Live and Learn

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.

Disturbing

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:

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“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.

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It’s kind of disturbing.

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Let’s have a chat

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!

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 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.

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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…

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…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.

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 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…

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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…

He had to be first

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.

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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.

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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!

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To Arkansas and Back

We spent a lovely, relaxing week in Arkansas last week where we kicked off our time celebrating the graduation of Lee’s youngest brother from the University of Central Arkansas.  Zach was thirteen when I first met him.  He was fourteen when Lee and I got married.  And now he’s all grown up, has a job and is such a great guy.  I’m so proud of him.

I’m getting verklempt.  Talk amongst yaselves.  I’ll give you a topic.  The Partridge Family was neither a Partridge nor a family…discuss.

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We heard rumors that Kris Allen (also a UCA alum) was at the graduation.  Actually, it wasn’t a rumor – Zach’s girlfriend got stuck behind the mob of young fans wanting his autograph.  I didn’t see him, though, and it’s too bad because I think he’s a doll.  I would have stared.  I’m not afraid to admit it.

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My son is a goofball.  Seriously, where does this kid get his over the top personality?  Lee and I are so reserved and shy…

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My sister-in-law, Becke’, photographer extraordinaire, sat down and gave me some great photo tips.  I learned about ISO (they’re like worker bees.  Trust me…), f-stop, shutter speed, and how the three work together to create the perfect exposure.  I learned how to shoot in Manual mode and, while I need a lot of practice (I still can’t take a decent picture indoors) I came away taking better pictures from just one session.  I’m telling you – Becke’s good.

(She is equally skilled, incidentally, at killing mutant Arkansas wasps that better resemble a hummingbird than a wasp using nothing but a Steno Pad and sheer force while others, who are less brave than she, look on.  Don’t ask me how I know this.)

Flowers are the best practice subject.  They have vibrant color, unique shape and they’re still while you take their picture.  Not like my kids who are apparently allergic to sitting still.

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See that blurry background?  I set that!  I determined how much blur I wanted (the f-stop, if you will) and adjusted my shutter speed and ISO to match.  Me!  Let’s all do the happy dance together, shall we?

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Now I just want an editing software.  I am hereby entering every contest I come across for Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say I need Lightroom or Photoshop, but my want is riiiiight on the border of a need.

Besides photo lessons and graduation, we enjoyed an abundance of family time.  We ate out every night – and when I say every night, I mean every.single.night.  My stomach is in rebellion.  I’m on a bit of a detox today of dried fruit, water and green tea.

We watched the kids soak up as much cousin time as they possibly could.  From putt-putt to Wii, those kids relished every moment together.  I loved playing with my cousins growing up and have so many cousin memories, so I’m excited to see my kids building the same memories.

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The lone girl.  She held her own with all those boys, even trying to convince her older cousin that she had boy parts.  We’re still trying to get her to understand that she is, indeed, actually a girl

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The baby of the family was so thrilled to be invited along with all the big kids that I thought he might actually jump out of his skin on the way to play golf.

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Sam – the concentrator.

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Cade – the sports nut.  Feel the emotion.

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Eli – the cut up.

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Sloan – the one who’s here to have fun.

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We are officially back to life, back to reality.  But – glory! – school is almost over.  Tia has three days left.  Sloan has ten.  I can’t wait for summer vacation. 

How long do you think it will take for me to wish school would start up again?

Further proof that I was right – Minivans Are Hot!

The Haircut Heard ‘Round the World – One Year Later

On May 13, 2009, my children successfully completed a rite of passage for childhood.  They did it with reckless abandon and fully confident that what they were doing was brilliant.  They were proud of this accomplishment.

But alas, their pride was short lived and shattered the minute I gasped, shrieked and cried, “NOOOOOOOO,” before bursting into tears.

The home done haircut.  We all did it as kids.  I cut my bangs to the scalp when I was five and my mom reacted with similar shock, horror and anger to mine this day last year.  But you see – my kids, they never do anything small.  Oh no – they go full in, balls to the walls, after life.  It’s a quality that will serve them well in life.

Provided that neither one of them ever decides to become a hairdresser, of course…

I give you – the haircut: Before and After.

Before:

The Front

One year later:

Kelli May 10-10 

Before:

 

Too bad the mullet is no longer in style

One year later:

Kelli May 10-11

Before:

Why couldn't he have done this on the other side?

One year later:

 Kelli May 10-12

Before:

She's going to have to get used to head bands.

One year later:

 Kelli May 10-6

In the midst of my grief last year, so many people were sweet enough to remind me that I would one day look back on that moment and laugh.  They were right – I do.  But I also still remember that horror and the heavy pit in my stomach.  So while I may laugh, I also cringe.

For Sloan’s sake, however, I have lifted the ban on his usage of scissors.  This time last year he was forbidden to use them until he was 104.  So as you can see, I have come a long way…

Repost: Sometimes a kiss and a bandaid won’t do

This was originally posted in July, 2008 after Tia had lost her beloved Lovey Bear on our trip to SeaWorld.  She was devastated, as was I.  In fact, I think I cried more than she did.  But alas, this story has a happy ending.  I ended up tracking down not one, but TWO more Lovey Bears (for a pretty penny, I might add) and that ratty purple bear is still a staple in our home.

And when I say staple, I mean he goes where Tia goes, unless, of course, she drops him while she’s on the run, in which case I end up searching frantically for him.  I think it’s safe to say I spend half my time looking for that blasted bear.  Sometimes I wonder why I went to so much troublw to replace him…

I’ve pretty much given up hope on finding Tia’s lovey. I know I’ve been talking about this a lot, but it really has been an upsetting thing for her and for me. I spent a little time thinking about it last night because I have honestly fluctuated between crying over that silly bear and laughing at myself for getting so upset. It’s more than just the fact that we lost a little piece of Tia. That, of course, does make me so sad, but it goes beyond those emotions.

As parents, we work hard to fix our children’s problems – especially when they’re little and the problems are so easy to fix. You got a scrape? Let mommy kiss it – all better! You’re scared? Here, come snuggle with mommy.  And so it goes… 

The problems, in general, are just easier to fix during these young years. But now, suddenly, my daughter has a problem that I cannot fix for her. It’s relatively minor, of course, compared to the real tragedies that could happen. But in her little two year old mind, she is missing her best friend and I am unable to fix that for her. I can’t turn back the clock and look for lovey before we left the hotel. I can’t will him to appear. I can’t find another one on the internet. It’s the first time I’ve watched one of my kids face disappointment and it stinks!

My mom wisely told me the other day that this will not be the last time I have to sit back and watch my child hurt and know there’s nothing I can do to fix it. We are approaching the school days when the sharp, pointed barbs of another child’s words could potentially devastate one of my kids. That is a wound I cannot prevent and it will equally cut through my heart to see them suffer such disappointment. There will likely be some snot nosed little boy that will one day come along and break my daughter’s heart and I will have to sit back and let her be refined through that experience.

Although truth be told, if a boy comes along and makes her cry, he’ll have to be far more worried about her daddy than he will me…

There are so many disappointments to come, so many heartaches that mommy will not be able to kiss away. For now I will relish the thought that for the most part, I am their hero. I can fix their problems, but I am praying the Lord will give me the strength to handle the bigger disappointments to come because if I get this upset over a little bear, what will I do when something worse happens?

With time, Tia will slowly forget that little purple bear. Before long, his memory will exist to her only through pictures and the stories we tell. I, however, will probably always long to find her lovey bear. I imagine that for years to come, every time I pass a children’s section of a store, my eyes will automatically glance through the stuffed animals hanging up disply, looking and hoping to see lovey bear. Long after her affections have moved on to something else, my heart will still long to ease the pain of the few weeks when she longed for her friend, her comfort.

Am I obssesive, or is this just natural? I haven’t figured that one out yet.

Favorites Week

I’m spending the week in Arkansas and I have limited access to the internet, so posting will be sparse.  This is a good thing.  I’m enjoying some time away from the computer and plan on reading a lot, sleeping a lot and not having a schedule.

Did you hear what I just said?!  Not having a schedule…I thrive on schedules, actually.  I hate not having a plan to my day.  But the last few weeks have been so crazy and so over-scheduled that I’ve experienced a bit of a burn-out. 

And when I say a bit of a burn-out, I mean I’ve been almost in full blown panic mode and have felt the need to carry a brown paper bag with me at all times.

Lee and his dad and brothers left while it was still dark this morning for a week of golfing and boy time, in which I’m sure they will eat, drink and be merry in abundance.  And I will spend the time relaxing with my mother-in-law and my kids.  Not having a schedule.  Not having anywhere I have to be.  Not having anything I have to do. 

Today was my first unscheduled day and I found myself a little nervous.  I didn’t really know what to do with myself.  So I took a nap.  Then I read a book while watching my kids play outside.  Then I went to see a movie with my mother and sister-in-law.  Now I’m squeezing in a bit of computer time before I go read some more.

And tomorrow will be more of the same.  I’m nervous and excited.  More excited than nervous, though…

So I will be reposting some of my favorite posts from the past couple of years this week, while sprinkling in new posts when I have the chance – just so I can have something up here.  Enjoy your week, all! 🙂

Wordless Wednesday: Monkey See, Monkey Do

Sloan and an Ape made nice at the Zoo last week.

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