Quote of the Day

From the little guy: "I'm important."

Daddy: "What did you say?" (never heard that word from him before...)

Him: "I'm important."

Daddy: "What?"

Him: "No, I'm not important. I'm cute."

Daddy: ".............................................."

Very Late 10

Ten things that were noteworthy this weekend to no one but me:

1. I walked without a limp.
2. I wore a shoe (a real one, not just the Nike slip-on) on my right foot for the first time in 10 days.
3. I got to scrapbook for 12 hours straight. And I liked it. Not as much as shopping, but still a good day. My son advanced from 1 week old in his book to 4 months old. Too bad he will be 2 in a couple of weeks.
4. We went to the new McDonalds and my son actually played on the equipment. Crawled all the way to the top. Holy cow. He might be a normal kid yet.
5. My parents took the family out to Red Rock Canyon Grill. Yum.
6. My son only woke up 1 time each night because of his cold instead of 4 times.
7. I talked to two out-of-state friends and two out-of-town friends all on the same day. It was great to catch up a bit.
8. We laughed hysterically at our one (almost two) year old. He has two new favorite sayings. "See dat? Mommy, did you see dat? Daddy, did you see dat?" And the other one, "What does _________ mean?" Fill in the blank with just about anything. "What does maybe mean? What does faster mean? What does Little Einsteins mean?"
9. I finished planning a baby shower. No easy feat when the three shower givers live 600 miles apart.
10. I got to sleep until 8:00! No small miracle.

Parents of the Year

Setting the stage: In the living room.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Him: (Sitting in the recliner studying for fire class.)

Me: (Sitting on the couch hoping he notices it's bath time.)

Nope, he doesn't.

Me: It's bath time. Wanna flip a coin to see who has to do it?

Him: Sure.

Me: (Get up to go get a quarter.)

Him: Are you serious? You're flipping a coin?

Me: Yep. I'm thinking this might be the only way I get out of doing it.

Him: Why do you say that? I do baths too, I did them last time.

Me: That's exactly why I'm saying that. Call it.

Him: (As I flip.) Heads.

Me: It's tails! Yippee!!

Him: (Sighs and slowly gets out of the chair.) Okay boys, time for your bath. Come on, let's go.

5 year old: (to daddy) Are you giving us our bath?

Him: Yes. Mommy wanted to do bath time, but Daddy wants to more.

Change of Heart

This is how my post started:

We canceled our trip to Illinois last Thursday because of weather issues. Potential bad storm going across the plains Thursday.

Barely anything fell from the sky and the roads would have been fine for travel.

Potential bad storm coming across the plains today. This was the day we were supposed to drive home.

All checks of weather.com say that the chances are way decreased. We would have been FINE.

So you can say that we canceled the trip because of my ankle.

Well, maybe, except if we hadn't decided not to go because of the weather, I would have been at home packing like crazy on Wednesday night instead of going to town to work out. I would not have flown down my steps at high rates of speed to get the phone to take it with me. Therefore, if not for the weather issues, I never would have hurt my foot.

So, yes, I'm still pouting a bit.


Then I went over and read another post about a friend who had spent the entire day in the intensive care waiting room. Talk about putting a new spin on life.

So, now I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that my foot wasn't broken and won't require surgery.

I'm thankful that I can be home again and don't need our parents to babysit us anymore.

I'm thankful for parents who were willing to give up their days to babysit us when we needed it.

I'm thankful that the roads weren't bad for those who were out traveling on them.

I'm thankful for a father who cares enough to go a little crazy (okay, a lot crazy) when we want to travel in spite of the weather forecast.

I'm thankful that even though this trip was canceled, it looks like we'll be able to go in a few weeks.

That feels better.

Friday's 10

I've had a few "Calgon, take me away" moments this week. So here are the first 10 places that pop into my mind that I'd like to go.

• Jamaica. Warm, sunny, sandy beaches. Ahhhh.....My new stylist - I call her a hair artist - just came back from there. The way she described it sounded fabulous.
• New York City for a Broadway Show.
• Niagara Falls. Just to see another beautiful aspect of God's creation.
• San Diego because I've heard it's fun.
• On a cruise. Anywhere except Alaska. Brrr.
• Superbowl. I think it would be great.
• On a week long mission trip. I've heard you're never the same after one (In a good way, I think...). I probably need to be off crutches for this one.
• Sea World. Sounds weird, but I really want to take my kids there.
• Australia. If I could endure the plane ride.
• Anywhere that is warm. I can't think of #10, I'm tired of winter, and my son just woke up.

Bad, Bad Basement

Still not laughing about the basement. Also not walking because of the basement. Or driving.

Our basement is drying. The carpet people told us to slide 2x4's under the carpet to increase the air flow. We obeyed willingly.

Last night I raced downstairs to get my cell phone. I temporarily forgot there were big boards under the carpet. I hit the board at full speed. Unfortunately, my foot did not hit the board level. My ankle rolled, snapped, and sent me to the ground.

Two hours and and a wasted ER visit later, we found out it was not broken, just a bad sprain and some torn tendons.

Perspective, it's all about perspective. Isn't that what I said yesterday? Okay, so the weather was threatening our coveted trip to Illinois today. This cinched the deal. Canceled. At least now I don't have anything planned for the next five days that will get in the way of me not being mobile.

Therapy

For those who read my last entry, you may remember that I mentioned our new carpet had been in the basement exactly 36 days (39 now, but who's counting...). Well, kid poop on the carpet just isn't seeming so bad right now.

My non-blogging friends sometimes ask me why I blog, why I waste the time, etc. I often tell them that it is a bit like therapy for me. Events happen in my life that seem incredibly frustrating (like my son doing his duty on the new carpet), but when I sit down to write about it, I'm usually laughing - or at least smiling - about it by the end. Sometimes it gives me a new perspective, or just some friends to sympathize with. Whatever the result, I usually feel better. That said, I'm counting on this phenomenon to occur again today.

Yesterday morning I went downstairs first thing to check my email. As I sat down at the computer I noticed the floor (the unfinished part) looked darker than usual. As I walked that way, my feet starting going squish in the carpet. Bad sign.

We discovered our sump pump had quit working. This wouldn't be a problem in a normal household. It hasn't even rained for days. Our problem is our water system - our big, obnoxious water system. It recycles every few nights and then drains out into the sump pump. If the sump pump decides to go on strike, it drains out all over the basement floor.

Enter lots of towels and the wet vac. Exit lots of wet, soggy cardboard boxes and the wet pad that was once under my newly laid carpet. Enter several fans and the dehumidifier. Exit the use of my new family room for the next three weeks.

OK, I'm still not laughing about the situation, so let's try perspective. I still have a roof over my head, two healthy & happy kids, one healthy and....um...trying-to-be-happy husband, and food to feed my family.

I'll keep telling myself this as toys line the living room once again and we are all crammed back in the upstairs.

Lots of togetherness. It will be great.

Time To Potty Train???

My son turns two next month. I have had no intention of potty training yet. Maybe this summer when it's nice and warm. Maybe.

My sister-in-law starting training her daughter - who is 5 weeks younger than my son. It's actually going fairly well. I still had no intention of starting this process, even with the added family pressure.

Yesterday my husband went to change my son's diaper, the holy-cow-he's-wet diaper that occurs first thing in the morning. At some point the velcro tab must have caught on his pajamas, because the diaper was off and smooshed at the bottom of the footed winter pj's he was wearing. Yuck. He put on a new diaper and left his pajamas "on", but just by the arms. The zipper stayed unzipped and the feet were flying out behind him.

Thirty minutes later I hear shouting from the basement. "Mom, he's not wearing a diaper and he just POOPED ON THE FLOOR!" Sure enough, the diaper was sitting on the stairs and he had pooped on the new carpet. Carpet that has been in my basement for exactly 36 days. Big brother realized this lovely event had occurred because he stepped in it. Yep, squished it right into the carpet.

I had just told me husband that the boys needed baths, so I quickly volunteered to get the baths going while he cleaned up the mess downstairs. He was thrilled.

Thirty minutes, a spatula, a plastic sack, a wash cloth, and a gallon of Resolve later, my husband comes back up the stairs with the following announcement:

"THAT'S IT. WE ARE POTTY TRAINING THAT KID."

Friday's 10

Stealin' an idea for Friday's 10.

Here are updates on my 2008 Self-Improvements. Maybe if I did this every week, I would actually remember I have these goals. Don't worry, I won't really...

*Prayer - slight improvement, still a long way to go.
*Weight - haven't lost any yet, but being more intentional.
*Water - not to 64 oz./day yet, but drastic improvement. I've never been to the bathroom so much in my entire life.
*Exercise - improving. Still don't like it much, but it's going to get better because I've found a walking partner. Too bad she has to go at 6:00 a.m. Ouch. It's much nicer with a friend, though!
*Contentment - oohh, still struggling.
*Focus on others - I'm trying to figure out a way to be intentional about this. The days just pass me by and there is no difference from before. Working on it...
*Getting creative - Hah. I have a scrapbook day scheduled, does that count? Ten hours of it on Jan. 26.
*Budgeting - Again, working on it. Does spending $400 over budget two weeks ago give you any indication of my progress?
*Job decision - At this moment, leaning toward it. Who knows what tomorrow's leaning will be.
*Giving Thanks - I think this is getting better! I am very thankful fo MANY things in my life.

Two more goals to add:
*Cleaning - Get organized weekly and take it in small steps.
*School - Scope out a Master's program. I didn't say start one, just scope one out. Maybe start...we'll see.

$$$

Because I know you are all DYING to know...the tooth fairy does still arrive even when there is no tooth under the pillow.

Enter Tooth Fairy

A few days ago my son told me his tooth felt "soft". He had just been to the dentist, so I assumed it wasn't rotting before our eyes. When I asked him if it felt loose or wiggly, he started testing it out and determined that very possibly he had his first loose tooth. This was quite exciting to my son since his friend had just lost her first tooth and had a great visit from the tooth fairy. He was seeing big green dollar signs.

Thus began the questions about the tooth fairy. Ugh. You have to understand that neither my husband or I grew up in families who promoted the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny. Not that they thought they were the root of all evil, they just didn't make a big deal out of any of that.

We are now realizing how much fun that can be for the kids. We have several little kid friends who are sharing their pure joy of visits from Santa, the tooth fairy, etc. However, we also have very close family members who choose not to do any of it. These cousins know that there is no Santa Claus, and that loosing teeth means you're growing up, so mom and dad celebrate with you and give money or a small gift.

Today at lunch we were talking about the tooth fairy concept with this family (minus the kids) to get their thoughts on the matter. Our kids and theirs spend time together weekly, so sometimes it's hard if we take two totally different paths on big issues. Anyway, I told my husband that we were going to need to figure out how we were steering this tooth fairy thing.

Precisely four hours later I hear my son wailing at the top of his lungs. He was 3/4 the way down the stairs and his cousin was standing at the top. His little cousin had thrown a car down the stairs and hit my son smack in the mouth. I saw blood and thought he had a fat lip. But as soon as he opened his mouth, I realized his tooth had been knocked completely out. I guess it really was loose.

The weird thing was we couldn't find his tooth ANYWHERE. I don't know what it is with this kid swallowing foreign objects, but that's the only explanation we have for the missing tooth.

Even more important than that - we now have exactly 2.4 hours to solve the tooth fairy dilemma.

(He's going to love us someday for this picture.)

Panic Attack

Sunday I was sitting in church listening to a sermon on loneliness. A fairly long sermon, I might add. Thirty-five minutes into it, I looked down and realized there was no wedding ring on my finger. Instant moment of panic.

I was sitting with a friend since my husband was home with sick kids, and I leaned over to tell her I didn't know where my wedding ring was. After a brief moment of sympathy, she said, "You are going to be really lonely."

Great. Did I take it off and set it somewhere? Did it slip off somewhere? I've been needing to get it re-sized for sometime now, but just haven't done it yet.

After church I went home and started a meticulous search for my ring.

On the kitchen counter? No
On the bathroom counter? No
On the nightstand? No
On the dresser? No

I called my mother-in-law because I remembered taking it off at her house two days prior. Is it on your kitchen counter? No.

I ripped apart the bed, the piles of laundry, checked every pocket of everything I had worn for the past two days. When I thought I had looked EVERYWHERE, I told my husband. He was graciously frustrated about it, as I expected him to be.

I gave up my search for awhile, and when we got home from small group later that evening, there was a message on the answering machine. After listening to it, my husband came into the room with a half-smirk, half-annoyed look on his face. For a moment I thought someone had located my ring. Nope, the message said that his coat - WITH HIS WALLET IN IT - had been found in the weight room at the high school. He hadn't even realized he had left it there the day before. I have to admit, although I was hoping that my problem had been solved, I did feel a tad less guilty that he had just done something that could have been equally - or more - financially disastrous than me losing my ring. Of course, his was safe and sound at the art teacher's house. We really aren't typically irresponsible people. Really.

Monday was serious cleaning day in attempts to locate the missing ring. After hours of looking, I had to give up for awhile.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, I hear the voice of an angel from the basement.

"Hey mom, I found your ring!!"

In the basement? Sure enough, there it was in the middle of the family room floor, surrounded by tons of little toys. He had stepped on it on the way to the train table. Why didn't I think to look there?

I have no idea how it got there, when it got there, or why it was there. I don't really care. I only know I will be making a trip to the jewelry store in the very near future.

Conversations with a 1 year old

Yesterday was a day for interesting conversations at our house.

8:00 a.m. - I hear my 1 year old talking in his crib.

Him: "He's frustrated."
Me: "Did you just say frustrated?"
Him: "Uh-huh."
Me: "okay.......who's frustrated?"
Him: "Kito's (his stuffed bear) frustrated."
Me: "Why is Kito frustrated?"
Him: "I don't know."


10:00 a.m. - while playing with playdough in the kitchen.

Him: "I want dessert."
Me: "Did you say you want dessert?"
Him: "Uh-huh."
Me: "What dessert do you want?"
Him: "I don't know."


4:00 p.m. - after his nap

Me: "Hi! Are you ready to wake up?"
Him: "Uh-huh."
Me: "Oh, I smell a dirty diaper. Who has a dirty diaper?" (I don't know why we say things like this.)
Him: Pointing to his piggy bank, "Piggy has a poopy diaper."
Me: "He does? What should we do about that?"
Him: "Let's change him."
Me: "How are we going to change piggy?"
Him: "I don't know. Piggy's dressed. He says oink oink."


8:30 p.m. - on the way home from grandma's

Him: "Mama, I have a question for you."
Me: "You what?"
Him: "I have a question for you."
Me: "OK. What question do you have for me?"
Him: "I don't know."


I can already predict his answers to some of life's most important questions...Why are you late? Where is your homework? Who made such a mess in here? What are you supposed to be doing right now?

Him: "I don't know."

My Ten

Whew. I made it through my crazy week. Reading everyone's goals for 2008 has inspired me, so I'll jump on the bandwagon and write my list of self-improvements for the year.

1) Prayer - more of it, more often, more about others and less about me.
2) Weight - less of it = new clothes in my closet.
3) Water - I drink way less than healthy amounts each day so I'm on a mission to form a new habit. 21 days is all it takes, right?
4) Exercise - 2007 was better than any other year for this, but I have a ways to go yet.
5) Contentment in the area of material possessions - "I will be thankful for what I have. I will be thankful for what I have. I will be thankful for what I have."
6) Focus on others - My "to do" list too easily stands in the way of remembering to send cards, check in on others, and just get the focus off of myself. I want this to change!
7) Get creative - At the very least, work on catching up my kids' scrapbooks.
8) Budgeting - Somehow try to find a balance between having a positive attitude about it, living within our means, yet not letting my entire world revolve around it.
9) Make a big decision - job or no job? job or no job? It always comes around every year!
10) Give thanks more often - for my husband, my kids, my extended family, my friends, my church family and more.

Too Much To Do, Too Little Time

Well, it's January 2, and I've finally managed to get the Christmas colors off my blog.

At the rate I'm moving, I'll be able to start on my New Year's Resolutions around March 23.

And by the looks of my "to do" list, I'll be able to relax for a few minutes sometime near August 17. If I'm lucky.