Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The conspiracy

Every kindergarten and first grade student in our county needs primary tablets. You know, the ones with the wide paper, with dotted lines in the middle of each writing space.....well, the stores don't have any. I've checked most local retailers, including the all-powerful Super Wal-Mart. No primary tablets to be found. I keep getting the answer, "We're all sold-out." What??!! Why??!! The supply lists for the schools have been out since May or something. Why in the world didn't the stores order enough primary tablets to go around? One could make the argument, "Well, why didn't you buy school supplies sooner?" "Because", I would counter, "if every kindergartener and first grader needs them, and the stores have the lists early, then they should be able to anticipate how many to order and get enough!" They have every other notebook and enough glue to plug up a herd of elephants--just no primary tablets. What a wierd little community I live in....

On a good note, we attended Megan's open house at her new school last night. We met her teacher, a nice young, seemingly energetic (she'll need to be!) woman with bright eyes and a welcoming smile. Megan has a place card at one of the tables, sitting right next to some friends from preschool! She has her own closet and cubby. We even put money on her lunch account and signed her up to ride the bus. They have computers right in the classroom. I feel so old. I didn't see a computer until I was in high school. Things sure have changed.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Buddy's last day

Today is our "Buddy's" last day here. He'll be starting a new preschool/daycare this week. We had a "goodbye" lunch at McDonald's and the kids played outside for a good long while afterwards. Megan and "Buddy" argued as usual up to the last minute :) They're napping peacefully now, all three of them, for the last time together. Another season of life coming to a close, and a new one on the way. I rounded them all up this morning to get a photo of them together while they were playing. After several tries, I finally got all three of them looking at me at the same time. We'll miss our "Buddy" around here, but I'm looking forward to a change of pace, too. I'll get to spend some quality time with Zoe while Meg's in Kindergarten. We'll probably go to library story-time together, days at the park, etc. I remember trying to get all that time in with Meg before Zoe was born.

Want one of these?


On "Maggie"'s blog, I found a link to another blog, Five Minutes for Mom. On that blog, they're sponsoring a contest to win this 36" LCD HDTV. All you have to do is go to this link and comment to register. If you have a blog, you're supposed to link the contest and also Best Buy, who is generously sponsoring this contest!

Friday, July 27, 2007

A childcare question...

I think I know where the term, "Like pulling teeth" came from. It was formulated in the Middle Ages, when getting little children to pick up after themselves was likened to the pain of crude dentistry.

Is it too much to ask a 4 and 5 year old to pick up their toys? They pick up for about one minute, then it's back to playing. Then I'm hollering, "Pick up please!". Then they're hollering back, "Ok, ok", scampering off to quickly pick up....for about another minute, then it starts all over again. Coersions I use include no lunch, snack, outside time until the toys are picked up. Still, I have to stay on them! I think I'd rather get a tooth pulled. It would be quicker and there are good pain meds out there now. mmmmm.....pain meds...... ;)

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

I'm tired of grumpy posts...here's to happy!


Our new swingset that hubby is building. We have a baby swing, 2 regular swings, and a disc swing on there now. It's attached to the two big trees behind our house, and at the top is a walkway, which will eventually be fenced in and will connect a clubhouse to a slide.



Zoe at Bible School last week. We took all the kids' pics and made little frames in one craft night.


Zoe and Megan at the world fountain-thingy at the Louisville Zoo. We had a great trip on my birthday. I love zoos. It was a beautiful day, so everyone was at the zoo-insanely crowded, but still fun.


The Cheescake Factory at Mall St. Matthews in Louisville. Great Birthday dinner--and here's my birthday cheesecake! It is a extraordinarily beautiful place inside. I couldn't stop looking up at all the paintings and designs.

Wednesday--Woe is me!

I feel like crap--I hope that's a good sign. Coffee is now making my stomach turn--I think my husband is cheering! Headache, backache, tired and moody. Pregnancy has hit me hard.

And I've opened up a big can of worms. I'm looking into my paternal history and it's not pretty. I never knew my natural father. He and my mother divorced when I was two and she would never offer much information about him. She said he left her for his first wife and knew the area where they lived. A few months before she died, I decided to look up geneological information online and discovered that he had died in 1991. That got me wondering if he had medical problems, etc. That part's always been missing from my medical charts. My husband has encouraged me to look up his family and get some answers.

So, last week, I decided to write who I thought was his wife and see if she could tell me anything about him. Well, apparently, she knew nothing about me, was quite upset, and is communicating through another family member. I've sent the only two pictures I have of my father to this person to see if he can confirm his identity.

Everything within me is screaming--"No!! Don't do it! Don't go there!" But I have a desire to know who I am. I have a great dad already, and don't need any more relationships, but I think it's everyone's right to know where they come from, even if it's a wierd and mixed up history.

I'm such a conflict-hater, though, that I'm scared someone will call me and yell at me or think I'm after money or something. Everyone out there who knows your natural parents, whether together or divorced, whether alive or dead--BE THANKFUL! I'll update you with any more info I get.

Monday, July 23, 2007

The secret is out...

Yep, I'm pregnant again! We actually found out about 2 weeks ago at my in-laws' house. It was 5:30 am (when this pic was made), and I had to pee really bad. I had taken my temperature and it was low, so I figured that my Aunt Flo was coming, but I said, what the hey and took a test anyway. It was BRIGHT positive! I woke up Bryan and we were so excited, but we decided to wait this time until about 6 weeks along before telling anyone. So, we told the family today, and tonight, I'm sharing with my blog family.

Pray that this one will be a sticky baby this time. We had good strong positive tests (4 in all now). We never got strong positives last time, so that makes me feel a bit better. We decided kinda at the last minute to forgo the wait one cycle thing and try again the month after the miscarriage. Well, it worked, and I'm definitely feeling pregnant. Nauseated, moody, it's all there.

We did have a good trip to Louisville. We enjoyed the zoo on my birthday and ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory--such a beautiful restaurant. I got a little sick and couldn't finish my dinner, but I managed to eat a few bites of cheescake at least :) Swam in the hotel pool with the girls this morning, and now we're back home. And I'm going to bed. *Yawn!*

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Thursday--I need to laugh

I'm so moody today. Being amongst children literally all day long all week long has left me feeling shut out and worn out. Poor little guys don't understand why I'm not smiling today. I'm just doing, just moving, doing what is necessary. I'm looking forward to a little respite next week when we travel with my hubby to Louisville for a few days--he's got to be there all week for business meetings. The hotel where he'll be has a pool and we'll get some swimming in while he's working.

Sharing and turn-taking DO NOT come naturally to these children. In a house with hundreds of things to play with, there is inevitably fighting over one silly toy. I'm wondering if tying them to runs in the backyard might be a good idea at this point ;)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

VBS is almost over :) and :(

It's our third night and last night of preschool crafts. I'll be glad to be past the tired feet and loudness, but I'll miss seeing the little guys and gals work so diligently on their crafts. They really get into it, especially the older ones (5 and up). I have enjoyed watching the developmental differences in each age group. 2's/3's--glue and markers everywhere, kids up and down, little fits here and there. Then you get to the Kindergarten group. They're very loud, but they are much more creative in their decorating. It's amazing to see their individuality come out in their projects.

Now, come on naptime--I need one too!

Monday, July 16, 2007

It's Monday and I want caffeine

And I can't have it, but I really want it. Really. My eyes don't want to stay open. The decaf just ain't doin it.

Last night was our first night of Bible school. I'm the Preschool Crafts Director. The PROS: Seeing all of my youngins (Meg, "Buddy", and Zoe) rotating through in their classes and seeing the developmental differences in each of the four age groups (2's/3's, 4's, 5's, and Kindergarteners), and seeing how eager they are to learn about Jesus. The CONS: 2 hours straight of kids, glue, markers, paint. We get there about 5 pm to eat a light supper, Bible school starts at 6, and the first craft session starts at 6:30 and is over at 8:30.

For some reason, I was tossing and turning all night. So this morning makes for one tired mama. I still have laundry and dishes waiting for me to get them under control....oh, and the three youngins needing me to get them under control as well. I'm whiny today...can I have a time out? :)

Friday, July 13, 2007

ARRRRGGHHH!!!

I think I want to go on a vacation by myself...yep, to a nice spa where I'm pampered and I don't hear silly things like, "He's following me!", "I'm telling!", "I had it first!"

And I'm freaking out a bit because I haven't gotten Meg registered for school yet. No one seems to be in the office at the school she is supposed to be attending. I called the board of education and they said call the school--someone will be there sometime through the day. She's had her physical, but we still don't have the letter, and she still needs her eye exam. Now I realized that her dentist appt was scheduled for the second day of school! I didn't think school would be starting on AUGUST 2!!!! Our insurance won't pay before that day either, so now I've got her an appt at the very booked dentist 1/2 hour from us on August 31 at 3 PM, which means I'm still going to have to pick her up early from school to get there.

What are they thinking--starting the school year earlier and earlier every year? Forget it--I'm calling the spa! :)

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Is it Thursday already?

Where has the summer gone? We've had some lovely weather the past couple days--a break from the heat and humidity. And I've began a new computer game--Everquest II. I was an old player of Everquest I in the early days and left it because it involved more sitting around and waiting than actually playing. I just don't have hours on end to sit around and wait when I want to play--let me kick some goblin tail!

Bible school starts up next week, my small group girls and I are resuming our Bible Study tonight, and Bryan and I are almost finished with our couples study on Wed nights. It's been really fun doing that with him. We studied Hosea and Gomer last night. I was really unfamiliar with that Bible story and so glad to take a closer look. Gomer was what we might call a "woman of the evening", and Hosea actually paid her to stay with him and quit running around. It was comparable to Jesus paying for our own sins with his life. It's a neat study if you want something to do with your spouse. It's called Couples of the Old Testament. The questions are really thought provoking and allow you to look at these couples in new ways and to compare their experiences with your own. Try it out!

Monday, July 09, 2007

Blog changes

Since I had nothing post-worthy yet, I decided to mess around with my blog header and color scheme. Not exactly what I wanted, but not sure how to edit it quite yet. Hope you like our nice Florida pic anyway.

Also, I have turned off word verification so when you want to post you shouldn't have to do that annoying thing anymore. And anyone can now post, not just registered users. However, I still have comment moderation on, so I will filter posts before I publish them--that's for all those wily wierd posters out there! You know who you are... :)

I've got blog-writer's block!

So, I'm perusing my favorite blogs today and Joni Ruhs has a great discussion going on over there about Athiest and Christian families and what can happen if their children grow up to make opposite choices. Go on, take a look while I clear out my brain!

"Here's a Question..."

Thursday, July 05, 2007

The week in review

What a busy summer week!

Monday was spent cleaning out the basement--I can see the floor in the kitchen/den area!

Tuesday I went to Wal-Mart, then my friend "Maggie"'s house to swim with the girls, then Megan had her kindergarten physical. What a trooper she was! She had to have a hearing check, pee in a cup, and had some blood taken from her arm for the first time--she didn't even cry, flinch, or scream. I held her other hand and she even watched the whole thing. A nurse helped hold her arm. I think they were expecting a bad reaction. She just jumped a bit and said, "Ouch!" when they put the needle in. Later, after some celebratory milkshakes at Sonic, she said, "Mom, that was really painful. I didn't like it." I was so proud of her. I had talked to her a long time beforehand about a blood test, but expecting it to be in her finger. I just kept calm and told her it was just a pinch in her arm, like her finger. I think that helped.

Wednesday--time with family--sleeping late, working on the new swingset (hubby's building one between two big trees in the backyard--pics will come later), saw Ratatouille with the girls, grilled out a big feast for just us. Hubby tried a new thing: shrimp stuffed with Mexican cheese, wrapped in bacon, grilled, and brushed with BBQ sauce. Yummo! I like it when he mans the grill--seems more like a man's way of cooking anyway. We also had BBQ skewered shrimp, smoked sausage, hot dogs for the girls, corn on the cob (grilled in the shuck--came out perfect!), baked beans, chopped grilled potatoes cooked in foil (I oversalted them, but they looked beautiful!), and finally, good cold watermelon! About 9 pm, we sat in the backyard with our bug spray and watched the local fireworks show. This year, it was only a mile or so from our house, so we could view it well and not be in the crowd.

Today--laundry and finalizing craft ideas for VBS. I'm heading up the preschool crafts again this year. I've decided to try Oriental Trading Company for several of the craft projects. They had many of the same things that Lifeway (the VBS sponsor) had on their website, but I got more of them for a cheaper price. I did pay more for shipping just to get it here on time, but it saves me work and driving 80 miles roundtrip to our closest Lifeway. Gas ain't cheap nowadays, you know. I also found lots of sports foam shapes, stars, and numbers to use in the decorating. I'm excited about it. I think I've found my VBS niche!