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As luck would have it

June 4, 2010 by Kelli

Part of my Craig’s List money went toward a minor room redecoration. I never liked the bedding I bought for our king size bed a couple of years ago and last year when we recevied our new furniture it just accented the ugliness of our bedding. So I bought new bedding.

Here’s the thing – I don’t have a decorator’s bone in my body. Which makes the fact that I recently started freelancing for a decorator’s blog slightly humorous, wouldn’t you say? The fact is, I just don’t know how to put together a room. I don’t know what looks good where, how to hang photos, what pieces to use for accents – it’s just not my strong suit. So given that knowledge, I’m pretty proud of the minor changes I made to our bedroom.

Obviously, finding the right bedding was my first goal. As soon as I saw this bedding online, I fell in love with it. I ordered it two months ago and it just arrived yesterday due to back order issues. Just in time for my birthday. Yes, I am 29 AGAIN today. Lee seems to luck out on birthday gifts wouldn’t you say? Last year our furniture happened to arrive the day before my birthday as well.

Remember this?

So here we are, one year later, and my bed is finally outfitted properly.

I also bought new side table lamps since our old ones didn’t match and were not even remotely cute. Behold, the glory of a cute side table lamp:

Many thanks to HomeGoods for being the perfect place for non-decorators like me to shop. And naturally we needed a few accents in the room to pull it all together. Naturally.

Lee’s not overly crazy about the urn. “It’s weird,” he keeps saying. “What’s the purpose?” And I’m all, “Dude, you obviously know nothing about decorating a room…”

Weird urn aside, I like how things are coming together in there. I still need to figure out what to do in one naked corner and I need to re-hang a few pictures that don’t look right and, eventually, I’d like to repaint the walls. But what color? Those are the types of decisions that stress me out.

For now, however, I’m going to rest my head on some cute pillows and let out a sigh of accomplishment because I conquered my fear of redecorating a room!

Now if I could only get my husband to take the suitcases down to the basement as they are totally messing with my Feng Shui.

I feel like I’m living in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.

All photos were taken with my new point and shoot, courtesy of my parents. I love my Pentax and the quality of pictures it takes, but the thing is a mammoth and, to be honest, I wasn’t crazy about hauling it around the Zoo with me. It made me nervous. So I’m excited to have a smaller camera that I can stick in my pocket. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Lee, Life, Marriage, Random, shameless self-promotion Tagged With: Decorating a bedroom, Echo Jaipur Bedding

What We’re Up To

June 3, 2010 by Kelli

It’s summertime. And the livin’ is easy…

But I’m not gonna let the livin’ be lazy. My kids get up at the crack of dawn. It’s not unusual for us to be up, fed, dressed and ready for the day by 7:30 – not because I want it to be that way, you see. I would give a limb for them to sleep until 8:00 just once. Heck, I’d be thrilled if they slept until 7:00! So with everyone waking up so early, what on Earth will we do with ourselves all day everyday? This week we started our summer schedule and built in to every weekday is “learning time” from 8:00-9:00.

It looks a little like this:

And Landon usually looks like this because I make him leave the room and play quietly by himself while the older kids work…something he’s not overly fond of.

This time is being spent on their Russian homework, Tia’s English Alphabet (poor girl, we’ve spent so much time on the Russian that she doesn’t know her English letters at all), Sloan working on his summer packet from school, math, reading and writing in their journals. It’s actually going really well. The kids are able to get all of their work out of the way early which frees them up to play the rest of the day.

We set a reading goal for Sloan this summer. If he reads 10 books, we’ll go to Chuck E Cheese. If he reads 20 books, we’ll go to the Magic House. If he reads 35 books in English and 5 books in Russian we will spend the whole day at Six Flags. So far he has completed one book and is chomping at the bit to go to the library to check out new books.

We’ll do that as soon as I pay off our overdue book fines. Ahem…

I think I’m going to like this schedule. It’s tough, for sure. I would much rather let them watch TV all morning so I could play on the computer, but I know this is a more productive way to spend these early morning hours. It means I will have less time to blog, which is probably not a bad thing. It will mean I need to be much more disciplined with my time, which is definately not a bad thing. But it will also mean that I will be able to send Sloan to 1st grade prepared and Tia will finally know the difference between the letter H in English and the letter H (which sounds like N) in Russian. It’s kind of important that I teach her that…

What are your summer plans?

Filed Under: discipline, Family, Kids, Life, Motherhood Tagged With: Kids, summertime, teaching kids

Hey Becke’. It’s Your Birfday!

June 2, 2010 by Kelli

Happy Birthday to my amazing, funny, wickedly talented, godly, beautiful sister-in-law, Becke’. I didn’t have a sister growing up. It would have been fun to have one, but God has blessed me with a great sister-in-law who shares many of the same passions and loves that I do. The need for a sister has been fulfilled in Becke and I am grateful.

Some things you should know about Becke’:

– She is an amazing singer. Seriously, the girl can hit some crazy notes.

– She is a gifted writer. And photographer.

– She’s very crafty, although I don’t think she would say that she is. But compared to me, she’s a flippin’ Picasso.

– She is really good at applying make up. Way better than me. I’m always amazed at how put together her face is.

– She is equally gifted at using a curling iron. I, on the other hand, tend to look like Simba if I try to curl my hair.

– She is a master wasp killer. She needs nothing more than a Steno Pad and me yelping on the sidelines.

– She will sometimes answer to the name Coco Mama. Try calling it out in a crowded room – I bet she turns around…

– She has a wicked sense of humor.

– She has the most tender heart and really loves the Lord with all her soul.

– She is a great mom.

– She’s very patient and level headed. Unless someone drops a salt shaker and breaks it. But she recouperates quickly.

– I really can’t think of anything that Becke’ can’t do. She’s like Mary Poppins…practically perfect in every way.

We love you Becke’! Hope today is great.

Filed Under: Family, Random

Memorial Day Weekend

May 31, 2010 by Kelli

This weekend has been full of time together. Blessed, sweet, down time together. We’ve done things like:

Hit the baseball…with our eyes closed.

Worn our soccer shirt because we’re sad soccer is over.

We haven’t let a little thing like a broken arm slow us down.

We’ve enjoyed having daddy all to ourselves for three whole days.

We’ve made funny faces while hitting the baseball.

We’ve let daddy give us instruction on our batting stance.

We haven’t worn shoes.

And we’ve eaten Star Wars Pancakes.

We’ve all spent time at the park and the pool as well as spent time this morning as a family praying for Sgt. Jeremy Nevil in Afghanistan. We love you Jeremy! We can’t wait until you’re home with your precious family.

Happy Memorial Day. I pray that it’s been blessed as we remember the men and women who have sacrificed so that we could enjoy the blessings of freedom.

May the Force be With You All!

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Landon, Lee, Life, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Kids playing ball, Memorial Day

Like Fish to Water…and other stuff

May 27, 2010 by Kelli

Yesterday was a big day in the life of the first born. He graduated.

Kindergarten, that is. I’ve never fully understood the point of kindergarten graduations to be honest, but if having a promotion ceremony means I get to watch 60 five and six year olds sing songs and beam with pride, then I’ll take it. Because it was awesome. I almost got a cavity from all the sweetness.

But here is my dilemma, oh internets. When I was three, I sang my first solo in church. It was Away in the Manger and I belted it out with pride. I have a vague memory of my dad standing at the bottom of the steps snapping a picture. By the time I was in Elementary School I was a performing addict. I would put plays on at my home making my brother suffer endlessly as he played a host of characters in my little productions. I loved drama (shocker, I know) and I loved singing on stage.

I was like a tiny Rachel Berry with a Wisconsin accent.

So how is it, my friends, that I have a child who is so terribly stage shy? Even more? He’s got a great voice, loads of personality and can feel the nuances and rhythms of music extremely well for a six year old. Yet every time he gets on stage he looks like this:

To his credit, he was one of four children who were asked to stand around the microphone for one song and he did it without bursting into tears. He didn’t sing his heart out, but he DID stand up there in front of the mic and I was thrilled. That was a big step for him and I almost clapped my hands raw.

I tried to upload the video but YouTube was being funky and I don’t have all day for it to load. I know you’re disappointed.

In celebration of the graduates accomplishment, I let him pick the restaurant for lunch – he chose Cheeburger, Cheeburger. So off we skipped to the mall, his graduation cap firmly placed on his head throughout the entire lunch. He is a first grader now.

How is it possible that I have a first grader?! Didn’t I just graduate college, like, yesterday?

My birthday’s coming up next week. That, combined with the fact that I have a first grader is causing a minor panic attack.

In addition to the commencement ceremony, we decided to hit the deck for the first time this year. The pool deck, that is. I’m so glad my kids love to swim. And they’re really good at it. They take to the water like little fish. And for the first time, I don’t have to be right in the water with them. I have to be close in case Landon’s float flips him over, but I don’t have to be in the water with kids hanging on me.

Which means I can sit on the side and work on my tan – because that’s what life is all about…gettin’ tan.

I kid. Don’t worry, I do watch my kids while they swim. While I’m getting a tan…

Sometimes I watch them through the lens:

This child is starting to look like a little man. Totally freaks me out.

I'm glad I sprung for the waterproof cast.

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Motherhood, School, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Kids swimming, kindergarten graduation, summertime

Wordless Wednesday: The Tooth Fairy is Going Broke

May 26, 2010 by Kelli

For those of you keeping track – okay, I’m probably the only one keeping track – Sloan has now lost six teeth. Two on the bottom and four on top. Every time he smiles I crack up a little.

For the record, she still has all her teeth. She wanted to show me.

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Motherhood, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Kids losing teeth, Wordless Wednesday. Tooth Fairy

Live and Learn

May 25, 2010 by Kelli

I had a casual business meeting yesterday. It was at a St. Louis Bread Company so I decided rather than round up childcare for Landon and Tia, I’d just take them along. No big deal. They know how to behave in a restaurant.

Riiiight.

I’m not sure exactly when I determined that bringing them along was a bad idea. It might have been about the time that Landon started dipping his napkin in his cup. Or maybe it was when he poured his entire cup of water over his sandwich.

No, that wasn’t it.

It could have been the moment when they both crawled under the table and started peeking their eyes up over the edge and laughing hysterically. At that point I got a nagging feeling that this meeting wasn’t going as well as it could have.

I think the breaking point came when they spilled out from under the table and began wrestling on the floor. Right in the middle of the restaurant. Shrieking and laughing.

Yeah. That was it. That was the moment that I knew bringing them along had been a very. bad. idea.

Thankfully, the woman I was meeting was gracious, a mom herself, and had a great sense of humor. We might even be able to do a little work together.

Provided, of course, that I never bring my kids along again.

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Motherhood, Tia Tagged With: Kids, Panera Bread, Working Mom

Disturbing

May 21, 2010 by Kelli

Landon took me by the hand the other day and led me into the dining room (which is used as the arts and crafts room these days) and showed me this:

“Baby. Boo-Boo,” he said, eyes big. “I do dat.” Then he grinned, turned and walked out of the room.

Every time I walk in there, this creepy looking baby is staring at me.

It’s kind of disturbing.

Filed Under: Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon Tagged With: Kids, Kids coloring on walls, Kids do the darndest things

Let’s have a chat

May 20, 2010 by Kelli

This post is going to be a random conglomerate.

Landon got his permanent cast on yesterday. He picked a fiery red cast. They decided to cast him all the way up above his elbow even though the fracture was in his wrist. Otherwise he might be able to pull the cast off. I saw the X-Rays. He broke both the ulna and the radius just above the growth plate. We’re thankful the growth plate wasn’t affected at all!

He’s proud of his cast. And Steve the monkey got a cast too because his arm was hurt. So everyone is healing.

Tia seems to be a little jealous. She told me she wished she had a ‘puwple tast’ for her arm. Here she is pretending she has a cast like her brother. Landon’s trying to figure out how to navigate the world left handed. Watching him eat brings a smile to my face. Half the time he misses his mouth, the other half the time he shoves the fork down his throat.

Lee has found the silver lining in this whole broken wrist ordeal. “He’ll get tons of practice dribbling the ball left handed,” Lee said, his eyes getting all glassy and dreamy. So, you know, he’s got that going for him…

My kids, like all kids, wear me out daily with their constant fighting, whining, tattling and arguing. But it’s moments like this one that we had last night…

…that energize me and give me the strength to get through one more day. I am writing this at 7:48 in the morning and the kids are screaming at each other behind me. I keep looking at the picture to remind myself that there are sweet moments to look forward to.

Speaking of being energized, you can read my latest post over at 5 Minutes for Mom. It’s all about how I’m actually NOT supermom.

Tia had her last day of perschool yesterday. I’m so excited for summer break. I have all sorts of lofty goals and plans for the kids. We’ll see if I can stick with it or if I cave and let them watch TV all day long. Just kidding, I would never do that…

Lee and I started the P90X workout this week. I can’t move anything from my neck to my ankles without gasping in pain and I’m walking like a ninety year old woman with a hunchback. It’s intense but so far we’re enjoying it. Except for the Abs workout, which I’m fairly certain was developed by Lucifer himself. Seriously, if I cough or sneeze I have to hold onto something to offset the pain. Fun…

I had a whole paragraph (or two) written about the Arizona Immigration bill and my horror at the President’s audacity to stand up next to a foreign President and publicly call out another State. I’ll save you my rant, but will say that we are the United States of America. We don’t need a President who’s a man of all Countries. We need him to be the man of the People, which is what we elected him for.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Now I’m going to hobble my way to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. I will attempt to brush my hair, but given that it hurts to raise my hands above my shoulders I may have to lay a hat down on the bed and shove my head into it…

Filed Under: Exercise, Family, funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Life, Motherhood, politics, Random, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Arizona Immigration bill, Childhood broken bones, random post

He had to be first

May 19, 2010 by Kelli

Alternately titled: Those Third-Born’s Are Gonna Get the Attention Any Way They Can…

Sloan is the vivacious first born.

Tia is the only girl.

Landon is the third born who gets left behind a lot.

So he has to make a name for himself in this world.

One way he’s done that? Being the first to break a bone.

We have our first experience in a cast around here. We’re not entirely sure what happened. We were eating dinner. One minute Landon was in his seat – the next, he wasn’t. He came up gagging and choking on the chicken in his mouth, so you know, we had heart attacks.

When we all recovered from that we noticed his wrist was limp. He wouldn’t move it, wouldn’t grasp anything, didn’t want us to touch it. He also got lethargic and sleepy, so we immediately worried about a concussion. Rather than take any chances (Sloan had a concussion when he was 18 months old. We waited several hours to go to the hospital and he ended up on an IV) we decided to take him to the ER.

By the time we got to the hospital he had perked up a bit, but still refused to use his hand. Two hours later we came home with him in a temporary cast. I get to call the Ortho today to get him set up ith a permanent cast.

Goody. Just in time for swimming weather…

He didn’t have a concussion, though and despite his arm in obvious pain, he’s back to his usual self.

So there you have it – the third born has made a name for himself. He was the first.

Yay!