Archives for 2010

Beautiful Lips

It was October of 1999.  I was a senior at Baylor University and Lee and I were an official “item.”  We’d had the obligatory *DTR sometime mid-July and we had finally settled into calling one another boyfriend and girlfriend, although I must admit I giggled every time I called him my boyfriend.  It sounded so silly and trivial for no other reason than I knew I was going to marry this man and “boyfriend” seemed to diminish that.

But whatever – he hadn’t put a ring on it yet so that’s what we were stuck with.  You know what else he hadn’t done yet?

Kissed me.

Ah, he was a noble lad.  He was ever the gentleman and I think he was trying to hold out until he proposed.  But that could take forever for all I knew and, being the little minx that I was, I was doing everything in my power to break his will.

I put on shiny lip gloss.  I bat my eyes repeatedly.  I giggled and grabbed his arm when he made a joke.  When we hugged I layed my head against his chest and lingered as long as he would let me.  And he was weakening, I could tell. 

Then came the crisp Texas October night.  We were standing in the parking lot of my apartment complex saying our long, drawn out good-byes.  It was after midnight and Lee had to get up early the next morning.  I was feeling brazen and had made it some kind of subconcious mission to get him to kiss me.

We were discussing things that only those who are young and in love discuss.  Those discussions that have a sole purpose of giving you extra time to stare into one another’s eyes and dig deeper into the heart of the one you adore.  They are cheesy and innocent and sometimes I miss those conversations.  We still have them but they’re usually laced with fecicious banter and laughter…which is also fun, come to think of it.

“What is your favorite physical trait?” Lee asked. Before I tell you my reply, I’d like to remind you once again that I had a mission to get him to kiss me.  We had been an official item for roughly three months and I was so close to cracking through his gold plated chivalry.

Naughty girl…

“My kissable lips,” I said without missing a beat.  His eyes widened and I grinned mischeviously.  I blinked and gave him my best Come Hither.

“Gotta go,” he said and with a quick hug he hopped into his1992 fire red Pontiac Grand Am and tore out of the parking lot, dust and rocks billowing behind him.  Like James Dean…only not as cool.

Dang! He was good.  I was terrible, but he was good.

He finally kissed me about a week later after we had our first argument. I can’t even remember what we fought about but I do know it resulted in him looking at me and saying, “This not kissing thing is getting hard.” 

We got engaged three weeks later.  He was so close

Fast forward ten and a half years to Friday when I sat on the couch with the kids watching TV.  A Revlon commercial came on with Jessica Alba prancing around looking all catlike at the camera.  She was advertising lipstick.  When they zoomed in on her lips Sloan, who was nestled in the crook of my arm, shook his head slowly.

“Whoa,” he said. “She’s got beautiful lips.”

My head snapped down and he looked slyly at me from the corner of his eye with a devilish little grin and blushed slightly. Then he shrugged his shoulders all cool and said, “What?  She’s a beautiful girl.”

He comes by it honestly folks…

*Define The Relationship

Linky Love

I’m still nursing a sick little girl back to health…of course you’d never really know she’s sick the way she’s running around here.  Her face has finally returned to a reasonable palor and the rash is slowly subsiding.  Thank God for Amoxicillan!  So in leiu of a regular post, I will refer you to some posts that I have loved this week…

  • Shaun Groves, who is perhaps one of my new favorite bloggers, wrote this post yesterday that made me want to stand up and clap my hands.  
  • My friend Nicole and her husband Matt surprised their kids the other night in a most unique way.  It was adorable and I can’t wait to try it with our kids. 
  • I just love Stephanie from NieNie Dialogues.  Her outlook on life despite almost insurmountable odds is awe inspiring.  Plus her kids are adorable.  This post made me smile.
  • This post of Kelly’s made me laugh out loud. Girls Gone Wild at Church – hee, hee, hee…

I came across this old picture of Sloan the other day and it made me laugh.  Happy weekend everyone!

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All but the obvious

When Tia came home with a fever and a cough the other night, we didn’t worry much.  We’ve been parents for awhile now so we’ve seen our share of fevers and coughs.  And Tia, of all three kids, is the easiest patient to deal with. She rarely complains, she doesn’t let an illness keep her down and she almost always bounces back pretty quickly.

But this fever was different.  First of all, her face was bright red.  She looked like a tiny little beet sprouting white blonde hair. In addition to being bright red, her face was also very puffy. She was like a fluffy, doughy beet sprouting white blonde hair.  When she woke up yesterday, her face was still puffy and hot.  I assumed that she had gotten a little too much sun in Florida, but my mom assured me that she hadn’t had a sunburn.  So then I feared she was having an allergic reaction – but what was she reacting to?

When she came into our room last night complaining of chest pain, she emanated heat.  She was just shy of radioactive.  So I did what any self-respecting mother would do…I consulted the internets – particularly Facebook – to determine whether or not I should be concerned.  Thank God for modern technology yes?  My cyber friends convinced me that I needed to call the doctor and despite the fact that Tia woke up with a very low grade fever and no more red face, I called it in.

She has Scarlett Fever…with Strep Throat.  I suspected as much when I changed her this morning and she was covered in a sand paper-like rash.  Sloan had the same type of rash when he had Scarlett Fever two years ago (almost to the day). 

Tia had all the signs of Scarlett Fever and Strep…except the most obvious – a sore throat.  I must have asked her 100 times if her throat hurt and she always told me no.  But, she did say several times yesterday that her drink was “hurting her neck.”  At one point she asked me why I gave her a spicy drink.  I’m guessing this means her throat hurt while she swallowed.  Crazy kid.

When the doctor looked at her throat, he winced and told me her throat was bright red and extremely raw.  Way to go, Mom, for missing that one! Yeesh. 

So we are now on antibiotics and on the look out for more rashes, fevers and raw throats as Scarlett Fever is apparently pretty contagious.  So much for our long streak of no sickness.  It was an impressive run that had to come to an end at some point…

Reunited and it feels so good

Everyone is home and they have commenced to fighting and tattling already this morning.  And all is right in the Universe again…

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Sweet girl came home sporting a nasty cough and a fever. 🙁

 

It’s been a busy writing week for me.  I’m feeling a little buried right now.  To read my latest at STL Family Life, click here.  The topic?  Body After Baby.  I also guest posted over at Becke’s blog yesterday.  Actually, I was a week and a day late on my deadline so I was grateful for her patience with me.  You can also read my review of the new VeggieTales movie, Pistachio: The Little Boy Who Woodn’t.  I have a review and a post coming up soon over at 5 Minutes for Mom as well.  Whew.  It’s a lot but it is fun!

Now that I have all my babies back under one roof, we will relax and enjoy the rest of our Spring Break.  They’re tan, blonde and worn out.  And I, once again, cannot seem to get a single task accomplished.  Life goes on…

It’s coming to an end

The kids have had a wonderful week down in Florida with their grandparents but, sadly, it ends today.  I have to admit, we’ve also really enjoyed the relaxing week with just Landon at home.  I know he’s bored out of his mind, but I’ve relished the quiet.  But I’ve also missed my kiddos.  Rather than wishing they were here with me, though, I’ve more longed to be there with them.

Sloan and Tia in sand

 

 

Playground

Bunker beds

Swimming

Tia Fish

Tia sand castle

Sloan lost another tooth

Sloan lost another tooth

Thank goodness the Tooth Fairy makes stops in Florida. And she leaves money in a seashell!  Cool!

Thank goodness the Tooth Fairy makes stops in Florida. And she leaves money in a seashell! Cool!

Ice cream

Tia Sand Pearl

Glow Sticks 2

Sunset

ROCK ON!!!

ROCK ON!!!

It could have been mortifying

We had a full weekend partying like it was 1999 with only one kid.  I am only slightly exaggerating.  When you’re married with three kids the term “party” takes on a whole new meeting.  Just getting out of the house with makeup on could be considered “partying,” for example.  Relaxing on the couch in a quiet house at 2:00 in the afternoon – PAR-TAY

So yes, relatively speaking, we were partying this weekend.  We even attended an actual party thrown by the lovely Kim, Jess and Gina.  This meant that we had a real life babysitter and we hung out with a group of people (90% of which were significantly younger than Lee) and played games and ate food and laughed a whole dang lot.

Then came the time change.  BAM-BAM-BAM.  I have been reading this book and, while I will admit I got increasingly frustrated with the author’s long windedness and his perpetual overdescription of things that weren’t pertinent to the story itself (it sucks to be an editor sometimes…it can really ruin the book reading experience) the story was still engaging enough that I was able to skim past the boring parts and keep pace with the action.  It was also engaging enough to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning.

So when I dragged myself out of bed Sunday morning, having lost not just one hour of sleep but multiple hours, I wasn’t feelin’ like the young hot mama that I actually am. 

I was a little nauseous, a lot tired and running very late as I had to be at church early to prepare to sing up front with the choir.  I got ready as fast as I could and rushed out the door like I do nearly every Sunday morning – without eating any breakfast. 

When I arrived at church, I joined the choir on stage to warm up and prepare for service.  I was exhausted, sluggish and increasingly nauseous.  In the five minutes between rehearsal and the service, I took a long drink of water and tried to get my heavy eyelids to quit fighting me.  Then service began and all was going well.  There was a girl who had recently joined choir standing beside me and I enjoyed getting to know her and singing alongside her.

About halfway through the first set, I opened my eyes and noticed a rather sizable crowd rushing up the center isle to the aide of someone who had apparently passed out and, upon falling, had cracked his head open.  We stopped the service so that he could be attended to and commenced in a little silent prayer time, which had been built into the service for that day anyway (how great is God?).  It was at this time that I myself started feeling more than nauseous.  I was light headed and starting to break out in  a cold sweat.

I sat down to pray and put my head down which seemed to help.  After a few minutes the paramedics arrived and while they were tending to the gentlman who fell, we began the service again.  I stood up by my new friend and instantly knew I was in trouble.  It started in the corners of my eyes.  The room was going black.  I took deep breaths and all I could think was Dear God please don’t let me pass out here in front of everyone while there are paramedics in the room.

Within seconds I knew I had to get out of there because I was going to hit the floor.  Like a bad movie, the blackness closed in and I started to sway.  I turned to my new best friend and heard her say with a bit of urgency, “Are you okay? You’re really white?”

And then it went completely black.  I couldn’t see anything at all.  And I was going to crumble. She grabbed my arm and walked me to the stage door, which mercifully wasn’t far because we were stading on the end.  I ran into the door because I couldn’t see anything at all and made it backstage before I fell.  She dragged me to the couch and pushed my head between my legs.  About thirty seconds later the blackness finally faded away and I could see again.  And a mixture of mortification and gratefulness set in.  I was mortified because I blacked out on stage. I was grateful because not many people noticed thanks to this girl’s quick reaction.  Ah! I would have been devastatingly humiliated had I hit the floor on stage.

A friend sitting in the congregation saw her lead me off stage and came back to check on me, then set off to find something for me to eat.  She found two pieces of Kraft American cheese which had a bad case of rigor mortis, but I ate them anyway and gulped down some water and tried to get the fuzzy feeling in my head to go away.

After sitting down for about 30 minutes, I did manage to go out and finish singing with the choir, but it took several hours for me to feel totally right again.  I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before (other than, you know, after having my blood drawn or a shot…ahem) and I can’t think of any reason as to why it happened yesterday other than apparently extreme fatigue coupled with low blood sugar were not a good combination.

Another possible reason was mentioned to me by more than one person and I know some of you are thinking that yourself with eyebrows raised.  Let me spare you the speculation…I do remember passing out two or three times when I was pregnant with Tia so I know that is a possibility, however slim that may be.  But there have been signs that lead me to believe that that, indeed, is not the case. 

And just to be sure, I took a test.  And I’m not pregnant so nobody go gettin’ all excited unless you want to rejoice with me that I’m not pregnant.  You can do a happy dance with me…

All I know is that while it was definately bizarre and embarrassing, it could have been terribly mortifying.  The whole morning was just a little bizarre.  And with that, I will head off to eat a little breakfast!

He’s not having fun at all…

While his older brother and sister are galavanting about Florida with their grandparents, Landon is left here at home to experience something he has never known – what it’s like to be an only child.

I don’t think he likes it.  I mean, he’s got his dad all to himself…

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where he’s allowed to climb,

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stand,

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and jump

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onto daddy’s belly

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and he doesn’t have to fight

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with anyone else for daddy’s attention.

Daddy makes elephant sounds

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And Landon makes them back.

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He’s got daddy’s undivided attention,

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and he’s clearly not enjoying himself.

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Nope – not one little bit.

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On Menopause

Our friends Scott and Marci invited us to a client appreciation dinner last night and afterwards we were treated to the play, Menopause: The Musical.  A play where four menopausal (or post-menopausal) women sing and dance about all things menopause.  Lee and I were completely unsure about this play as we prepared to leave.  Lee in particular was preparing to meet the evening with a bit of trepidation.  But we were assured by many (men and women alike) that it is indeed a hilrious program, no matter how old you are.  And I will say – that is true.  We laughed…a lot.

A few observations:

  • Gettin’ old blows.  There’s no two ways about it.  Oh sure, with age comes maturity, experience, wisdom and all manner of blessings.  But with all those glorious blessings also come hot flashes, memory loss and, apparently, THE CRAZIES.
  • If you age with a sense of humor, it can be fun.  And funny, as these women so aptly proved last night.  I mean, really, singing about night flashes to the tune of Stayin’ Alive?  Funny.
  • I’m glad that the “change of life” is still a ways off for me.  Sweet mercy, I’ve already got THE CRAZIES.  I don’t need THE CRAZIES accompanied by hot flashes and memory loss…
  • Actually, come to think of it I am having uncharacteristic memory loss.  I think it’s kid-induced rather than hormonal, but it does prove that I’m only one hot flash shy of “the change.”  Awesome.
  • No matter which way you cut it, middle aged women dancing in robes and nighties and singing about hormonal changes and sex is funny…and uncomfortable – but mostly funny.
  • Do not drink two bottles of water and a glass of wine before the show, then take your seat in the middle of the row without going to the bathroom first.  There is no intermission…
  • Should you go see this play yourself be sure to sit directly behind two women who are in their sixties and cackle so loudly that you fear they may wet themselves.  It will totally and completely enhance the performance and will cause your husband to roll around in his chair overcome with hysterics.   

 

So, to recap – aging is inevitable; no matter how old you are, if you drink too much then sit down to watch a hysterical recounting of aging you will be uncomfortable and laughing will be dangerous; sit behind women who have already experienced “the change” – it’s way more fun; don’t get scared of “the change”, especially when you realize you’re one hot flash away from it; and aging blows, but it can also be funny.

I think that about covers it.

The good news? I’m a blonde again…

Sorry brunettes – you guys may be smarter, but after several months of being a brunette myself I’ve come to the conclusion that blondes actually do have more fun.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if I had pictures to back up my claim?  But alas, I suffer from mom syndrome in that I am always the one behind the camera, never in front of it.  Not that I mind, really.  Because rarely am I in any position to be standing in front of a camera unless someone with professional editing capabilities is ready and waiting to touch me up.  So you’ll just have to take my word for it – I was a smart brunette for three months and I am now a fun blonde again.

See? Look how much more fun I am already.

Ahem.

So….

The two older kids are leaving today to go to Florida for a week with their grandparents.  I’m excited – and a little jealous, but just a little.  They’re going to have a great time.  And it will be fun to have some one on one time with Landon this week, although I’m afraid he and I both may be a little bored.  I’m not entirely sure what to do with just one child any more.  I remember the days when one child was overwhelming…

It’s always a little nerve racking sending your kids away without you.  I hate the feeling of being out of control.  I can only imagine how terrifying it will be when they get older and they’re driving and I really have no control over what happens to them.  Ugh – I feel an ulcer coming on just thinking about it.  Would it be wrong to sequester them in a padded room from the age of 13 until about 23?

Did I mention that I was blonde again?  I feel all sassy like.  Well, except for the extreme fatigue that’s  resulted in bags and circles under my eyes.  I was up until 1:00 last night working on my article for STL Family Life.  I finished it yesterday morning and needed nothing more than to add the photo and a few hyperlinks.  But WordPress and HTML had other ideas – namely eating entire portions of my article not once, not twice but three flippin’ times!  By 12:30 I was near tears and muttering all manner of unladylike words (being blonde has made me saucy).

But alas, I finally conquered and prevailed and posted and went to bed.  Only to be awoken by a very excited little girl who stormed my bedroom at 5:45 announcing that today was the day they went to “Fwowida.”

Remember staying up until all hours of the night in college and it being all fun and easy and what not?  I was trying to figure out why it’s not fun, easy or…what not…anymore.  And I think I got it.  I had no responsibility back then.  I had merely to drag myself to a class or two, then back home where I could sleep as long as I wanted before getting up again.  There were no kids to feed, no beds to make, no suitcases to pack, no hugs and kisses to dole out, no fights to break up…life was way less complicated.  It was also pretty boring now that I think about it.

So in writing this post I’ve come to a sad realization – while being a blonde makes me more fun, being tired makes me a terrible drag.  I’m going to close it out before I bore you all to tears…

To read today’s article on STL Family Life, click here.

A Fairy I Am Not

This is the view from my bedroom looking down the hallway…

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I’d like to say that a little fairy came in while I slept and folded all these mounds of clothing that are waiting to be dispersed (read: shoved) into their respective drawers.

I’d like to say that…but I can’t.

The truth is I folded these mounds of clothes and I’m not done.  That’s only five of the nine loads of laundry I did yesterday.

Try not to be jealous of me, everyone.  I know it’s hard…

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