Kelli | Page 89 | Minivans Are Hot

Have you seen me?

August 5, 2009 by Kelli

If I believed in karma, I’d say we were getting a good dose of it.

If I believed in fate, I’d say she was out to get us.

But I don’t believe in those things. I do, however, believe that our dog sensed the fact that we were thinking about finding her a new home. And I think she took matters into her own hands paws.

Sadie ran away yesterday. She’s run off before, but never for very long. Usually she stays pretty close to home and comes back quickly. But when she wasn’t home after a couple of hours yesterday, I knew something was up. I’ve called the Police Department and animal control. I even drove almost all the way to Illinois this morning to the shelter to see if she had been brought in. But so far, no one has seen her.

This is not how I wanted it to end with Sadie. I wanted to find her a good, loving home where she would be taken care of and loved better than we were able to love her. And, oh my, the tears from my kids today have broken my heart. Sloan just brought me this drawing that he made for Sadie.

In case you can't read it, it says, I Love You Saedie. Love, Sloan.

So I am now going to print out some flyers to hang around the surrounding neighborhoods and see if anyone has her. We’ll see. Perhaps getting rid of her will be easier this way, but it sure seems like a sad way to lose our sweet dog. I didn’t want this for her. She really is a good little dog. If you live in Ballwin and see her, let me know!

Sweet Sadie

Filed Under: Family, Life

The screaming – Oh my the screaming…

August 4, 2009 by Kelli

Yesterday was Tia’s long-anticipated visit to the ENT. Well, long-anticipated for me. She didn’t know we were going until about an hour before the appointment.

Because I believe in the element of surprise. And because I believe in not listening to the fearful cries of my daughter for any longer than necessary.

Actually, she handled the news very well. Surprisingly well, in fact. She didn’t freak out or ask repeatedly why. She took it like a champ. And I actually convinced myself that the appointment was going to go smoothly. I entered into a fairy land where I suddenly believed that she would shed a few silent tears, but otherwise sit like a charm as the Dr. dug the hard, compacted wax out of her ears.

Further adding to my delusion was the fact that she was very excited about the ice cream treat that awaited her after the appointment as long as she promised not to scream.

Yes. I bribed my child. Shamelessly, I might add. And I worded the bribe carefully in an effort to set her up for success. All she had to do was not scream. Crying was permitted. Because I’m generous and a realist. Well, almost a realist anyway…

As we waited for the nurse to call her name, Tia was as chipper as could be. She actually seemed exctied. Until, that is, they took us into the examining room. That’s when she began to crumble.

First, her chin started quivering uncontrollably. Then, her eyes got so big they threatend to overtake her tiny little face. After that, she crawled into my lap, her lovey bear clutched in her white knuckled fists. Finally, she looked up at me and with a quavering voice said, “We go now and has ice team?”

I reminded her of our little deal – no screaming and we’ll go get ice cream. She nodded her head and turned as the door opened and the nurse came in with a thermometer. The kind that measures the temperature in the ear. And that, my friends, was the moment her desire for ice cream went out the window.

She screamed. She screamed really, really loud. And she arched her back and fell off my lap onto the floor. It took me and the nurse by surprise. Then it made me laugh.

After the nurse left (without getting her temperature), I reminded Tia of our little deal once more (I was willing to dole out grace at this point) and she nodded again. Then the doctor came in and she immediately clamped her hands over her ears.

After I pinned her arms down and wrapped my leg around her legs, the doctor cautiously approached. I think we scared him. And just as he got the very tip of his othoscope in her ear, she let loose.

“I DON’T WANT ICE CREAM!” she screeched. And the wailing commenced.

At that point, we all started laughing. I tried to hold her down, but there was no containing her. My daughter is freakishly strong. The doctor got a quick peek in one ear. Enough to determine that she does indeed have a lot of wax, but not enough to tell whether or not it might be impeding her hearing.

And the screaming – oh my, the screaming…

It wasn’t worth it for anyone to go on. He sent us to audiology where they determined that she is hearing fine, then gave me my options.

1.) Ignore it and try again in a couple of years when she’s older. The down side to this option is that the wax will continue to build and will eventually affect her ability to hear sounds.

2.) Put drops in her ears for a couple of weeks to soften the wax, then bring her back and try again. The down side to this is that somehow we will still have to contain her long enough to let them get the wax out.

3.) Put her under general anesthesia for about 10 minutes and let them clean her ears out completely. As far as Lee and I can tell there is no down side to this. So I’ve got an appointment to go back in a couple of week.

All that to say…we did not get ice cream yesterday.

Filed Under: funny stuff that happens, Kids, Motherhood, things I don't need to hear

Re-Post: Literal Art and the Worst Toy Ever Created

August 3, 2009 by Kelli

I’m exhausted today and I have mountains of laundry chasing me through the house like a really, really bad horror film. So I’m not going to even try to be original this morning. I’m just going to repost one of my favorites. The reason I pulled this one out is because my kids are marching through the house with that d*@# bird right now intent on driving their poor mama crazy.

Good times. Do enjoy, for a second time…

So Sloan came home from school with this masterpiece the other day. He was very proud of it. I placed it in the window in our kitchen. When Lee came home he looked at it told Sloan how cool it was. “What is it? What does it represent?” he asked.

“It’s just bread and goldfish,” Sloan responded, looking up at Lee as if he had just sprouted a second head.

Riiiight. So, it’s clearly not abstract art.

In other Lee stories (I post these with his permission), the other night Sloan and Tia were running around the house after their bath. They like to run “in their nakeds” as Sloan says. Apparently Sloan tripped and twisted his foot. He cried pretty hard and it was his “I’m really hurt” cry as opposed to the “I’m just making noise” cry. So Lee spent some time putting pressure on the foot and turning it to make sure there wasn’t any real damage.

Then, in what was an apparent attempt to be funny gone terribly awry, Lee told Sloan to stand on his feet, then reach down and touch his toes. When Sloan reached down, Lee pushed him. He was hoping to make Sloan laugh and forget about his pain. Instead, Sloan fell on his face and twisted his wrist underneath him. So now the concern was not whether he had broken his foot, but his wrist.

Sheesh. Boys (eyeroll).

Then, yesterday Lee came home for work all bright eyed and excited.

“Where are the kids?” he asked. “I’ve got a surprise for them.”

I was in the nursery trying to clean out the closets and drawers of all the clothes that no longer fit. I heard Lee tell the kids to sit down on the couch and close their eyes.

“Now, this is something for you guys to share.”
At this point, my heart fell slightly because my kids and sharing do not mix well. Then, I heard a bag crinkling and Lee told the kids to open their eyes. This is what I hear.

“Oh boy! Thanks dad! It’s a talking parrot!”

At this point I almost cried and let me tell you why. When we go to my parents condo, there is a man that lives down there that is precious and he loves kids. Every time we come, he brings this fake, talking parrot that repeats everything you say to Sloan to play with. After about ten minutes of Sloan screaming at the parrot and it screaming back at him, I generally feel a migraine coming on. That bird always mysteriously ends up on the very highest shelf, where he stays until we leave and have to give it back to Mr. Neal. This is the exact bird toy that Lee bought for the kids. It’s like a cruel joke. When he came in the bedroom he was all smiles. “They love it!” he said.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked. “Have I done something to offend you in any way?”

It was at this point that he realized what he had done. He started laughing, and God love me, I tried to laugh with him, I really did. Then he offered a mild apology. “It’s just so fun to shop at Cracker Barrell,” he said.

So now, as I post this, Sloan and Tia are in the basement screaming at the top of their lungs at the parrot and laughing hysterically as it screams back at them. And I am secretly plotting revenge on my husband.

Filed Under: blast from the past, Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Random

Girl’s Nite

July 31, 2009 by Kelli

Don’t you hate it when people misspell a word just because they think it amkes the event sound more catchy? I mean, really, what’s the purpose of spelling night, NITE?

Anyway, moving on…I had the privilege of joining my lovely neighbors for a girl’s NIGHT out last night. I had been looking forward to this for a while and the evening did not dissapoint.

We began our evening at The Old Spagetti Factory in the valley. I haven’t been there in years, and I’ve never been to the new one. I forgot how good their food is. And coupled with pleasant conversation made for a fabulous dinner.

Following our dinner, we headed to the mall where we saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Let me tell you what I thought of the latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise. Pull up a chair, grab a Cup of Joe – let’s have a chat.

So far I’ve been slightly disappointed in the Harry Potter movies. Up until last night, that is. I realize that the books are long and the storylines are complex so to make all of the movies true to the books would mean they would each be 5 hours long. Which isn’t realistic.

However, in the first five movies, I felt like such an emphasis was put on the special effects (which were fantastic for sure) that a lot of the dialogue was missing. In my opinion, if you’ve never read the books, they movies would seem very confusing. The movies make the assumption that everyone’s read the books first, so they cut out key elements of the books. (For example, little explanation was given on the prophecy concerning Harry and this was a key element I felt was missing in movie 5 – I could list a lot more examples, but I won’t bore you.

You are welcome.)

Did you like how I ended that paranthetical pause in a completely different paragraph? My college professional writing professor would have had a small heart attack over that one.

Last night’s movie, however, I felt was the best so far – until the end when they seemed to run out of time and steam. It followed the book pretty accurately, had great effects, and actually gave us a better insight into the characters of Harry, Ron and Hermione, which we haven’t really seen so far.

In short, I really liked it. It was funny, sweet, exciting and well done. Alan Rickman as Snape is superb, in all of the films, really, but particularly in this one. The the kids playing the title characters have just gotten better and cuter with age. It was just a really good movie.

Okay, I need to sign off. We’re headed to meet some friends this morning and I am still in my pajamas. I have roughly 20 minutes to change, fix mine and the kids’ hair, pack a lunch and get out the door.

I think we’re going to be late…

Filed Under: Kids, Life, Random Tagged With: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I’m sorry but it’s all I’ve got today…

July 29, 2009 by Kelli

My friend Nicole got me started on this train of thought. So you can thank her for the sad glimpse you’re about to get into my life…

I recently got some new tea. It’s fabulous, as this tea tends to be. Given that my throat is enflamed and my tonsils are kind of tap dancing next to one another, I’ve been drinking a lot of tea. Inspirational tea. Each tea bag has an inspiring quote like The Most Important Things in Life aren’t Things…

Mmmm…So true. Philosphy in a tea bag. Brilliant.

Anyway – last night, my tea inspiration told me to Start Living the Life You Always Dreamed. When I read it, Lee raised his eyebrows and looked over his own steaming mug at me.

“So what’s the life you always dreamed of?” he asked, a goofy grin pasted on his face.

“Well,” I replied, “If Brad and Angelina would split up, I might have a chance to live that life.”

To which Lee snorted. Yes, snorted.

Then, in my head I continued the thought because my husband didn’t ask, but if he had I would have told him…

My second option is to be 21 again so I can have Zac Efron (or at least drool over him in a less creepy, Cougar-ish sort of way). Because he’s a doll. I mean, really – if I were younger, I would have pictures of him plastered on my walls. I would swoon over Zac just like I swooned over Kirk Cameron, Uncle Jesse, Jordan Whatshisface from the New Kids (which I have no defense for other than when I had a crush on him I was 11 so, you know, a little slack…), Leonardo DiCaprio and so on. Zac Efron is swoon worthy – even for a thirty something.

But, I am a grown woman and I am married (to the more realistic man of my dreams, I might add) and Lee won’t let me hang a Zac poster now. He says that’s weird.

He might have a point…

What about you? Who do you drool over? Secretly, of course…

Filed Under: Random Tagged With: Leo Dicaprio, Uncle Jesse, Zac Efron

Mini S’Mores Cheesecakes

July 28, 2009 by Kelli

Mmmmm…mouthwatering.

We’re having friends over tonight for dinner. It will be simple – grilled chicken, salad, bread – maybe grilled vegetables – I haven’t decided yet. But the delight will come at dessert.

*UPDATE- So our friends had something come up and had to cancel so I’m not going to make these tonight – but I will find an occasion sometime this week to make these! Oh yes, I certainly will…

This recipe comes from Tea Time Magazine. I will add it to my tea recipes page (as well as some other recipes that I’ve been meaning to add).

Mini S’Mores Cheescakes
2 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c plus 2 T sugar, divided
1/2 c butter, melted
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1 t vanille extract
1 (1-oz) square bittersweet baking chocolate, melted
24 jumbo marshmellows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. Add the melted butter and egg white, and stir to combine. Press the crumb mixture into bottoms and halfway up sides of 2 (12 well) mini cheesecake pans. Bake for 3 minutes; set aside.
3. Increase oven temperature to 375.
4. In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar and cocoa powder until mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate, and mix until combined.
5. Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly among the prepared crumb crusts, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 6 – 8 minutes or until puffed and set. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for approximately 20 minutes.
6. Freeze for 1 hour. Just before serving, preheat broiler. Place 1 marshmellow on top of each cheesecake, and broil for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned. Carefully remove cheesecakes from pan, and serve immediately.

It sounds lick your lips good! I’ll try to take pictures later of the finished product. Now I need to go because my house just got eerily quiet, which almost always means someone’s up to no good. I’m off!

Filed Under: Life, Random, tea parties Tagged With: S'Mores Cheesecakes, Tea Time Magazine

The good of blogging

July 27, 2009 by Kelli

Blogging is a great thing. It is a powerful tool to reach numerous people with one minor strike of a key. It does, of course, hold some negative effects, one of those being the addictive power it can hold.

There are days when I find myself sucked into the blogosphere as a means of procrastination. I work really hard at not sitting at the computer all day because that’s not healthy for anyone; but some days, when I’m in a tired or lazy mood, I do tend to slack a little.

I am a work in progress.

There are a few blogs that I permit myself to read every single day. I try not to alot any more than 15 minutes of blog reading time most days, and, for the most part, I do a pretty good job of that (save for the aforementioned slacker days…)

One of the blogs I read faithfully is My Charming Kids. If you haven’t yet discovered this site, I highly recommend you check it out. Jennifer (or McKMama) is a brilliant writer, witty, a great mom, an encourager, a godly woman and she’s in need of prayer.

And this is what I love about blogs. Since she and her husband discovered the very serious nature of their son’s heart problem in the womb, the world – yes, I said world – has mobilized in prayer for their son. And we have witnessed miracle after miracle in that little boy’s life.

Stellan is now 9 months old and he is sick again. Will you pray? Will you allow this thing called the internet be used for good and cry out on behalf of a family that is desperate for healing?

For as much evil as the internet has brought into the world, it is beyond encouraging to see the good, and to participate in the good, that the internet holds.

So I ask that you join me today in praying for Stellan. A little miracle boy whose earthly heart is weak. And may we all rejoice in our ability to be a part of God’s miracles.

Filed Under: Blogging, Motherhood Tagged With: McKMama, My Charming Kids, prayer, Praying for Stellan, Stellan

The one with all the vomit – and other funny stuff…

July 24, 2009 by Kelli

It is amazing to me how two children from the same two parents can be so very different.

Sloan has a penchant for melodrama. He gets that from me. I know you’re shocked. I’ll give you a minute to let that bit of information sink in before we move on…

Better? Yes, as a child I tended to be slightly over dramatic about a few everything. I like to think of myself as a passionate person. And Sloan is my passionate child. Thus the reason he and I butt heads constantly. I’m positive my parents prayed fervantly that I ended up with a child just like me.

Tia, on the other hand, is relatively even-keeled. Unless she loses a race or gets beat in a game, then the gloves come off and she releases with a mighty fury. She only slightly competitive – just slightly like her daddy.

But when it comes to things like falling down, getting sick, etc… She’s our tough one.

When Sloan throws up, the world will know. There is great wailing and gnashing of teeth. There is a fair amount of bemoaning (Why did I have to get sick?) and he makes it plenty obvious that he’s not happy. And I can appreciate that – I really can.

So when Tia started throwing up last night, I braced myself for the hysterics. But they never came. In fact, we didn’t even know she had a stomach ache. (This is the same child who, the last time she got the stomach flu, threw up in her bed and went back to sleep in it – we never knew she’d gotten sick!) And as I held her over the sink and washed her mouth off, our conversation went like this:

Me: Are you feeling better now?
Tia: Yes. (heaves and spews)
Me: Does your tummy still hurt?
Tia: No (heaves and spews)
Me: Do you want a little drink?
Tia: No – I want to go night-night. (heaves and spews)

Sweet little girl threw up on and off all night last night, and each time she leaned her head over her bowl, took care of business, then rolled over and went back to sleep with hardly a word.

Yes – they are different. Both sweet and spicey in their own little ways.

_________________________________________________________

In other, slightly less disgusting news, Sloan and I had an interesting discussion yesterday. I won’t recount the whole thing because it’s not entirely appropriate for this public platform, but let’s just say it involved him giggling over the word penis.

Boys! Honestly, they don’t have to be taught do they?

And finally, this morning I took my brood (yes, even the sicko) to the Social Security office where I had to get all of our cards replaced due to them being stolen last year. That’s fuuuuun.

As we left, we walked past a man taking a smoke break. And my terribly un-shy 6-year-old piped up, “Why do you have a smoker? Don’t you know that’s bad for you? It makes your lungs black.”

Out of the mouth’s of babes…

Filed Under: Gross, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Sickness, Tia Tagged With: kids say the darndest things, stomach flu

A Man and His Dog

July 23, 2009 by Kelli

When I returned home from Florida Tuesday night, the first thing I thought as I walked through the door was NOT, thank God I’m home.

Instead I thought, What the *BLEEP* is that smell?

Ahem.

You see, the kids and I were gone for 14 days. For 5 of the 14 days, Lee was also gone. For the remaining 9 days that he was home, he worked long hours which means our dog had the run of the joint for 14 DAYS.

And our house smelled like a dog had been living in it for 14 days. She’s a good dog so there were no accidents on the floor (bless her heart) but the house just smelled like a dog. And an old person…I don’t know what to think about that…

I don’t know how Lee survived because I could hardly breathe. The only room that didn’t suffocate me, thankfully, was my bedroom. And her bed is in our bedroom, which leads me to believe that when we’re away, she sets up shop in the living room.

But not on the furniture because she’s not allowed.

And I walked the length of my couch with my nose pressed to the fabric and my butt up in the air inhaling deeply just to make sure that she obeyed the rules while I was gone. Unless she figured out how to cover her tracks (which clearly, given the stench in the rest of the house, she has not), it appears that she is indeed staying off the couch.

So yesterday I hauled my kiddos to the store where I stocked up on Pine-Sol, Swiffer Wet Jets, Pledge, rags and food since my husband apparently lived on chips and salsa while we were gone. Since the weather here is still bizarrely beautiful, I opened the windows, kicked nudged the kids out the door and gave my house a good old fashioned scrubbing.

I think it helped a little. But only a little. Now I’m just paranoid. I keep rounding corners and sniffing the air (a bit like a dog myself) and I swear I still smell that oldladymustydog smell. Not that I think old ladies smell like musty dogs or anything. You know, it’s just sometimes – oh, never mind…

I think we need to get new carpet, really. But I don’t want to buy new carpet, because Lee and I are already talking about the trip we want to take next year for our 10th anniversary (it’s gonna be good), and I don’t want boring carpet to take the place of an awesome vacation. Is that so wrong?

Honestly, I’ve illuded to it before, but we really are thinking about giving our dog away. She’s a great dog – we seriously couldn’t have found a better family dog. She’s sweet, great with kids, fun, obedient, hardly eats anything at all, which means it costs next to nothing to keep her and so on and so on. The problem is that she is a bit needy. She requires a lot of attention – a lot more than we’re able to give her. And she’s extremely athletic and we don’t have time to give her the proper exercise.

In short, I feel like she’s leading a sad little life with us and would be better with a family that actually had the time for her.

But every time I think about giving her away I get cold feet. She has become a part of the family whether we like it or not and it breaks my heart to think of abandoning her.

So I’m not sure. If I knew I could find a home where she would be loved and well taken care of, I think I’d be able to do it – but I won’t just give her to anyone. And I refuse to take her to the pound. There’s no way I could live with that.

What do you think we should do? Should we tough it out and keep her with us or find her a new home? Ah! It’s a dilemma.

Filed Under: Family, Life, Random

Nine Years

July 22, 2009 by Kelli

To a man who constantly makes me laugh, makes me wonder, loves me well and is making all my dreams come true, I say Happy Anniversary.

This was us then:

July 22, 2000

Honeymoon in Orcas Island off the coast of Seattle

Awwww...Ferrying to Victoria, British Columibia

Awwww...Ferrying to Victoria, British Columbia

And here we are now:

Sadly, I could not find a single recent picture of just the two of us - but given that our greatest accomplishment as a married couple are these three kids, I found this shot fitting...

It hasn’t always been easy, but truth be told, it hasn’t been that hard. God has blessed our marriage beyond my wildest dreams.

Lee, I love you.

And I look forward to the next 51 years, 4 months, 22 days +…

Filed Under: Family, Life, Marriage