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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Where Does It Go?

I don't know about you, but I have no idea where my paycheck goes.

Well, that's not exactly true. I pay the bills, so technically, I do, actually know where the money goes. But, really, good Lord, the bills!

I honestly blame it all on the three children. If it weren't for them, I would happily eat Ramen noodles every night for dinner and then I would be rich.

I plan on being rich once they all leave home. That will begin when I am 42 years old (beginning when the girls move out to go to college when they are 18). And end when I am 48 (when Q moves out to go to college). And I will retire when I am 53 (that's my 30 year mark). And then, my rich self will travel the world. But right now I can't even afford a night away to a Motel 6. Which is not really a bad thing because I've been to a Motel 6 before and I can't really say that I want to do that again.

Chris and I are both educators. We suffer in long months because we only get paid once. On the last working day of the month.

The good news: I got paid today!
The bad news: I paid bills today!

And POOF! just like that, the money is all gone.

Monday, August 30, 2010

I May Have Lost My Mind

I couldn't blog about this last night because I felt somewhat crazy. And I don't really want for you to think that I am crazy. But last night, I may have lost my mind. You see, I have these children, and from time to time, they push me over the edge. I have a long (and I mean loooooooooooong) fuse. I can harp on something for years before I finally snap. Things such as:

  • flushing the toilet
  • hanging up your wet towel
  • putting your clothes away properly
  • treating your things (and other people's) with respect
  • please stop ignoring me (I even had my mother-in-law (she's a nurse) test their hearing last week)
I like for their rooms to be tidy. Not perfect. Just tidy. Like, you can actually open the door and walk into the room. You can see some semblance of order.

But they seem to have other ideas in mind. Let me enumerate them for you.
1. They wore the same socks for the majority of last week. They did this because they could not find any other socks. (The SAME nasty, sweaty, yucky socks, people!)
2. Why should you hang up your church clothes when you can just as easily ball them up and shove them in the back of your t-shirt drawer?
3. Flush? Why? I am just going to use the toilet again. And then have to flush again. Better to do this only every 3 days or so.

Which brings me to yesterday (keep in mind other recent posts...dog poop in Chan's room, for example). The girls picked out their outfits for the week. I went and checked them for coordination and making sure they were appropriate for school. Everyone did a fine job. So, I decided to start to clean out some of their summer play clothes from their dressers. This is when I found 10 (10!) pairs of socks each (Each!) in the wrong dresser drawers. In Casey's dresser I also found her dresses shoved to the back of the drawer. So, I went to hang them up. Which is when I noticed that she had 4 (Four!) damp towels shoved into her doll storage bucket. And I lost it.

And then I bagged everything up. 10 bags of girl belongings are now taking up space in my hallway.

I am worried that they are spoiled. And I know that I am responsible for this. I am re-evaluating my actions as I type. They believe that they are entitled to everything they have in their lives - dance, piano, church activities, etc. They also think that everything they want should be theirs. I don't know how to teach gratefulness. We are scaling back. We have to (paycuts, furlough days) and I am afraid that this is going to be a rude awakening for the girls. But I think that it will better their character. And so, last night was not a fun night in our house.

When they walked in the door tonight, Casey asked me if I was still mad at them. I told her no, but that some things were going to have to change.

And we went about our evening together.

But then I ran errands and when I came home, Casey immediately began nosing through the bag from Target. "Did you get me the glitter night light that I have been wanting?"

Really? I just bagged up all of your worldly possessions 24 hours ago and you are asking me if I have bought you something? Ugh. Shakes head. Sighs. Walks away.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Have You Seen These?

{Charmingly Bright - Cerulean Blue - Necklace $28}
I totally lucked out when I stumbled on these beads. I've ordered more of them because I need one for myself. I think this might be my new favorite necklace.

{Cerulean Blue Earrings $12}

And, of course, there are earrings to match.


{Charmingly Bright - Fabulous Fun - Necklace $28}

And then there's this one. Oh, how I love thee! I love the mix of lime, shades of blue, eggplant purple and maroon.


{Aged Brass Leaf Earrings $8}

Perfect for fall! I, for one, believe that this are a must have!


{Maroon Leaf Earrings $12}

But, then again, perhaps these are your Fall must haves!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Just Random Tidbits

After dinner, (we eat around 4:30 on Saturdays and Sundays...we consider it an early bird special) as the girls were pretending to be snowflakes in the living room...you know waving their arms around in windmill fashion while spinning in circles, Chandler said...

"Oh, we have to stop! We're supposed to be 'Agents of Calm'!"

This is what Chris constantly tells them. Because they constantly get Ike and Quinn crazed. They are the big girls. They are the Agents of Calm.

****

Last night, Chris went in Chan's room and found dog poop strewn about. So he called her in and she told him that the poop had been there for "oh, um, I don't know...a day or so."

Chris told all the children, in a very quiet voice, to leave the room immediately before someone got hurt. Which translates to...before he hurts someone. (And for the record, Chris has only spanked Chandler once in her life. When she was 4 and ran out into the road at the Botanical Gardens.)

She then had the option of a spanking (for knowing the poop was there and not telling anyone, which makes living in our house the same thing as living in squalor) or pulling 300 weeds in the back yard.

She chose the weeds. And no, we didn't really make her pull 300 of them.

****

Quinn now says "I don't know" and "Why?". Of course, you have to be fluent in Quinn Speak to understand this. But he does say them at appropriate times.

Quinn: Shoe?
Me: No, Quinn, you don't need to put shoes on.
Quinn: Why?
Me: You're not going anywhere.
Quinn nods head.

Me: Quinn why are you walking around with the dog's toy in your mouth?
Quinn: I don't know.

****
Conversation at dinner tonight....
Chris: So, do you think you're going to want to be in band in middle school?
Girls: Yep.
Chris: What do you want to play?
Casey: I want to play the clarinet.
Chandler: I would like to play something that isn't a double reed instrument.
(No, I am not making this up. That was her actual response.)
Chris: Most instruments aren't double reeded.
Chandler: Oh. Do they have a key-tar in band?
Chris: A guitar?
Chandler: No, Daddy, a key-tar.
Me: You know, the keyboard strapped on like a guitar. From the 80's.
Chris: Chan, where did you see one of these?
Chan: Yo Gabba Gabba.

****

Today has been a lazy day. Hence the three posts. Mainly because I had $83 left in my checking account and then I spent $78 at the grocery store. So, I was forced to stay at home. This is what happens when you and your spouse both work in education and only get paid once a month. It makes the last few days of a month *awesome*.

But its been a good day. Good and lazy.

Nap Time


As you can see, it was nap time for Quinn and Ike. Chris was really excited about where everyone crashed. Really.


He tried for a little rest for himself. But it didn't quite work out that way. Please note that Quinn is snuggling one of Ike's toys. They are both very good at sharing with each other.


Ike was very pleased with the whole situation.

The Great Saturday Sleep In

We've been struggling with sleep again. (Still?) The other night when it was the full moon, Chan came running into our room, open our door, slammed it shut and climbed in the bed with us. She had had a bad dream. Thank God Ike was crated, because he was ready to attack.

She stayed in bed for 15 minutes and then I had to take Ike out because he wouldn't stop whimpering. Chan went back to her room. The dog went back in his crate. For an hour and then he had to go back out....at 4:30 in the morning. I tried to put him back in the crate, but he wouldn't hear of it. In his half awake state, Chris mumbled, "Just put the dog in the bed with us."

So I did. And found that Ike is a better bedmate than any of our children.

Ike then fell into a middle of the night waking up to get in our bed habit. So last night Chris said, "Just put him in our bed at bedtime. At least we'll be able to sleep through the night."

Only this was not to be. At 3am, Quinn busted into our room and ran right to where the crate should be, patted the floor and began calling out, "Dawg? Dawg?"

When he found that Ike was in our bed, he felt that he should be too. Thus began the Q climbing up, Chris taking him back to the girls' room. Over and over again this happened. Ike never left my side or demanded to be taken out.

At 6:45 I was officially up. Chris came down at 7:30 and I promptly went back to bed. For the first 45 minutes, Q kept barging in, so Chris had a brilliant idea...he would just lock the door...from the inside. And then Chris couldn't wake me up. I slept until 10:30 and I needed every second of it.

Although now I feel all out of sorts and I don't know what to do with myself. Its really too bad that coffee doesn't have a motivation ingredient. I am awake, and I have had some caffeine, but now I am just sitting here, pondering how to make today wonderful.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Certain Songs

You know how certain songs take you back to one specific place and time? I frequently have this happen to me.

Like when the song "Where Its At" by Beck comes on....oh good Lord. Every time, I crank it up and jam out....dancing like you wouldn't believe. (Or, if you know me, perhaps you would believe it.) It takes me back to the summer after I graduated from high school and we would frequent the foam night dance parties at Masquerade in downtown Atlanta. Oh, how I love that song.

Or, "American Girl" by Tom Petty. Again, I am instantly transported to the summer after I graduated. I begged my parents to let me travel to Italy to stay with my grandparents' family for a few weeks...by myself...without anyone that spoke English. For some reason, they said yes. And I flew to Milan. By myself. I was picked up at the airport by cousins that I had never met before. I stayed just outside of Milan with various family members for almost a week, where I spoke no Italian and they spoke very little English. I called my father on day 3 and told him that I had to come home. I would never be fluent in English again and would only be able to speak broken English for the rest of my life. I was sobbing. He told me that he would book a flight for me first thing in the morning. And then I cried even harder, explaining that I couldn't leave because that would be rude. You have to love the mind of a teenager. The next day I was a guest speaker (with a microphone!) at the local elementary school and all was well. The following weekend they took me to stay with my grandmother's brother's family in a small little village in Northern Italy. When they left me there, I cried. I was just getting used to the first family. And then I met my cousin, Noemi and I ended up spending a lot of time at her house. She would run a bubble bath for me in the morning along with a breakfast of hot chocolate and biscotti. Noemi introduced me to her friend, Janette, who was Italian, but had grown up in the U.S. Janette had a son a few years older than me and she forced him to take me out to meet his friends. They all spoke English. And by the end of the trip, I never wanted to leave.

I listened to "American Girl" every morning that I was there. It was my theme song.

"Wide Open Spaces" by The Dixie Chicks...you would swear that I was the 4th member of the group.

"Everyday" by Dave Matthews was what I listened to when I would drive back to the hospital to spend the day with the girls after they were born and still in the NICU.

"The River" by Garth Brooks was what I listened to every morning every morning of my student teaching.

"I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters...I am immediately a child again, walking with my cousin, Geralyn, to the carnival at St. Nick's in Chicago.

"Forever Young" by Rod Stewart...I'm standing at the check out line in KMart explaining to my grandmother that even though I like the song a lot, she doesn't have to buy the tape for me.

Now that I've started, I could go on and on about this. But I'll spare you. This time.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

A Story of Angie and The Pioneer Woman



No. I am (clearly) NOT in these pictures...but do you see Ree, The Pioneer Woman, sitting on the front left? Yes?

She's wearing one of my necklaces. And earrings. But you can't really see those.

Seriously.

And I love her.

Seriously.

So, how 'bout that? *grin*

(I know this really doesn't share a whole lot and I promise to share more on a night when I am not propping my eyelids up with toothpicks. Just sayin.)

Here's the link to the post. Pictures used with Ree's permission.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Hierarchy of Love

In our house there is a definite hierarchy of love. With the girls it goes like this:

1. Meme
2. Mama
3. DoeDoe
4. Aunt Patti
5. Daddy

Now, keep in mind that Chris is the one who takes them and picks them up from school, does homework with them in the afternoons, cooks pancakes with them on the weekends, AND he makes their lunches. Fifth place. Occasionally, he moves up to number 3.

Chris's mantra when I was pregnant with Quinn was, "He will love me best. He will love me best." And that has been his goal since the day Q was born. Tonight after dinner I asked Q who he loved best, Mama, Daddy, Casey or Chandler. His response?

1. Dada
2. Sheshe (and pointed at Casey)
3. Dawg!
4. Meme
5. Pop Pop

Chan and I didn't even make the cut into the Top 5. See if I ever carry that child in my womb again! Humph.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

One of the Many Reasons

This book is one of the many reasons why I have been so slack about posting in the past two days. I couldn't put it down. No. Really. I couldn't put it down.

I am not a great fan of mysteries, nor do I like gore or scary things that are going to keep me up all night or force me to imagine terrible things happening to my children. But Laura Lippman? Yeah. I love her books. And this one is the latest. While I wasn't thrilled with the ending (I was actually somewhat disappointed by it), I love her ability to weave stories together - past and present - her use of language (the ease and flow of it all) and characters...just enough to feel attached to them, but not too much to where you are confused. I would say....4 stars. Considering that I have spent a great amount of time reading Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen to the younger kids at my school lately, it was joyful to read an adult book.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

So I Lied...


....and its all this man's fault. I told you this morning that we weren't going to have big fun today and we did. Our church picnic was this evening at Sandy Creek. We've known about it and decided we weren't going...grocery shopping, yard work, etc...that was what was on the schedule. But first we went to church and sat down next to my dear friend and the first words out of his mouth were "So, you are coming to the church picnic tonight, aren't you?" And I can't say no to this man.

So, we went. And had a great time. Minus the part when one member of our church stepped on a yellow jacket nest and was attacked by an angry swarm of bees. That part wasn't so great. Actually, it was quite frightening and I had never seen anything like it. It was like something straight out of a movie. But, aside from the pain of the stings, he ended up alright. Thank God he wasn't allergic. And thank God he had the sense to run away from the children and the pavilion.

So now my friend knows that I cannot tell him no and he told Casey that whenever she wants something she should come to him first and he would be able to talk me into it. That's nice, huh?

Big Fun Day Ahead!

No, not really. Church (which is kind of big fun) and then grocery shopping. Chris has to cut the grass (if the grass is dry enough).

We are presenting the Children's Church curriculum that Chris wrote after the service today, so I hope that all goes well.

Casey's leg is doing much better. Chandler's attitude and ability to remember things are not. Quinn went peepee twice on the potty on Friday and then refused to at all yesterday.

So, taking life one day at a time seems to be the best plan of all these days.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

My Dogs Are Barkin'

I left the house at 9am and I didn't get home until almost 5:30pm. My mom and I had a long overdue girls' day. Seriously. The last time we went out without children was for my birthday in February (and my aunt was with us, so we decided that didn't count) and before that it had probably been a year or so since we had spent child free time together.

My mom starts a new job on Monday at a law firm and she needed a new wardrobe. I was more than happy to help her spend money. And we did an unbelievably good job of it today! She got slacks and tops and beautiful cardigans and shoes! Oh, the shoes! And the cardigans!

To make a perfect day even more perfect, she treated me to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We splurged and ordered the Avocado Club Eggrolls, Greek Pizza and Spinach and Artichoke Pizza - all for sharing. (And then we stopped by Starbucks before we ended the trip).

It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Dog Training 101



Just in case you were wondering how the dog training is coming along...we've decided to leave Quinn in charge. But he has a little trouble making the "s" sound. I hope its good for a laugh or two...Happy Friday!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

This is the Kind of Mom I am.

The girls started a new year of extracurricular activities tonight. Casey is taking ballet and tap and Chan is beginning her first year of piano.

I take the girls to North Georgia Dance and Music Factory. It is a marvelous place with insanely talented dancers and musicians. They even have two locations and have taught thousands of kids. But to me, it is another place where I am reminded of my childhood and days gone by. It is a place where I feel at home.

See, my childhood friend, Kellee and her group of college peeps - Steve and Allison - started the studio together, eleven years ago. Kellee...who I had sleepovers with and introduced me to Violent Femmes, celebrated holidays together and went on family vacations together, whose mother hosted my bridal brunch...owns the studio that my daughters are now students at.

Last year, I couldn't stop the tears and wept (like a fool) watching through the small window as Casey hung on Kellee's every word and movement of the first day of dance class. I remembered Kellee and I having fashion shows (complete with tight rolled pants) and curling our hair together. And there she was teaching my daughter how to be a graceful, elegant dancer. The tears rolled down my face and my chin quivered.

This year I thought I was better prepared (and Kellee isn't her teacher this year), but I was wrong. They started class in the back studio which was perfect because Chan was right around the corner from it in a music room. I could watch Casey and hear Chan.

Chandler is being taught by Allison. Kellee began bringing Allison home from college on breaks when I was still in high school and we would all hang out together. I don't remember meeting her, it was one of those situations where we were just suddenly friends and knew each other. Allison and I used to operate a two person book club together a few years ago and it was wonderful.

So, there I was, sitting on the bench, watching Casey do her barre exercises and listening to Allison cheer Chandler on as she slowly picked out one note and then another. And I felt my chin start to quiver. Casey, in her black leotard, stretching and bending and I remembered the countless evenings that I spent going through warm ups at the barre...how beautiful I felt...tall and thin and graceful. And now I sat there watching my daughter and I could tell that she had the same sense of pride as a dancer as I did when I danced.

In the middle of these thoughts, I would hear Allison's voice again and Chan laughing and I thought of all of the memories I have of Allison and how we just always pick up wherever we left off. And she loves my daughters and I know that she is going to take care of Chan and encourage her and praise her and push her to be her best.

I felt lucky. Blessed. Perhaps slightly hormonal. And definitely ridiculous. I have never cried on the first day of school, but apparently, now that it has happened two years in a row, I cry on the first day of dance and music. This is the kind of mom I am.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Hooray for the Leg!

Good News! They're not going to have to amputate Casey's leg!!!

Ok. They weren't ever going to have to amputate, but the way that she carried on about the lancing you would have thought they were preparing to amputate. Without putting her to sleep. Or giving her morphine. Just, you know, cutting it off...like she was a Civil War soldier.

The infection is much better, but we have to continue with both the oral and topical antibiotics AND the twice a day warm soaks in the bathtub. She is very much in love with the soaking and announces, "I'm going to take my soak now," like she's some kind of diva. Oh, wait, we ARE talking about Casey.

Quinn is up to his old shenanigans. For a few nights, he was going to sleep with the girls, but still coming downstairs between 9pm and 10:30pm. Chris or I would sternly tell him, "Quinn! Go to bed!" without looking at him. We didn't want him to feel welcome or that we were excited to see him. We would go through this several times in an evening. And then he would go back to bed with sisters and make it through the night and get a prize in the morning for not sleeping with mom and dad.

But that has worn off and tonight he is back to his original antics. Our house = very *exciting* place!

There's No Place Like Home


Have you seen this? I am in love. I keep thinking about all of my friends who have children going away to college...

And then of course there is the fact that even though I was having a pity party for myself last night over ridiculous things, at least I could, because I was at home. And all of those annoying little things...they are what make my home mine.

That and Chris's delicious cooking. Have I told you about the marinated chicken that he made Sunday night with rice and a big huge salad? It was outstanding.

I digress.

I think I might need one of these necklaces. And you might need one too. Here's the link to the lovely Crystal B's shop!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I am tired today.

There was a point this evening when I thought that it would be best if I just sat in the middle of the upstairs hallway, surrounded by my clean (but unfolded) pile of laundry and cry.

Do you have those days?

Ike and Q just wanted to hump my pile of clean clothes. Casey was moving from the shower to her warm soak and Chandler? Well, Chan was standing at the top of the stairs, singing, while everyone else was yelling at the dog and the boy and my clean clothes were being pressed into tee tiny little wrinkles.

In approx. 18 seconds my world went from calm to complete chaos. And I wanted to cry. Period.

Monday, August 16, 2010

I May Have Gotten a Little Carried Away






Check the shop over the next couple of days...they'll be there!

A Story About Casey's Leg

As I mentioned yesterday, Casey has an infection on her leg. Its on her upper thigh area and she told me last night (when it was too late to go to the immediate care) that she couldn't wear panties. Um, well, that's not good.

So, this morning, I took her to the pediatrician, where the nurse practitioner (who we completely love) took a look at her leg. Wait, back up...

When we pulled into the parking lot, I noticed that all of the windows to the waiting room were wide open. We live in Georgia. Its 90 degrees and steamy here already today. Having the windows open? Yeah, usually not your first choice.

When I signed her in, the receptionist told me that their air conditioning units had been stolen yesterday. Stolen. Who steals air conditioning units??? (My mother informed me that drug addicts steal them to sell the copper wiring. Um, ok.)

So anywho, the nurse practitioner took a look...and made the same face that I made last night when I saw it. My immediate reaction was that it needed to be lanced and drained. Perhaps I should have gone into the medical field because that is exactly what she thought too. So she said this. Out loud. Where Casey could hear her.

I'm sure I've mentioned it a time or two, but Casey is terrified of the doctor. She is also a horrible patient. Not only does she scream at the top of her lungs, but she also fights whoever is trying to do whatever to her. Shots for kindergarten? Yeah, Chris and a nurse had to lay down on top of her.

So we calmly explained that she was going to make a small opening with a needle and get all of the yucky stuff out. It would hurt less than shots. Casey wasn't buying it.

She began screaming bloody murder, and hyperventilating. I tried to calm her and reassure her, bribe her...absolutely nothing worked. So then we moved to scare tactics and guilt.

You're scaring the other children here. There are babies and they are scared because you are screaming.

If don't let her drain it, you'll have to go to the hospital and they'll put a needle in your arm and leave it there.

At this point she was screaming things like...

I feel like I have to run!!!!!

I have to go potty! I have to go potty!

I am so nervous!

I'm going to have bad dreams!

Don't! Don't! No! No! No! No!

I wish I was Chandler! I wish I was Chandler!

Then she would get creepy calm and say, "This is making me have to go potty. Can I go to the bathroom for a minute?"

Um, nice try, but no.

First the nurse practitioner tried to press it with a Q-tip (with Casey screaming, "Q-tips don't Huuuuuuuurrrrrrttttt!!!!!") but really needed to use the needle. At that point, Casey clenched her whole body and twisted her legs up around each other so that you would need the jaws of life to get to the wound.

Please keep in mind that they had no air conditioning. I kept having to wipe my upper lip so that the sweat wouldn't drip into my mouth. It was awesome.

Casey asked again to go the bathroom. The nurse practitioner explain that she was sitting on a pad and if she had to pee pee a little bit it would be ok. Casey responded with, "Well, how do you feel about poop?"

It became clear that the nurse practitioner wasn't going to be able to do any more. So she stopped, wrote us a prescription for an oral and topical antibiotic, instructed us to have Casey soak in a warm bath twice and day and we have an appointment to come back on Wednesday afternoon. If it doesn't look any better, she may have to send us to a surgeon to get it drained.

All I have to say is that Chris is taking her to the next appointment.

We left our little room and walked back to the receptionist's area to pay. Casey insisted on going out to the waiting room to use the bathroom out there. And then she threw up. All over the carpeted floor in the waiting room. In a place with no air conditioning.

And this is why we are their *favorite* patients.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

These Are the Children I Love

These are the children that I love. Look at how sweet they are to each other. I could seriously eat them up. In this picture, I see all of the gloriously good things about them - politeness, kindness, helpfulness...

I even love these kids. When they are a little silly and wacky. I still want to claim them as my own.

But there are days when I am not really sure why I thought having children was a good idea. And I really can't remember why having 3 was a good idea. I mean, it was an accident that I got pregnant the first time and then it ended up being twins, so I was stuck with two no matter what, but we made a conscious decision to have a 3rd. Like, "Hey, I think a third child would be a good choice and now would be a good time." I think those words actually came out of our mouths. Well, maybe just my mouth, but Chris didn't argue.

But there are days when my patience is completely gone. Days when I feel like a broken record...flush the toilet...hang up your towel...flush the toilet...hang up your towel. Ugh. Days when just having them walk into a room irritates me because I know I am going to hear things like this:
So, what can we do?
Can we watch TV?
Can we make something?
Can we visit Meme?
Can we go to the mall?
When are we going back to Disney World?

Do you notice a pattern? Because, believe me, I sure do. And it irritates me. Especially when there is a whole laundry list of things that need to be done but I feel like I am just trying to make it through the day, the hour, the next 15 minutes...hell, just making it through the next 5 would be good, without crying.

And then when you throw in things like something is infected on Casey's leg (I have no idea what it is...I took tomorrow off so that I can take her to the doctor), the dog poops in Chandler's room because she can't remember to close her door and Quinn....well, Quinn does something like this....



....down every spindle of our stairs and then leaves the blue crayon on the floor for the dog to eat. Well, let's just say, today has been enough.

And now I need to scroll back up and look at the first picture to remind myself that these are the children that I love.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

This is the Last Time...

...that I am going to talk about Q and his sleeping issues. At least for this weekend. Perhaps next week as well. But probably not for forever.

At bedtime, he was fairly excited to be going to sleep with his sisters. And his sisters were actually pretty excited about him sleeping with them. We thought for sure this would be a success. But, at 10:00pm he proved us wrong. We heard Casey's door slam. We heard him go bounding down the upstairs hallway, sliding on his bottom down the stairs - thump, thump, thump - racing through the foyer and then his applause for himself as he entered the living room. "Show? Show?" was his way of greeting us...asking to watch a show on TV. We repeatedly told him no and gave him a choice - he could sleep with sisters or he could sleep in his big boy bed in his big boy room. "Show? Show?" Clearly, we weren't getting anywhere. This continued for about 30 minutes.

So Chris carried him back upstairs and asked him again. No decision was made (he was holding out for door #3), so Chris put him in his bed and locked the door behind him. (We, long ago, turned the knob so the lock was on the outside of the door. We typically lock him in at bedtime and then unlock it when we go to bed.)

Quinn has received these really fabulous traits from Chris and I. He is truly a mix of the two of us.

1. From Chris he received his desire to never sleep alone. Chris was famous as a child for poking his little fingers out from under the door and saying, "Is anybody out there? Its me, Chris Pendley. I'm still awake."
2. From me he received his ability to throw the world's worst temper tantrum. I came to a new understanding the other night, as I listened to him scream and throw himself into the door in his room (this was a night when we were going up every 15 minutes to check on him) how a. I broke my leg throwing a temper tantrum when I was 18 months old and b. how my mother spanked me and put me to bed, therefore, not knowing my leg was broken until the next morning. True story. And by then, my leg was too swollen for the doctor to do anything. So my mom had to spend the day icing my leg and took me back the following day for them to re-break and cast my leg. I spent the summer toddling around in a walking cast. Quinn throws the same, bone shattering, temper tantrums.

So, with the mix of these two genetic traits, we have one *awesome* child on our hands.

Back to last night...Chris locked him in and we prepared ourselves for the worst. The worst amounted to over 3 hours of continuous screaming. At the top of his lungs. And banging on the door. And throwing things. Several times when Chris went in, he found Quinn standing on his bed, screaming at full volume, with his eyes closed, swaying in the dark. He just refused to lay down.

Eventually, he fell asleep. And then Ike woke up at 5:30am. I took him outside, fed him breakfast, we played, and Chandler came downstairs at 6am. I sent her back up. She came down again at 6:30. Again, I told her to go back to bed. Ike and I went back up shortly after this. I had a crazy hope that maybe I could go back to sleep. But then both the girls were up and Ike could hear them and so....big sigh...I spent some time laying in the bed, shushing the dog while cursing my children.

At 9am, Chris went and woke Quinn up with a prize for sleeping in his bed. We're prepared to do it all again tonight. But I won't bore you with the story tomorrow.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Our First Official Date

This is Part VIII...you can find Part VII here.

We dropped the girls off at my parents' house and, lucky Chris, he got to meet my mom and stepdad. On our first official date. Because, you know, that's really fun and puts you right at ease.

But, anywho, so we dropped the girls off and since we were already in Gwinnett, decided to spend some time at Jillian's. You know, arcade games, skee ball, and one of my most favorite games in the world, air hockey. (I should really write a whole post on air hockey. I feel one coming on soon!) We laughed the whole time and had such great fun. I became slightly addicted to that game where you drop the coin in and then the arm skims over the top of the coins to push some over the edge. Only none of them ever actually go over the edge. I'm convinced that it is really just an optical illusion.

Jillian's is in a mall, so from there, we headed out to window shop. And then we decided to go furniture shopping. Were we actually going to buy any furniture? No. But, I feel very strongly that you can tell a lot about a person by their likes and dislikes in furniture.

Take, for example, my cousin James. He has a glass coffee table. You aren't allowed to put your feet on it. Ever. I would never own a glass coffee table for this very reason. He also doesn't have any children, so the glass coffee table is really more of a lifestyle statement for him. It says, "I am the cleanest bachelor you will ever meet. So clean that I am not worried about having a glass coffee table because there are no smudges in my life." A glass coffee table in my house would make this statement, "I clearly had too many glasses of wine before I went furniture shopping and made some poor decisions." Just sayin.

But I digress.

So, there we were at the furniture store, testing out all of the couches, recliners and beds and ooohhhing and ahhhhing over the fancy bookcases. We had the same taste in just about everything....clean lines, sometimes a little funky or modern, but always functional and practical. We held hands. We laughed some more. We had a ridiculously good time in a furniture store where we weren't going to buy anything.

And I knew that this was for real. And I knew that he knew that this was for real.

(The strange thing about all of this is that since that first furniture store date, Chris and I have rarely agreed on furniture choices when we were actually in a position to buy something. He likes to tell me no. So I drag him from store to store, spend hours showing him various websites and force him to take catalogs to the bathroom with him so that he can inspect my dog eared pages, until I wear him down. I save my first choice for last. Perhaps you shouldn't mention this to Chris.)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hallelujah!

Because not only do I talk about my children's bowel movements, I also talk about my dog's....Hallelujah! Ike has had solid poops for 2 days now! You have no idea the fear that Chris and I had that Ike was going to get really sick and die. That would be 10 trillion times worse to have to deal with for the girls than just not having a dog at all was.

So, to celebrate (and also to get some bitter apple spray to help curb the nipping) Ike and I had a little outing to the Petsmart. And let me just tell you, he is the BEST dog in the whole wide world. He was a million times better behaved in the store than any of my children. He made friends with other dogs, he let people pet him, he licked the cashier, AND he even picked out a surprise without having a difficult time making a decision or pitching a fit. It was one of the best shopping experiences I've ever had. Ok, that might be taking it a little far...but it was highly enjoyable.

In other news...
Quinn.....went....peepee....on the potty!!! This morning, while I was in the bathroom he pointed to his diaper and then to the little potty. So I asked him if he needed to use the potty, he replied, "yeah" (think Rain Man)...I ripped off the diaper, he had a seat and out same the peepees!

So, everything seems to be coming out just fine in our house!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Perhaps a Stick Pin or Two


Aunt Patti, (you know, the one who had the birthday this week??) requested vintage pins for her birthday. So, I made her a couple of stick pins and a really fantastic HUGE brooch. I was really excited about them. AND there will be some in the shop later tonight. Or perhaps tomorrow. We'll see.

We've spent 6 weeks...

...spending half of the night awake with Q. At first, we tried to get him to go back to his bed. We were adamant about not sharing our bed with children. But then we went back to work and, well, we had to rethink things. So now he is sleeping with us. Except for at 4am when (for the past 3 nights) he has decided that he should try and escape our room in search of his sisters. This is how it goes down.

First, Q bolts up in bed. He wipes his sleepy eyes and looks around. "Sheshe? Sheshe?" (Which is his pronunciation of both Sissy and Casey. He doesn't even attempt Chandler. And he calls the Sissy and Casey interchangeably.) Then he scoots to the bottom of the bed, flips over onto his belly and scales down the comforter. He races, while stomping, across the floor to the door, now shouting, "Sheshe! Sheshe!" Chris stomps after him and grabs hold of him just as Q opens the door. At this point, the dog and I are also wide awake, and now Quinn is screaming, "No! No! Shesheeeeee!"

Its fantastic. No, really. We spent 5 weeks trying to get Quinn to leave our room, and now we are trying to get him to stop leaving our room.

In other news... (And heads up...if you're a boy or if you don't like talking/reading about feminine issues, then perhaps you shouldn't continue reading)

So, in the spring, I began to have conversations with the girls about their period. These were some of the finer points...
  • this won't happen until you are a little older
  • blood will come out of your vagina
  • it is what helps you be able to have a baby (when you are much, much older)
  • it happens once a month
  • We're talking about this because I don't want you to freak out when it happens and think that you are dying.
I started really young and had no idea what was going on. So I figured it was better to be early than late with this conversation. Yesterday, Chan brought it up again...

Chan: Mama, how old were you when you got your period?
Me: 10. Why?
Chan: Whew! So I still have some time!
Me: Why are you asking?
Chan: Well I've been really worried that blood might start gushing out of my bagina, all over my pants in front of everybody. And gosh, that would be, like, totally embarrassing.
Me: Well, I think you're okay. And the blood doesn't usually "gush" out of your "VAgina."
Chan: Whew! Well, glad we had this talk, Mama.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

A Post Dedicated to Molly and Jules

{Juli and Molly, NYC 2010}

Ok, so August 11 is Molly's Birthday. I always think of Juli's birthday as also being August 11 (don't ask me why, its just the way it is...even though I now have facebook to remind me that hers is actually the 6th). So, because tomorrow is Mo's birthday and I somehow missed Juli's, I am just going to dedicate my whole post to these two fabulous ladies...lump them together. Its ok to do that, they're used to it...they were roommates for a long time.

These are my girls. You know, those ladies in your life that you can not talk to in months and months and everything just picks right back up like not a day was missed? Those ladies that you know you can call for something completely ridiculous at 2 in the morning and they will either laugh or cry with you depending on what your need is? Those ladies that are just, well, there, through phases of your life when you need them the most? Molly and Jules? Yep, that's who they are to me.

Molly has been a part of my life since the high school days. We used to drive a stupid long way to go and shop at the Container Store. For what? I have no idea. We both still lived at home. We would also venture into the big city together...dancing, coffee, strange parties with college boys.

Molly is notoriously late. With everything. Arriving places, making phone calls, sending in paperwork. So it really was the luck of the draw by the time she sent in her roommate application before her freshman year at UGA. She ended up being the luckiest person on campus when Jules was assigned to be her roommate.

And this is how Juli came into my life. As my best friend's roommate. But in the (gasp!) 15 years since then, she has made it onto my list of all time favorite people. (Its a seriously high honor to make it onto that list. People hang around me for years hoping to make it onto the list.)

And so, ladies, I hope that you have (had) an outstanding birthday! I am so glad to be able to call you my friends.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Aunt Patti!


{Uncle Russ, Me, Aunt Patti 2006}

Tomorrow is my Aunt Patti's 60th Birthday. Perhaps I shouldn't tell her age, but I guess its a little late for that. Here are some interesting little tidbits that you may or may not want to know...
  • When I was in kindergarten, my Aunt bought me my very own walkman and Madonna's Like A Virgin tape. I was in Heaven...strutting my stuff and singing my little heart out.
  • Around that same time, I was obsessed with my Aunt's braces. I was in love with them. I wanted them. I needed them. So when she had them taken off, she saved them in a box and she gave them to me. (Yes, I know how weird this makes me. But it is also a perfect illustration of her love for me.)
  • Even though I would kick her in the head, she always let me sleep in her bed for spend the night parties.
  • She made tapes of all of her Beatles music for me when I was in elementary school...just so I could sing along with her in the car.
  • She took me to Ravinia Park outside of Chicago every chance she got so that I could hear the symphony (along with Davey Jones and Tony Bennett).
  • She let me order an espresso with dinner in Morocco at Epcot when I was in 5th grade. And then let me order something else when I realized how awful it was.
  • She saw every play that I was in in high school.
  • She saw every recital I ever danced in.
  • She was here for the birth of the girls.
  • She never questioned when I wanted a tamale and a milkshake for lunch.
  • Chandler's middle name is Patricia...after her.
My aunt has always been there for me. She has always listened. She was always there to wrap her arms around me and dry my tears. I could call her (or my uncle) whenever - no matter the time of day - and for any reason...they would always answer. And now she is doing the same for my children as she did for me...and I love her even more for it.

Even though I can't be there for it, I hope that she has the best birthday ever known to man...because she deserves it. I love you, Aunt Patti.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

A Day to Remember

At the beginning of June, Chris and I entered the sanctuary at church to find an elderly gentleman (with his cane) sitting all alone in our pew. Not that we have assigned seats or anything, but we do sit in the same place week after week. In the 4th pew, just in front of JoBeth and Lew. We like it there. We didn't know if he was waiting for someone, so, we sat in front of him. I turned around, shook his hand and introduced myself. He was very nice, greeted me back and told me how excited he was to be visiting our church. And then the service began and I stopped chit chatting.

We typically run out after church to pick Q up from the nursery, which is just what we did on that particular Sunday. After rounding up all of our kids and herding them out to the parking lot to load them into the van, we noticed that the elderly gentleman was parked next to us. He remained by himself and slowly crossed the lot using his quad footed cane. He wore a full suit which hung on his thin and frail frame.

I called to him and thanked him for visiting. I asked if he enjoyed the service. He stopped to talk to us. We stood there in the parking lot, the Georgia heat rising off the black asphalt, making us glow with sweat. He shared with us that he had been a professor for 40 years at the University. His home backed up to Memorial Park. He had been married for 69 years and lost his wife in April. They had been wanting to visit our church, for they both enjoyed our pastor's column in the local paper, but she died before they had the opportunity. He told us about her memorial service and that she had donated her body to Emory. His son also lives in Athens and is a Yoga instructor. He spent some time in a wheel chair earlier in the year and was glad to be walking again. We spoke with him for almost half an hour and then we parted ways and drove home.

I couldn't stop talking about him after that initial meeting. He was so fascinating and kind. I was worried about him and how he was dealing with his wife's passing. I felt like God had led him to us and that we needed to do something. He had been a professor of religion...with no church home. I can't explain it in any other way than that I felt he belonged to us and that we were meant to be his church family.

I called JoBeth when we got home to see if she had his visitor's information. She emailed it to me and I sent him a card letting him know that we enjoyed meeting him and that I hoped to see him again. Part of me wanted to hunt him down and force him into joining us for dinner. I worried that we might never see him again and that our thirty minutes in the parking lot would haunt me forever and I would wonder what ever happened to him.

We already knew that we would not be a church for the following two weeks due to prior engagements (recital...trip to Chicago). And so each Sunday evening I called my mother-in-law or Frankie to ask if my friend had been there. And he had. My heart was joyful and relieved.

In July, he became a member of our church.

Today, when Chris and I sat down next to him in the pew that we now share, he announced that he was treating our family to lunch and following lunch we were to come over to his home for dessert. It was one of the best afternoons that I have ever had. Seriously. The girls were wonderful...he turned on music at his house and the three of them danced together, he laughed and clapped his hands. He gave me a copy of the eulogy that he had written for his wife. He also gave me a print out from Amazon of the books that he has published and jokingly told me that I am supposed to buy 10 of each of them.

Tonight, as I wrote out my thank you note to him, I thanked God for bringing this man into our lives. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I am sure that this man is supposed to be a part of it.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

And Then We Were Dating

This is Part VII...part VI can be found here.

So I came home from Chicago. And he came over. We talked about my trip, drank wine and listened to a Joe Cocker CD that was left on repeat. (I do love Joe Cocker. Just sayin.) And we talked about us.

I was nervous about a new relationship. The previous boyfriend and I had been together for over a year and it was complicated. I knew that he loved me, but I wasn't really sure that he loved my kids. Like "wants to be their dad" kind of love. That was a problem, because whoever I ended up with would need to treat the girls as theirs, adopt them and never see them as just being "my kids." It was a requirement...because in the girls' lives, that man would be all that they had. Their biological father was not a part of us, so they could never be treated like stepchildren. And, to top it off, Chandler had begun to ask "Where's my daddy?" And I would respond, "Remember, Honey, I'm your mommy and your daddy." And then she would counter, "But where's the boy daddy?"

Amazingly enough, Chris did not run for the hills after this conversation.

So, we decided to date. Really. It was a conscious decision and not one that was made lightly. I was not about to get into a relationship and bring another man into the girls' lives unless I thought it would amount to something.

Then, somehow, we saw each other everyday. I would call and he would come over. Just like that. But we felt that perhaps an actual "First Date" was in order. So I called my mother to ask if she would babysit.

Me: Mom, I have a date Friday night. Can you guys watch the girls?
Mom: Really? And who would you be going on a date with? (to be read with a shocked tone, not mocking or sarcastic.)
Me: Chris. You know, the student teacher.
Mom: Chris the Student Teacher? Are you sure that's a good idea? Isn't he a little young for you?
Me: Mom. Seriously?
Mom: Well, I'm just saying, didn't he just graduate from college? Aren't you a little old for that crowd?
Me: Mom. He's 26.
Mom: Oh. Well I had no idea.

Babysitter arranged? Check.

Stories About Ike and Quinn.

Ike continues to be sick. I called the vet yesterday morning and went to pick up another round of medicine and fancy food for him. What this really means is that he has to be taken outside constantly. And because he is not quite housebroken, he has really horrible accidents. Last week, he was the perfect night time dog. This week...ugh. He needs to go out approx every 2 hours. And I can't blame him; I would have to go every 2 hours too if I were him.

And then throw Q into the mix. He has been our bedmate for a good, solid, 6 weeks now. To begin with, he would slam doors and talk to us and then we would spend all night trying to convince him to stay in his bed. We've given up. This past week he has been quietly opening and closing doors between his room and ours and then scaling up from the bottom of our bed and sleeping in between us. Some nights we have no idea when he decided to join us. So, its really not all that bad. Except for last night...when he slept horizontally across Chris's pillow. And Chris forgot he was there and tried to pull the pillow to him. In doing so, he flipped Q off the bed into the dresser. Awesome. He has a minor head wound now. He keeps walking around holding his head and I have taught him to respond yes when I ask him if Daddy did that to him.

Ike has kind of become a brute with the children. Again, I can't really blame him. He likes to nip at Q's diaper (which is eye level for him, so that's understandable) and attack the girls' clothes as they walk by. We've taught them to stand still, cross their arms and look up. Supposedly, ignoring him is supposed to make him stop. Really though, all it does is excite him even more because his prey is now standing still. The only good news in this is that Ike is only 9 lbs and the highest place he can reach on them is their butts. But, this does make the girls afraid and they now spend a good majority of their time avoiding the dog that they so desperately wanted. Any advice?

On the agenda for this weekend? Grocery shopping, cleaning the bathrooms, laundry and Chris is going to help Nick with some painting. We're nothing if not exciting!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Sometimes...

...Ike just has to take a rest. Nipping at Quinn's diaper and pooping in Chan's room really takes a lot out of him. Typically when I am on the computer, this is the position that he's in. I can't blame him though, I think I would like to be in that position more often than I am.

The girls had a GREAT first day of 3rd Grade! According to them, it was AWESOME! Whew! I am so glad that the year has gotten off to a good start for them. Chris also had a great first day...if you were wondering. I don't know if he would call it AWESOME, but good none the less.

And now for this...
Can I just say that I love a good animal print? I really do. And I know that I am not the only one. (If you think that I am, please keep that thought to yourself.) I love this necklace. Seriously. I envision it with something classic and simple (because when it comes to animal prints, you really don't want to over do it) - like a white shirt and brown skirt, or that perfect black dress. I once had these fantastic animal print ballet flats that would have been dreamy with this necklace. Only then I got pregnant. And my feet became swollen Fred Flinstone feet. And then I had the boy and my feet returned to normal...only is was a new normal and my fantastic flats were too tight. So I had to give them away. It was a sad day. But I digress...

I am serious about this...check out this necklace in my etsy shop (look over to the right - there's a link). I think you will fall in love too.

In a Treasury!


This one has made it in a treasury! Yay! You can check it out here!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Have You Seen This?



This is my latest design. And I am in love. Just so you know. Its the same style as the Charmingly Bright necklaces, but this one has these FANtastic black and white glass beads. Can we say Georgia Game accessory??? And just wait until you see the other funky fresh necklaces that I am going to post this weekend....yay!

1st Day of Third Grade


{Quinn, Chandler and Casey - An American Gothic pose}

And this, my friends, is why I am so grateful to Frankie for her Back to School Bash on Monday...the horrors of 1st day of school pictures...bad lighting, 6:30am, Quinn running in and out of the frame... Really, just hideous. But here they are...


{I love how they are slightly holding hands in this one.}

{Quinn, wanting to be apart of the hugging.}




Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Third Grade

Tonight the girls asked me if I loved being in third grade when I was a kid. Um, no. But I couldn't say that to them. They are a nervous wreck about the first day of school as it is.

"Of course! Third grade was awesome!"

But it wasn't. It was my worst year ever. Third grade was when you learned multiplication tables and I was terrible at them. We had a whole wall display with numbers from 0 to 12 listed vertically, a mural of the sky and we each had a paper cut out of a hot air balloon that we had decorated and put our names on. All of our hot air balloons started on zero and every day we took a timed quiz. If we passed, then our teacher (her name was Miss Martin and she had long blond hair) would make a big production out of moving our hot air balloon up to the next number. And then the next day the whole process repeated itself, taking the next quiz, and moving your hot air balloon. It was the first thing that we did every morning. So, needless to say, we all studied like maniacs the night before and then crammed every little math fact that we could on the bus ride to school. We walked down the halls chanting, "Two times two is four! Two times three is six! (etc. etc.)," ready to kick that quiz's rear end.

I did fine until I encountered the 8's. The 8's were not very friendly to me and by Christmas, we were not even on speaking terms. Week after week, my hot air balloon stayed on the 8's. I watched in sorrow as everyone else passed me. I gave up on math all together. I hated it. I hated multiplication. I hated hot air balloons. I hated Miss Martin. And I hated 3rd grade.

And so, there was no way that I could answer the girls' question honestly this evening. But, we have practiced multiplication all summer, so I think that they will be just fine. :)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

I've Hit a New Standard for Tired

Seriously. Dear Jesus I am tired! Exhausted. Pooped, if you will.

I forgot what the beginning of a school year is like. And my brain felt like it was in neutral for a good portion of the day. Even though I have been up around 7am for over a week now, I usually have a cup of coffee, putz around on the computer, wrestle with children and the dog and shower around, oh, I don't know...10am. So it was a rude awakening to be up and at 'em at 6. I firmly believe that anything before 8 is just cruel. In case you were wondering.

We went to the girls' open house tonight and are very excited about their teachers this year (as we are every year). Casey is beside herself because her best friend (who has been in her class for both 1st and 2nd grade) is not in her class this year. And, to top it off, Chan has tons of friends in her class. So, its just not fair.

But now, I have a mountain of paperwork to fill out. So I must go. And sadly, this means that I am also back to one (maybe 2) posts a day. I know how exciting it was for all of us to have 4 posts in a day.

Oh, and ps - I have a giveaway here tomorrow! Yes, I am a giveaway fool these days. I don't know really how that happened!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Back to School Bash


The girls went to Frankie's yesterday after church for their last sleep over of the summer sleepover and the Back to School Bash at Frankie's studio today. I am so excited about these pictures because they got to wear their 1st day of 3rd grade outfits! The Bash was a perfect idea, because, I don't know about you, but we spend all this time (and money) to find the most wonderful 1st day of school outfits and then the pictures taken that morning are terrible...all sleepy-eyed and whatnot. So these pictures....they're pretty much my dream come true.


{Chandler and Casey, August 2010}


{Chandler, August 2010}


{Casey, August 2010}

Ike Update

So, poor Ike, he has coccidia. I had to say this word all the way home to myself in the car so as to not get it confused with chlamydia. Which is definitely NOT what he has. Essentially its a parasite. And since he's a shelter dog, it shouldn't be that surprising. So now, we have an arsenal of medication to give him. Like, he pretty much needs his own shelf in the medicine cabinet. But I am glad that she went ahead and gave him stuff for worms (just to be on the safe side) and something to replace the good bacteria in his gut and lots of other stuff. He is pretty pathetic today.

And I have a feeling that he is going to be even more pathetic when we ALL go back to work tomorrow.

The vet also gave me a card to a dog trainer in the area. She said that it was a very "family friendly" place and that we could all bring our lawn chairs and to be a part of the dog's training. While these is a nice idea, I think the other clients might ask for a refund if Q showed up at the sessions.


A Little Etsy Love Giveaway!

Have you checked out this website, A Little Etsy Love? Well, you totally should! It is one of my favorites...AND there is a giveaway from moi on there right now! Go. Hurry. Enter!

Ike and the Terrible PooPoos

Ike slept like a champ last night. And didn't wake up when Q came barging in our room at the butt crack of dawn this morning. Nor did he stir when Chris got up to get ready or when Chris and the boy left.

I woke up 30 minutes later and took the good boy outside. And *this could be TMI, or perhaps not appropriate if you have a weak stomach* his pooh came shooting out like water from a hose! Holy schnikes! I am not even kidding you. Believe me, I wish I was. And he really couldn't believe it either.

He didn't finish his breakfast and is now curled up on the couch next to me, back asleep. Houston, we have a problem.

So, considering that I have a leadership meeting today at work and tomorrow is when my official pre planning begins, I think I will be heading to the vet this morning and not waiting to see if it clears up.

It is also gray and cloudy and cold outside. I guess the weather gods are just trying to really reinforce the idea that this is the end of summer for us.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

There's a New Chef in Town


After his bath last night, he decided that he wanted to do a little cooking. I'm not sure that I would recommend eating at this particular restaurant.


Because if you will notice, Q is naked under that apron.


I'm not sure that cooking in the nude is something that we want our children to do.


After preparing an after dinner, dinner for everyone, Q decided that he wanted to do some naked dancing on the side of the couch.


Ike was seriously bored by all of this.