Thursday, November 12, 2009

Trick or Treat



Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat
Give me something good to eat!
(please and thank you)

"How"


"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair;
that I might climb the golden stair."


We set out w/ nothing but an empty bag and a promise of free candy!
I'm so glad we were able to spend the evening with Shannon, Liz, Drew and baby Maddy!
This was our second Halloween w/ them and I look forward to many more.
I spent most of the evening picking up "plugs" of Ella's hair off the ground and lost track of how many times I had to say, "It's just a silly, plastic mask."



The evening began w/ a spooky dinner & ended with sweet, chocolate faces being carried to bed.
(actually it ended w/ Heath swiping all of the kit kats from their bags while they slept...SHHHH!)




Pumpkin Patch

We had our first field trip ~ off to Stoney Creek Farm for fall fun. Ella's friends, Logan and Sarah Grace, are officially in Kindergarten and are homeschooled. Ella, however; is unofficially in Kindergarten and I unofficially homeschool her until she can officially go to Kindergarten next year. She loves to learn ~ it's just that little issue of her being born a couple of weeks too late for school cutoff. Mondays' are Ella's favorite day of school because we "co-op" w/ Logan and Sarah Grace's moms (Carrie and Debra). We thought it would be fun to start planning activities for them to really make their school experience....well, .......official.



Logan, Sarah Grace, Ella and Lawson (Sarah Grace's little brother, who, until just recently, Ella thought was named "Blossom") by the pond at Stoney Creek Farm.



They played in the straw maze, climbed on the straw pile, ran through the caterpillar, enjoyed a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, ate lunch together, petted a farm cat and jumped on a big, bouncy floor. The day couldn't have been any more wonderful and the weather was fabulous! It turned out to be the perfect first field trip.

This is the farm cat that we couldn't tear the kids away from ~ seriously, we just paid for tickets for the attractions and they wanted to play with a cat..... He was really cute though.....And super sweet. He just laid there and savored the attention. Look at that cutesie wootsie wittle kitty face ~ I just want to dwive to get him and bwing him home..... UH HMM, sorry.
Jumping was the perfect ending because it seemed to tire the kids just enough so that they left with a sense of having experienced all there was to do!
Thank you Debra and Carrie ~ I can't wait until our Thanksgiving feast!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

"My nose hurt, so I put ranch dressing on it!"

Ella

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Spider Man

Last Wednesday Heath noticed a spot on his thumb ~ no bigger than a mosquito bite. On Thursday morning he asked me for a straight pin so he could perform a minor surgery on it to relieve it of the crud (Gross). Later that afternoon I get a call from him saying that on the recomendation of everyone at work, he was going to go to the E.R. to have it looked at because his thumb had swollen and there were red streaks going up his arm.

He doesn't know what happened and doesn't remember seeing any suspicious poisenous spiders lurking up his sleeves ~ although he did feel the need to inform the doctors and nurses that a turtle (apparently in desperate need of a pedicure) had scratched him.

The E.R. treated him w/ some antibiotics, wrote a couple scripts and sent him on his way...("Don't let the door hit ya....)

Friday morning he woke up and his hand looked like he was wearing a baseball mitt (each time I tell this story the thumb gets a little bigger ~ but truely ~ it was bad). He went to our family Dr., she took one look at him and began filling out the paperwork to have him admitted.

He had some sort of bacterial infection ~ they can't pinpoint where it would have come from ~ and it spread! They put him on the strongest antibiotics known to man and it finally started to slowly clear up. Sure, he has absolutely no immune system now, but his thumb is looking better!

All in all he was in the hospital for 5 days....for a dot that started out the size of a freckle. And apparently I am the only person in the world who had never heard of a brown recluse spider because that is the first thing that people would ask when they found out about him. I guess it wouldn't matter if I knew what one looked like anyway, because when I see a spider I never stick around long enough to notice it's distinguishing marks!

I am now closely monitoring his behavior to make sure he doesn't start climbing walls and shooting stringy stuff out of his wrists ~ if he does he is out of here because I already have enough trouble keeping up w/ cobwebs.

The girls are very glad he is home ~ although Ella was enjoying swiping food from his meals and watching the fun t.v. that swivelled on the wall.

Tonight as Heath was getting ready to put the girls in bed Marley hugged him and said, "The family feels right again."

All bitterness aside that he had the past 5 nights off duty ~ I'm glad you are home and feeling better.

Friday, May 1, 2009

On the Lam

Where does the time go? I haven't blogged in forever because I always feel like I have to ad a picture to go along and I never feel like loading them. I will get pics soon, but I at least wanted to "Holla at cha'" and say that we are all well. I am also trying to SIMPLIFY my life (ironically, a very difficult thing to do). Basically I need to cut out all of the meaningless errands and things that get me sidetracked and focus on what is really important ~ like playing candy land.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Tiki

Do you believe in magic reindeer food?

Marley does.

And if you don't believe that Santa takes your letters seriously, Marley would disagree.

About a week before Christmas 2007, Heath & I agreed that we would put an end to Marley's persistant request for a kitty. Since we frequently stroll through Petsmart just to see the cats, no suspicions were aroused. We petted several through their cages on one side of the store and made our way to where Muncie Animal Shelter houses available animals. I immediately knew the pale orange tabby was the one. I asked an employee if we could hold her ~ we put her on the floor & she just sat there and let the girls pet her. Heath managed to secretly fill out the appropriate paper work, pay and make pick-up arrangements as I went through the usual routine of calming the tearful girls as we left.

Later that evening we were picking up some last minute grocery items before my family arrived and we nonchalantly asked Marley what she would name the orange kitty we had seen. "Tiki", she replied without hesitation.

Christmas Eve was a little hectic as can be when 17 people are living under the same roof, so when Marley asked if she could go sprinkle her reindeer food on the lawn I said "sure" w/out really paying attention. Apparently at school they had put some oats and cinnamon in a zip-lock baggie and attached a little poem to it that reads:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkly bright.
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home.


I didn't know she had made a wish as she sprinkled.

She didn't know the wish was about to come true.

When the doorbell rang everyone had been instructed to have Marley answer (she looked a bit nervous because, before the chime even faded, about 13 people shouted in unison, "Marley, could you get the door).

It was for she & Ella after all, that Santa had made a special stop that evening.

There on the front porch was a box w/ a pretty red bow. The attached note from Santa explained that he would be back later w/ more gifts, but he had a special gift he needed to drop off early.

Everyone gathered around & watched as Marley opened the box and consequently fell in love.













Marley would come home from school and look for Tiki ~ she would sit, holding her like a baby and watch t.v. Tiki slept w/ her most every night. When we would leave for the weekend, Marley would cry for Tiki to come w/ us and she would race in the house when we returned, anxious to see her. She loved Tiki. Tiki was a special cat ~ gentle and patient and very sweet.

Just a little over a year after that Christmas Eve I sat in the car wondering how I was going to tell Marley that Tiki had died.

Early Sunday evening Marley & Ella were playing w/ Tiki in their bedroom. Marley brought her down to Heath and said something was wrong. She was non-responsive and just lay on the floor unable to lift her head. Ella cried that she would never pull her by the tail again. Marley's chin quivered as she later explained to me how she noticed something was wrong.

I am so thankful to my friend Beth who thoughtfully took them to her house and tried to keep a brave face as Heath and I rushed her to an E.R. vet about 50 minutes away.

Without reliving all the painful details, she had damage to her liver and died while we were there. We were able to be w/ her ~ as hard as it was.

We drove home in silence, both of us going over in our heads how we would tell her. When we picked the girls up from Beth's, they ran to the car asking, "Where's Tiki?" The 2 minute ride home felt like 2 hours as I tried to distract them until we got inside.

After sobbing and crying out Tiki's name for about 15 minutes, Marley began to wipe her eyes & said in a shaky voice, "I'm still really sad, it's just I can't cry anymore."

I understood.

About 30 minutes later she remembered that she had taken a picture of Tiki on her digital camera moments before everything happened. As Heath loaded the picture on the computer, she said to me between sobs, "Mom, if I never thanked you for the camera before, thank you, because if I didn't have it, I wouldn't have got this picture." (My mom had actually gotten it for her ~ thanks, Mom)














I want to share one last thing she said to me that night. She was looking at the picture taken on Christmas Eve when she got Tiki and said, "Sometimes when you see a picture of something you don't have anymore, like maybe a toy or something you won't have ever again, like because it died....it makes you sad to see it. See, look at how sad my face is." She reminiscently looked at the picture for a few moments longer and then turned around and tenderly laid it on top of the dresser. "I can't look at it anymore because it's making me teary."

We told Marley she could talk about it anytime she wanted and I encourage her to write about Tiki in her journal. She has done both. Twice she has shared how she dreamed that Tiki had slept w/ her that night and that she was so happy until she woke up and realized it was just a dream.

Marley handled this situation so beautifully ~ she is truly amazing! And the other day she caught me crying and even as I tried to deny that I was upset she put her arms around me and stayed there until I said I was ok.

Tiki will be deeply missed.

I can't seem to get over it. Part of it is hurting for Marley and a bigger part is a sense of guilt that I should have noticed something was wrong. Maybe after getting it all out tonight I will begin to feel better. But Ella put it best last night as I was putting them in bed. Marley mentioned that she missed Tiki and Ella said, "I know, my heart is breaking."

I know, Ella. Mine too.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Ella's Famous Quotes

Marley and Ella have been extremely tired lately and therefore, I have been too. It's been slowly building and putting them in bed the past 3 nights has been miserable. Last night I ended up w/ a migraine after it was all said and done. When Marley was about 2 or so we had a special term for it: CRAZY TIRED!

Instead of dwelling on this right now, I am going to write down a couple of things I remembered that make me smile. This is really just for me ~ but feel free to read if you would like!

Quotes from Ella:

"Marley, I'm not a scientist." (when Marley asked her a random question about fish)

"No way! That's a bunch of Hooey." (when Heath was explaining something to her)

"It's to put over your mouth so I can't smell your breath." (when Heath asked her why she was bringing her stuffed elephant, Lola, in the bed to watch morning cartoons w/ him)

"Mmm, this is delightful!" (after trying a new flavor of yogurt)

"Mom, you can't eat it. I've had it and it is not good." (she was so serious telling me this as I was pretending to eat a birthday cake shaped piece of play-do)

"It's exasperating!" (she screamed this over and over at the top of her lungs in the middle of a "crazy tired" meltdown)

"Whoa, that's impressive!" (I forget what I was talking about w/ her when she said this to me ~ she had just turned 3! Talk about impressive!)


I guess 3 nights of misery is nothing compared to the countless smiles they've put on my face!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

What I learned today: Never let your kids play on the computer right after eating glazed donuts.
What Ella learned today: Stuffed animals are not meant to wear lipstick.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Give Me A "G"



Give me a "G"
Give me an "O"
Give me an aspirin










Actually I really enjoy coaching Upwards cheerleading but it can definitely be exhausting ~ espeacially w/ 8 kindergartners & 3 1st graders. Marley is cheering for her 2nd year and really enjoys it. Our church offers a league called Upwards ~ it is a national organization offered through local churches. It is an incredible outreach ministry and a very well run program. The goal is to reach families for Jesus through sports. Whenever I get a chance to share a testimony during 1/2- Time I share a saying I learned at Hoosier Hills Baptist Camp when I was a teenager..."It is easier to build boys and girls than to repair men and women."

I am thankful to be a part of a church that recognizes the need to get out in the community and share the love of God. Thankful to be a part of a church that recognizes that it is not up to us to change people ~ but up to God. And thankful to be a part of a church that recognizes the value of a child.

Now, with all of that said.....I really need to go get a tylenol!

Goodnight!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Who asked you, Mark Twain?


Age is an issue of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.

~Mark Twain


I've never really cared much for Mark Twain.

If you know me even a little you know that I hate birthdays. Not other people's ~ just mine. And not the gifts and cake; they're great, just the whole getting older thing. So I guess I should say I don't like aging. It's really annoying. And please, I implore you, don't ever tell me, "Well, it's better than the alternative."

While yes, I do agree it is better than the alternative, I would just prefer a little pity over well intended cliches.

The reason this is on my mind when my birthday isn't for another 7 months is because of the 1" long crease (not wrinkle) that has shown up right between my eyes. I seriously think it's because of squinting as I've had alot of headaches. The only time it goes away is when I raise my eyebrows. So, if I appear surprised to see you, don't think too much of it!!

The way I see it is that I have 3 options:

1. Botox
2. Leave it and grow old gracefully (not likely)
3. Let my eyebrows grow together to cover it (for me, this would take only about a week or 2)

I don't know....this whole thought of aging is very interesting to me, though. We were with a large group of friends and the discussion came up about how as we age, we progress in our comfort level of talking about things like bowel movements. (I think it was Kristin who made this observation)

It's true. As a teenager you would have been mortified if someone even suspected that you had bowel movements. But then we have kids of our own and we become quite comfortable sharing diaper stories. And now, at this point in life, apparently desensitized to poop, I can comfortably exit a bathroom and announce "Whoa! You do not want to go in there!" (not always, just after certain meals).

This theory is very similar to my ice-cream theory that I may have shared with you.

As a kid I always loved chocolate ice-cream. Maybe even w/ chocolate syrup on top. Fast forward to now ~ I prefer peanut butter or vanilla w/ caramel sauce. What's next, BUTTER PECAN?

Just give me some root beer barrel hard candies and orange marmalade while you're at it.

I'm not quite sure why this is so heavy on my mind tonight. Maybe it's because I've not put on make-up or left the house in a couple of days because I've been organizing and cleaning.

And maybe a bowl of ice-cream will make me feel better....I'm not telling you what kind, though!

Dinner and Dancing

There is something so pleasurable about fine dining. An elegantly set table, flickering candles in a dimly lit room and easy listening music soothingly playing tends to relax most anyone. Prolong the evening with dancing and delectable confections (I like the word delectable) and you've had a perfectly lovely experience.

The girls and I busied ourselves transforming our dining room into "La Cafe Des Delices." I prepared dinner as they happily set the table and decorated cupcakes. Once everything was in place they disapeared upstairs to seek appropriate attire for the occasion.

The food and fancy drinks were ready to be served and the girls were dressed to the nines. Alternating between dancing and peering out the window, they passed the time waiting for Heath to pull into the driveway. When he arrived, they behaved like perfect little princesses.

"Please pass the rolls." "Thank you!" "May I be excused?"

Their manners ~ long gone I had feared ~ were suddenly back (and w/ some sort of a weird Victorian/English accent).

We all enjoyed the evening and the girls were none the wiser that I concocted the entire event to teach them a few conventional requirements as to social behavior....aka: MANNERS!


If there were an award for Creative Parenting, I would nominate myself!!