Mommy-Son Date

"I don't really care what we're doing, as long as I'm with you."

Those were the words Kellen spoke to me as we started out on our Mommy-son date night Friday night.  And they melted my heart....Any guesses at to what his love language is?

We were headed to go eat, then to the Mommy-son Speedway Spectacular.  Other than the name, I really had no idea what to expect.  I was hoping there would be car races involved since we were headed to a race track.

After going to McDonald's to eat dinner (his choice), we headed there.

Once we checked in, we realized that they had provided dinner (oops).  We headed to the various booths.

Bounce house was first on the list.

Then we checked out the fire truck and talked with the firemen (for a while).

Then we played with the snakes (this one in particular for quite a while).  There was no one waiting for this one when we got there, so Kellen was able to play with him for a while.  He had to relinquish him once other kids started to show up to play with him.

He played with this guy...it was the coolest purple shade (and my camera did not do it justice).

He had fun with the turtle.

And then we painted his hair red (the only color left by the time we got to that station...since we had spent so much time playing with the animals).

We played a few games of "Minute to Win it" (successfully, I might add).



And then he (finally!!) found a remote control car - with the appropriate working remote - and was able to play with it for a little while.

We then went back to McDonald's for some dessert to finish out the night.....and then headed back home.  He journaled all aspects of the night in the notebook you see in front of him.

It was a GREAT mommy-son date.

Mother's Day Lunch with Tatum

Tatum's school hosted a Mother's Day luncheon to celebrate the upcoming holiday.  She was so excited about this celebration and had been looking forward to it ALL.WEEK.

We sat down at the table (that she so beautifully decorated for me with pictures) and had a lunch of turkey sandwiches on wheat bread with sun chips and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert accompanied with lemonade to drink.

Then the teachers came around and took Mommy-Daughter pictures of everyone.  Isn't she just the cutest??

This was such a fun event!!  I'm so pleased that her school does special events like this!  As my present, she gave me a special Mother's Day card and a laminated bookmark with her handprint on it as the flower petal.  Love it!!

The Life Cycle of a Minimalist

I ran across this post in my reading and love it...apparently I'm moving between #4, #5 and #6....and haven't moved past those yet.

I've been trying to simplify and declutter for over a year now.  I'm not 'there' yet...where ever 'there' actually is.

But again, as far as I'm concerned, it is more about the intentionality of the process than the end product.  So I'm ok with that.

And I'm trying desperately not to be so hard on myself and the unattainable goals that I tend to set for myself.

Poop & tubs do NOT mix well......

Why does it seem like the nights that go horribly wrong are the ones when I'm currently flying solo or are awaiting Daddy to get home?

I mean....the ONLY other night I can remember when Jacey decided to give us a 'floater' in the tub (when she was bathing with her sister, mind you) was a night that Daddy wasn't home yet.

Until tonight.

Not cool, Jacey.  Not cool.

Luckily, she was by herself this time (I'm not sure Tatum has recovered from that trauma).

Looking for a silver lining........the kids bathroom will get a very good cleaning tonight!

Birthday cakes for certain celebrations for the weekend will have to wait.....

Girls sick day..

AKA...Tatum's Pukefest

Gross, I know, but sorry.

I'm a parent.  Discussing bodily secretions and functions became 'normal' a L-O-N-G time ago.  Poop, mucus, spit up, pee, puke...whatever.

As a random side note, did you know baby girls could squirt and project their pee pee like boys, without the equipment I thought was oh-so-necessary to do so?  I did not know this until having girls.  Who knew?

Anyhow...back on the farm...

Tatum woke up this morning complaining of her tummy hurting. In my bed, where she had meandered to at some point in time during the night. She doesn't 'play' sick.

I took her temp. Normal. I asked her if she really felt badly.

"Yes."

I tell Daddy, who is concerned but unsure of how sick she really is, then proceeds upon with his day, heading off to Bible study.  I let her lay in bed, which she willingly did (serving as confirmation if I actually needed any) and get the bookends ready for school and daycare.

At some point in time in the morning, I moved her from my bed (which is much more difficult to clean if a puke-fest should ensue), to the pallet that is now a permanent fixture on the floor beside our bed.  I include a throw up bucket for her, 'cause I'm a nice mommy and all.

It was time to get the bookends to school so I needed to wake her up (yet further confirmation of her being sick) and get her clothes changed from her nightgown to something more comfy and slightly more appropriate for the car so I could get her into the vehicle while I dropped the other kids off to their respective schools.  After we did this, she decided to lay back down, then quickly realized that the movement of getting dressed must have stirred things up, resulting in our Puke #1. Time = 7:20 AM

Shortly later I was getting things ready to walk out the door (after texting Daddy our sick-fest update), when she thought she was going to be sick again.  To the toilet she went, but to no avail. She gets a look of relief on her face as she tells me that she must not have to throw up, then that look rapidly changes.  I now have to clean my bathroom sink and mirror. Puke #2. Time=7:26 AM

*sigh*

Have I ever mentioned how much of a sweetheart Tatum is when she is sick?  I mean, she is just the absolute sweetest thing on earth when she isn't feeling well.

She felt absolutely horrible about getting sick outside of the toilet or throw up bucket.  It was so pitiful.  I just kept telling her over and over that it was ok...it was the sink and counter. The mirror was just a mirror and it was all so easy to clean and that she wasn't in trouble and that it wasn't her fault.  Bless her little heart.  She just hated that she had created work for me to do and that I had to clean up after her. 

A quick clean up and into the car we went, throw up bucket in hand - literally.  We got the bookends dropped off with no incident, then on the way home I hear her.  In the bucket.  Puke #3. Time=8:01 AM

Once we got back to the house, I got her situated on the bean bag chair so we could rest in the living room watching movies ('cause that's what we do on sick days in our house).  She laid on the bean bag on top of towels (just in case, because I can't just throw a bean bag chair into the washing machine), with her throw up bucket next to her (on a towel, I have light carpet in my house and um...just no).

We watched Cinderella.
We watched The Little Mermaid.
We watched Hercules.
We watched Curious George.

By lunch time, she seemed to have a little more color in her face.  She had managed to keep a little ginger ale and 4 Ritz crackers down, and was asking to try lunch.

I obliged.  She ate a peanut butter roll-up and some raisins, then laid down for a nap.  Whether she actually slept or not is in question, but she did rest.

Afterwards, she was back to her normal self again.  I'm still not quite sure of what she had, but it hit her hard and quick.  Luckily, it didn't last too terribly long!

I lamented the fact that I missed a day of work, but considering that I have felt poorly since the latter part of March, taking a day that included resting was probably just what I needed as well!  I think I may have truly napped more than she did...I remember parts of both Hercules and The Little Mermaid, but I'm quite certain I didn't make it fully through either of those movies.

Spell-a-thon winner!

When I picked Kellen up on Monday, I noticed a flash of brightness in his hands, and then he quickly hid whatever it was behind his back.  It looked remarkably similar to a trophy, but I couldn't figure out what it would have been for.  I knew they were going to announce the class, grade level and overall awards for those had fundraised for the Spell-a-Thon, but hadn't seen anything come through on the PTO listserv all day, but it never entered my mind to put the two together.

With a mischievous grin, Kellen walks over to me.  "Close your eyes, Mommy."

I obliged.

Then he proceeds to show me this.

"

In case you can't read it, "Most Money Raised, Top in Class - 3rd Grade"

As we walk out he also tells me, "And I got a green today!" (That means he had a really good day at school without misbehaving)

It was a good day!  We decided that we're going to write thank-you notes to all of those who contributed to him and his participation in the Spell-a-Thon, so if you're one of those individuals, get ready!

Roller skating fun!!

Yup!

Roller skating.

Uh huh.

Daddy decided that we were going to go roller skating.

I married a smart man.  One with a keen sense of adventure.

A guy who sure does like to have fun.

We told the kids after church that we had a surprise for them, had lunch and loaded up for a drive.  We drove to Brehnam and they all crashed out in the car on the way.

Once we arrived, we told them what their surprise was...they just LOVE that part!  We went in and got our skates on (after returning a few pair in order to get the correct sizes), and we realized that they even had skates small enough for Jacey...yeah...how cool is that?!?!?  Then Daddy gave the kids some lessons.

And we spend the rest of the time (all told...about 2.5 hours) just playing.  Generally speaking, the kids stayed close to the walls, but then we got a little 'cheater' walker set so they could get a little practice getting their balance and getting good.  Tatum went first because Daddy was just working more with Kellen and she really got the hang of it quicker (it may have helped that her wheels were pretty tight), then Kellen got the walker and practiced some as well.  Then we let Jacey play and practice with the walker and once she got it, no one else was really able to practice any more on it.

The rink played some fun games, did some races (Daddy came in third place in one of them!) and it was just all around fun.  I haven't had this many bruises on my knees since high school drill team (Mommy is NOT a good skater, but trying to help 3 kids half your size stay up is all-around difficult!) but it was just an absolutely fun family day (oh, and the roller skating is a total of $5/person, including the skate rental!).

We stayed until they closed the place down for public skate, turn in our skates, grabbed some water, and then headed to our favorite playground in town to play for just a bit on the playground there.

Have I mentioned before how much Jacey loves slides?? 

 
Overall, the kids were remarkably well behaved and given the amount of physical energy the activities required, I'm surprised that only one of them was out by the time we got home!  I love our family fun days....and I love it when Daddy comes up with his great ideas!

40 MILES!!!

And no, it isn't me!!

Kellen ran 120 laps = the equivalent of 40 miles = 

during PE at school during Road Runners in 30 weeks during this past school year.

They had the PE awards and ceremony on Friday and he was awarded his certificate then.  

(And apparently, his missed the 'bronze' level by 5 laps!)

I am so super proud of him!!

April Running Recap

Um...so, ok. This will be a really quick post.  Because I didn't run a lap at all in the month of April.  Nada. Zilch. Nothin'.

April was me dealing with bronchitis and a sinus infection...and finally throwing in the towel and getting medicine (and it really must have been bad, because when I called to schedule an appointment the nurse on the phone asked me some questions, then told me she would call back after speaking with the doctor and when she did, she simply called in the antibiotic).  So after a z-pack, I thought I was feeling better, but I never did get rid of the cough or ever really get my energy back. All.month.long.

I'm really going to have to kick it into gear tomake up for three months of crappy mileage. Yikes!!!

2012 Recap:
January total = 31.24 (31 days) [MET GOAL]
February total = 9.26 (29 days)
March total = 12.4 (31 days)
April total = 0 (30 days)

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Our church does a fabulous thing each year.

They provide an opportunity for the daddies to take their daughters on a date.  To model for their little girls just how a guy is supposed to treat them.

And my man did it up this year.

He asked Tatum to go on a special date with him.  Then he arranged to get dressed, snuck out of the house, and knocked on the door to 'ask if she was ready' for their date on Friday night. 

He brought flowers (by way of a wrist corsage) for her as well. 

And jewelry.  That he put on her himself.  {If I wasn't already in love with that man I would have been after seeing the effort he went through to make that precious 5 year old feel oh-so-special!!}

And he took her out to eat to the restaurant of her choosing.  I think it ended up being Chick-fil-A.  And she couldn't play on the playground because 'fancy girls all dressed up can't play on the playground and get all messy'.

At the dance, a friend of ours took some wonderful pictures of them dancing...

The church family life center was decorated beautifully (so I'm told) and there were craft activities for the girls to do and lots of candy and an ice cream bar.  I was also told that Tatum went for four bowls of ice cream...or rather bowls of toppings with a smattering of ice cream at the bottom.  Take a look at the picture below and you be the judge??

They had a remarkable time.  I'm not sure how Daddy managed to make it through dancing with his princess after some of the daddy-daughter songs he told me they played, but he did.

I had a work banquet to attend this same night as well, and when I got home Tatum wasn't asleep yet, so she gave me the quick highlights of her night.  I could tell by those highlights that this will be one of those nights that just sticks with her. 

Watch out, boys.  We're going to teach this little girl just how a princess is supposed to be treated!

Happy Easter!

From our family to yours!

How much activity can you cram into one day?

And still have some semblance of relaxation?  Because today consisted of an Easter egg hunt at Kroger,

then playing on the playground while Daddy did the lawn,

then a quick trip to finalize a birthday present for the birthday party we attended, the birthday party itself at Spoons (where I - not sure about the kids - had never been before),

then home for (some) naps while Matt continued to work in the yard and I did (some) house work and (some) outside work and (lots of) some solar therapy while the kids napped.  Matt even made a garden area for Tatum because she's been asking about planting things...she was SO EXCITED about this later in the day when she woke up from her nap!! 

We had LOTS of outside playing time, we experimented with dyeing Easter eggs with Kool-aid (making over 2 dozen eggs!!),

ate a scrumptious dinner (courtesy of the meal swap), went outside and played a little more.  Kellen was really sweet to help Tatum with her soccer practice.

Then the kids got baths/showers and we then made Resurrection cookies (pardon the mess in the background...we actually live in our kitchen and hadn't finished picking up from dinner yet and were still dyeing some eggs as well).

It was another FABULOUS family fun day!


And while the only things originally on the agenda where the Easter egg hunt and the birthday party, it felt like we didn't stop moving all day.  But it was LOADS of fun.

Fun Family Day

It was a fun family day...and we totally needed it!  It was a nice and relaxing day...one without much of a schedule.  We don't get those that often!

So we headed to Independence in search of bluebonnets, then headed to Brenham to the park for a late lunch/early dinner and to play at the park.  We headed back to town a different path, stopping along the way  back for a nice milkshake treat (which was interestingly the only out-of-pocket expense of the day).

We had a blast.  And we have the pictures to prove it (some are better than others, but hey...the memories are priceless!).  Here are some of the better ones from today.

I'm glad I took the day off today.  Happy Good Friday. 

Remember...the cross is for you. No matter who you are!  Thank God that the cross was for me!

Ladies Craft Night

So our Sunday school ladies got together last week to make wreaths. The pictures of the wreaths they sent to get our creative juices flowing were way cute....

So with these ideas, I went in search of my perfect wreath to begin my backdrop.  Then I carefully selected my colors.  I then spent entirely too long trying to find just the right sprig to make it all come together. Then I did the same thing for the materials for the spring wreath I was making for my mother in law.

I was overjoyed to realized that my procrastination had payed off when I found out the wreaths were 50% off on the day I purchased them. SCORE one for procrastination!

Craft night came. I fiddled around with making the flowers, tossing aside the template because it seemed too complicated (and I'm a simple girl and like easy things).

And my flowers turned out something like this.

I only got through with a few of them and it seemed like I looked up and it was time for me to leave.  I was in no way, shape or form ready to be finished with the night.

But I went back home and let my fabulous in-laws go home (thank you!).  Then I proceeded to continue with my crafty streak.

And I finished with a wreath that looked like this.

So there you have it....my spring wreath for my door.  The very next night, I made another one for my mother in law....and although in this picture it appears crooked, imagine it hanging correctly...and her spring wreath turned out like this.

It has felt very good to be crafty!  I have realized how much I miss that aspect of my life.  I do have creative juices and apparently they do sometimes like to flow.  And I guess it's good to sometimes remember that!

My front door is thanking me.