday night, and I made a point of asking Tatum if she wanted to go to the pool near him and she and I got ready for the pool in the living room, so he could be reminded of what he was missing (again) because of his poor choices. And then Tatum and I proceeded to have a wonderful time at the pool.
I'm trying to figure out the root cause of it, and I really think that it might be a lack of quality time with both Mommy and Daddy...dunno...we'll test that theory a little to see if things get better.
Thursday he decided to reconnect with his friend from the afterschool Kids Klub. You may remember her...she's the one that the counselors had to continually separate him from and, oh yes, the very same one that professed her love for him at the beginning of the school year. Oy. Those two. The two of them got into a variety of michevious trouble...nothing too terrible, but enough that it was brought to my attention in addition to the other items to be mentioned (I informed the lead counselor that things might be better if the two of them were simply split up, if possible). He also talked another boy into holding down the flush valve on the toilet in the bathroom and creating a waterfall. Yup. That's my boy. (They did make him clean it up, which he thought was gross.) But the icing on the cake was when they told me that he ran away from the rest of the kids and the counselors. Um...no. That's a safety issue and completely NOT ok with us.
Don't get me wrong, the other issues aren't ok with us, but they're to be expected from an almost 6 year old. Safety issues; however, are in no way, shape or form tolerated in this house.
So he was greeted with, "I guess you made some pretty bad choices today and we aren't going to the pool after all." And we had a stern talk-to at the house.
I apparently didn't work, as I get a phone call on Friday from Matt, who is on his way home with Kellen after he's picked him up. Kellen, the aforementioned girl, and another unnamed girl tried to sneak out of the gym.
WHAT??
So Matt dealt with him primarily Friday night, and I made a point of asking Tatum if she wanted to go to the pool near him and she and I got ready for the pool in the living room, so he could be reminded of what he was missing (again) because of his poor choices. And then Tatum and I proceeded to have a wonderful time at the pool.
I'm trying to figure out the root cause of it, and I really think that it might be a lack of quality time with both Mommy and Daddy...dunno...we'll test that theory a little to see if things get better.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Spaghetti, anyone?
I had forgotten just how much the kids like spaghetti...As I type, Kellen is on his 4th plate and Tatum is on her 5th plate of spaghetti.
Seriously...where are they PUTTING this food?
Tatum has abandonded her fork in liu of her hands in order to shovel the food in quicker. When she gets through with a plate, she asks for more and then calmly tells me that her, "...hands are yucky, Mommy."
Ya, think, dearie?
They are both piling on the parmesan cheese as well, and I'm rapidly running out of that commodity. I truly thought I made enough pasta to have leftovers for them for tomorrow night, and now I'm not so sure about that.
Growth spurts, perhaps? Hollow legs was suggested as another alternative for food storage. Hmmm...Pictures would prove that I don't starve them, but I think the camera might be covered in sauce at this point in time.
Seriously...where are they PUTTING this food?
Tatum has abandonded her fork in liu of her hands in order to shovel the food in quicker. When she gets through with a plate, she asks for more and then calmly tells me that her, "...hands are yucky, Mommy."
Ya, think, dearie?
They are both piling on the parmesan cheese as well, and I'm rapidly running out of that commodity. I truly thought I made enough pasta to have leftovers for them for tomorrow night, and now I'm not so sure about that.
Growth spurts, perhaps? Hollow legs was suggested as another alternative for food storage. Hmmm...Pictures would prove that I don't starve them, but I think the camera might be covered in sauce at this point in time.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Weekend bliss...
Saturday...
Full of outside playing, naps, then to the movies to watch UP in 3-D. If you haven't seen it, take your tissues. I was bawling like a baby, but it was SO GOOD!!
Sunday...
Unfortunately, both Mommy and Daddy were a little under the weather to start the day off, so we both slept in and missed church. We recovered, had some more outside time, naps, then headed to the pool (FINALLY!!) for a while. We had to cut our pool trip a little early due to an *incident* that luckily, neither of my kids caused - the pool had to be closed for 24 hours. On the bright side, that resulted in rain checks - so it was basically a free trip to the pool! YAY!
I have a sunburn today to show for all of the weekend fun, but I did it to myself! It's not that bad, so I'm hopeful that it was tan rather than peel.
As for today, Kellen started his daycamp here in town and really seemed to like it...he has three of the same counselors, which I like very much! He was happy to see them, too! He came home just talking about all of the games that they played, and thought it was really fun that they just played all day long!
Lucky him! Tomorrow they go on their field trip for the week.
And to finish off the day, Chick-fil-A reinstated their Milkshake Mondays for June and July, so we're putting THAT back into the mix for our Monday night dinners! I mistakenly thought that 3 'milkshakes' (for each milkshake you purchase, you get a free 8 piece nugget) would be sufficient for all 4 of us, but I was sorely mistaken. I think Tatum ate 12 nuggets on her own. Uh huh. We DID share the milkshakes, but I made Daddy a few sandwiches for dinner, which he never seems to mind anyway...
Full of outside playing, naps, then to the movies to watch UP in 3-D. If you haven't seen it, take your tissues. I was bawling like a baby, but it was SO GOOD!!
Sunday...
Unfortunately, both Mommy and Daddy were a little under the weather to start the day off, so we both slept in and missed church. We recovered, had some more outside time, naps, then headed to the pool (FINALLY!!) for a while. We had to cut our pool trip a little early due to an *incident* that luckily, neither of my kids caused - the pool had to be closed for 24 hours. On the bright side, that resulted in rain checks - so it was basically a free trip to the pool! YAY!
I have a sunburn today to show for all of the weekend fun, but I did it to myself! It's not that bad, so I'm hopeful that it was tan rather than peel.
As for today, Kellen started his daycamp here in town and really seemed to like it...he has three of the same counselors, which I like very much! He was happy to see them, too! He came home just talking about all of the games that they played, and thought it was really fun that they just played all day long!
Lucky him! Tomorrow they go on their field trip for the week.
And to finish off the day, Chick-fil-A reinstated their Milkshake Mondays for June and July, so we're putting THAT back into the mix for our Monday night dinners! I mistakenly thought that 3 'milkshakes' (for each milkshake you purchase, you get a free 8 piece nugget) would be sufficient for all 4 of us, but I was sorely mistaken. I think Tatum ate 12 nuggets on her own. Uh huh. We DID share the milkshakes, but I made Daddy a few sandwiches for dinner, which he never seems to mind anyway...
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Kellen's summer begins
from Maw Maw:
'Three days and nights at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's. Chocolate Chip Cookies for breakfast (but a good breakfast of some combination of toast, cereal, fruit, etc. in addition), hot dogs, two trips to the park including a great deal of squirrel chasing, snacks in the park, an Astros game, CiCi's, sword fighting, playing on the deck with dinos and zoo animals, Hungry, Hungry Hippos with Daddy and PawPaw, coloring, play doh, The Chipmunks meet Wolfman, Tarzan - whew!
Which might explain why he almost feel asleep at CiCi's tonight and was gone before we made it to Walgreens a few blocks down the road. Yes, at about 7:00 p.m.! He is in bed and hopefully will stay asleep until morning.'
****************
And she neglected to indicate that he threw up last night because, in his words, he "ate too much junk." Now, I have NO idea if that is accurate or not, but it was an interesting way to start off my morning as I was driving to work and trying to get the play-by-play of the 'Stros game.
He is, according to him, missing his sister, as he wanted me to pass the phone to her so that he could talk with her, and then when I couldn't do that (I WAS driving, after all), he accepted speakerphone so that he could talk with her. He also passed a hug through the phone to me for her.
Now isn't that just precious?
'Three days and nights at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's. Chocolate Chip Cookies for breakfast (but a good breakfast of some combination of toast, cereal, fruit, etc. in addition), hot dogs, two trips to the park including a great deal of squirrel chasing, snacks in the park, an Astros game, CiCi's, sword fighting, playing on the deck with dinos and zoo animals, Hungry, Hungry Hippos with Daddy and PawPaw, coloring, play doh, The Chipmunks meet Wolfman, Tarzan - whew!
Which might explain why he almost feel asleep at CiCi's tonight and was gone before we made it to Walgreens a few blocks down the road. Yes, at about 7:00 p.m.! He is in bed and hopefully will stay asleep until morning.'
****************
And she neglected to indicate that he threw up last night because, in his words, he "ate too much junk." Now, I have NO idea if that is accurate or not, but it was an interesting way to start off my morning as I was driving to work and trying to get the play-by-play of the 'Stros game.
He is, according to him, missing his sister, as he wanted me to pass the phone to her so that he could talk with her, and then when I couldn't do that (I WAS driving, after all), he accepted speakerphone so that he could talk with her. He also passed a hug through the phone to me for her.
Now isn't that just precious?
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Happy Birthday!
...Cute things Tatum has done today...I need to tell the Happy Birthday story...
Today is Grandma Gerren's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!!!), so on the way home, I told Tatum that we needed to call and sing Happy Birthday to Grandma. Well, she proceeded to do so the ENTIRE way home. I actually lost count of how many times she sang the song, and we don't live that far away from where I pick her up AND the college students aren't here, meaning the traffic isn't that bad...
And as soon as we walked in the door she was crying to call Grandma so that she could sing to her on the phone. So we called, we get Grandma on the phone and she proceeds to sing the Happy Birthday song to her grandma, and yes, it's every bit as precious as it sounds.
Well, Grandpa gets on the phone and she gets excited, says hi, but then oh-so-clearly makes sure that he knows it's 'not your happy birthday, grandpa...it's happy birthday grandma, not grandpa, oookkkaayy?'
But then she clearly followed that up with "I love you's" all the way around, just to make sure no one got their feelings hurt because it wasn't their birthday.
What a precious and sweet little girl. I am so blessed to get to spend some one-on-one time with her this week and am just enjoying it tremendously!
Today is Grandma Gerren's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!!!), so on the way home, I told Tatum that we needed to call and sing Happy Birthday to Grandma. Well, she proceeded to do so the ENTIRE way home. I actually lost count of how many times she sang the song, and we don't live that far away from where I pick her up AND the college students aren't here, meaning the traffic isn't that bad...
And as soon as we walked in the door she was crying to call Grandma so that she could sing to her on the phone. So we called, we get Grandma on the phone and she proceeds to sing the Happy Birthday song to her grandma, and yes, it's every bit as precious as it sounds.
Well, Grandpa gets on the phone and she gets excited, says hi, but then oh-so-clearly makes sure that he knows it's 'not your happy birthday, grandpa...it's happy birthday grandma, not grandpa, oookkkaayy?'
But then she clearly followed that up with "I love you's" all the way around, just to make sure no one got their feelings hurt because it wasn't their birthday.
What a precious and sweet little girl. I am so blessed to get to spend some one-on-one time with her this week and am just enjoying it tremendously!
Hmmm....
Interesting fact about Tatum.
She has reserved Eskimo kisses SOLELY for her Daddy. Yup. They're HIS and HIS alone.
I made the mistake of trying to give her some tonight before bed and boy-oh-boy...did I get a look.
(And I should know the look...I frequently give a much perfected, similar one, myself).
Then she ever so clearly corrected me by stating that, "Eskimo kisses are Daddy. NOT Mommy. Not yours. OoooKaaaayyyy?"
'Yes Dear. Thank you. I understand.'
She has reserved Eskimo kisses SOLELY for her Daddy. Yup. They're HIS and HIS alone.
I made the mistake of trying to give her some tonight before bed and boy-oh-boy...did I get a look.
(And I should know the look...I frequently give a much perfected, similar one, myself).
Then she ever so clearly corrected me by stating that, "Eskimo kisses are Daddy. NOT Mommy. Not yours. OoooKaaaayyyy?"
'Yes Dear. Thank you. I understand.'
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Growth spurt, anyone?
I'm wondering exactly how much food that Kellen can actually consume.....he's really going to town over here! For the past couple of weeks, he's eaten nonstop for dinner from about 6-8 PM. And I pretty much mean nonstop.
Take tonight for instance...
We got home and he was hungry, so while I was getting things warmed up, he ate a banana. I finished warming dinner up and he ate dinner (about half of a VERY LARGE sausage dog, corn and green beans). He and Tatum got a bath, then he told me he was still hungry. So he ate an apple, then another banana, then another apple. He's now eating a bowl of grapes.
So he's pretty much been eating continuously since 6 or so, save for the short time he was in the bath. And this has been our pattern for the last two or so weeks.
Whoa, buddy! I'm just waiting for him to shoot out and up. Really. I'm expecting to go into his room one morning and to have him have sprouted overnight. At least I'm trying to prepare for it, anyway.
Take tonight for instance...
We got home and he was hungry, so while I was getting things warmed up, he ate a banana. I finished warming dinner up and he ate dinner (about half of a VERY LARGE sausage dog, corn and green beans). He and Tatum got a bath, then he told me he was still hungry. So he ate an apple, then another banana, then another apple. He's now eating a bowl of grapes.
So he's pretty much been eating continuously since 6 or so, save for the short time he was in the bath. And this has been our pattern for the last two or so weeks.
Whoa, buddy! I'm just waiting for him to shoot out and up. Really. I'm expecting to go into his room one morning and to have him have sprouted overnight. At least I'm trying to prepare for it, anyway.
Monday, May 18, 2009
New 'do
While I'm updating...(and going in reverse order) I should make a note about my haircut.
I got my haircut last Wednesday. Really cut.
As in really short.
Really.
Way shorter than the picture I took as the 'model' for Valerie. I think she was just overly excited because it was obvious my normal rules were out of the window. And this is what I ended up with after she was through.
This is the original picture of the 'model' that was to be used for the cut...Slight difference, don't you think? (Julie, the link is just for you!)
I fix it a little differently, but since everyone (but Kellen) seems to like it, we'll call it a success. And since Matt thinks it's the best haircut he's EVER seen on me, and he's known me since '96 and his opinion should be the one that matters most (other than mine, of course), I think that's a pretty good sign, don't you?
Kellen originally told me that he liked me, but not my hair. When I asked him why, he indicated that it was because it stuck out and was spikey. He's now changing his tune and told me this morning that he liked it. I guess he's gotten used to it.
Unfortunately, I seem to be the one that it taking the most time to get used to it! And I'm immensely frustrated that I cannot find my pommade that I like anywhere...I've had the stuff for, like, 5 years or so now (probably longer, truth be told), and NOW...when I really need it for styling, I can't find it anywhere. Grrr....
I got my haircut last Wednesday. Really cut.
As in really short.
Really.
Way shorter than the picture I took as the 'model' for Valerie. I think she was just overly excited because it was obvious my normal rules were out of the window. And this is what I ended up with after she was through.
This is the original picture of the 'model' that was to be used for the cut...Slight difference, don't you think? (Julie, the link is just for you!)
I fix it a little differently, but since everyone (but Kellen) seems to like it, we'll call it a success. And since Matt thinks it's the best haircut he's EVER seen on me, and he's known me since '96 and his opinion should be the one that matters most (other than mine, of course), I think that's a pretty good sign, don't you?
Kellen originally told me that he liked me, but not my hair. When I asked him why, he indicated that it was because it stuck out and was spikey. He's now changing his tune and told me this morning that he liked it. I guess he's gotten used to it.
Unfortunately, I seem to be the one that it taking the most time to get used to it! And I'm immensely frustrated that I cannot find my pommade that I like anywhere...I've had the stuff for, like, 5 years or so now (probably longer, truth be told), and NOW...when I really need it for styling, I can't find it anywhere. Grrr....
My birthday weekend
Considering the weekend I had, I have to entitle this my birthday weekend rather than my birthday...simply because the celebration lasted all weekend long!
It was such a wonderfully full, but relaxing weekend!
Friday night started with Kellen's last t-ball game of the season (*sniff*), then my parents and brother came over for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, my dad's birthday and my mom's birthday.
Saturday my dad cooked breakfast (YUMMY!) and I took my mom and Kellen to get me a birthday present, then I had a baby shower to go to, and when I got back, we hung out a little and Matt cooked steaks on the grill (oh my..so VERY YUMMY!!! I could eat steaks like that so very often, but it would be oh-so-bad if I did)
Sunday Matt and I went to church, and came back to my parents and brother cleaning up the house as a surprise for me...my brother vacuumed, they cleaned up all their stuff, made all of the beds, cleaned both of the kids rooms (which, of course, only stay clean for about five minutes), cleaned the kitchen, you name it...then Matt cooked sausage dogs on the grill and we had lunch, cake and ice cream and our birthday celebration. Then they had to leave...the kids went down for their nap and then I went down for mine. And my Maw Maw was on her way over.
I woke up from my nap...
wait for it...
4 hours later!!!!
to an empty house.
15 or so minutes later, I heard them all pull up, then saw Matt running to the backyard with something in his hands. My MIL and the kids came in, and a few minutes later Matt came in and found a reason to ask me to go out to the backyard, where he had put together a HAMMOCK STAND for me!!!!! We've had a hammock for years, but I've never had it up....and I have it now!! I'm thrilled beyond belief!!
I, of course, immediately went and laid on it, and then had two munchkins join me, and Matt pulled another HUGE box from the side of the house....it was another present from Maw Maw and Paw Paw...a storage unit/seat bench for the deck...and he started putting it together. So, now all of the kids toys have a place to go on the deck, AND it can double as seating! I LOVE IT!
Maw Maw wanted to take us out to eat, but I said I would rather have her watch the kids and let Matt and I go on a date...so we went and watched Wolverine! It was GREAT!
Then today my office had a small party for me this afternoon (cake and ice cream)...so I feel totally spoiled right now!!
But...today is Daddy's day......sooooooooooo
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!
It was such a wonderfully full, but relaxing weekend!
Friday night started with Kellen's last t-ball game of the season (*sniff*), then my parents and brother came over for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, my dad's birthday and my mom's birthday.
Saturday my dad cooked breakfast (YUMMY!) and I took my mom and Kellen to get me a birthday present, then I had a baby shower to go to, and when I got back, we hung out a little and Matt cooked steaks on the grill (oh my..so VERY YUMMY!!! I could eat steaks like that so very often, but it would be oh-so-bad if I did)
Sunday Matt and I went to church, and came back to my parents and brother cleaning up the house as a surprise for me...my brother vacuumed, they cleaned up all their stuff, made all of the beds, cleaned both of the kids rooms (which, of course, only stay clean for about five minutes), cleaned the kitchen, you name it...then Matt cooked sausage dogs on the grill and we had lunch, cake and ice cream and our birthday celebration. Then they had to leave...the kids went down for their nap and then I went down for mine. And my Maw Maw was on her way over.
I woke up from my nap...
wait for it...
4 hours later!!!!
to an empty house.
15 or so minutes later, I heard them all pull up, then saw Matt running to the backyard with something in his hands. My MIL and the kids came in, and a few minutes later Matt came in and found a reason to ask me to go out to the backyard, where he had put together a HAMMOCK STAND for me!!!!! We've had a hammock for years, but I've never had it up....and I have it now!! I'm thrilled beyond belief!!
I, of course, immediately went and laid on it, and then had two munchkins join me, and Matt pulled another HUGE box from the side of the house....it was another present from Maw Maw and Paw Paw...a storage unit/seat bench for the deck...and he started putting it together. So, now all of the kids toys have a place to go on the deck, AND it can double as seating! I LOVE IT!
Maw Maw wanted to take us out to eat, but I said I would rather have her watch the kids and let Matt and I go on a date...so we went and watched Wolverine! It was GREAT!
Then today my office had a small party for me this afternoon (cake and ice cream)...so I feel totally spoiled right now!!
But...today is Daddy's day......sooooooooooo
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!
It finally happened...
I'll update on my wonderful birthday later, but for now...some grossness...
It finally happened...After almost 4 months to the date from my half marathon...one of my toenails fell off today. And surprisingly, it came off all in one piece. Odd.
Another interesting fact...it had already grown 1/3 or so of the way back underneath the other (dead) toenail. And there's a thin psuedo nail covering the rest of what should be my nail...so I was actually able to paint my toenail to disguise the ugliness that now is my toe.
Hahaha
Details about my lovely birthday to come...I must go eat some of the left-over steak...YUMMY!!
It finally happened...After almost 4 months to the date from my half marathon...one of my toenails fell off today. And surprisingly, it came off all in one piece. Odd.
Another interesting fact...it had already grown 1/3 or so of the way back underneath the other (dead) toenail. And there's a thin psuedo nail covering the rest of what should be my nail...so I was actually able to paint my toenail to disguise the ugliness that now is my toe.
Hahaha
Details about my lovely birthday to come...I must go eat some of the left-over steak...YUMMY!!
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