STL Family Life | Minivans Are Hot

Monday in Bullets

November 22, 2010 by Kelli

– My children are systematically trying to ensure that I never sleep a full night again. This is the part of the mom blog where I’m supposed to say that it’s Thanksgiving and I’m thankful for the sound of their little feet pitter pattering through the house no matter how early it is…

I’m not gonna say that. I want to sleep. I want to sleep all night long without someone coming into my room for this, that and the other. I’m tired today. And a little crabby.

– In Landon’s defense, he has been dealing with winter illnesses for a couple of weeks now. He’s had a cold, that’s morphed into upper respiratory issues on top of which he’s developed pink eye and has so far this morning puked twice. Good times. In the midst of that, we’ve moved him out of the crib into a big bed allowing him the freedom to traipse into our room at all hours of the night. Because we’re brilliant like that.

– Yesterday we attended our church’s annual Family Christmas Workshop. I love this event. There are almost 100 rooms set up with different homemade crafts for the kids to make. There are Christmas carols and cookies (so many cookies!) and it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season. It also gives us several handmade gifts to give to teachers and grandparents. Score!

– Speaking of our church, we are putting on a Broadway style musical in a couple of weeks and, if I do say so myself, it’s going to be amazing. Wanna come? Purchase tickets here. Most of the front tables have already been sold, but there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. And in addition to a great show, you’ll also get dessert! All for ten dollars. Please come!

– I have a fantastic giveaway up on STL Family Life today. Seriously – you don’t want to miss it. The bracelet I’m giving away is gorgeous. I so wish I could keep it for myself.

– Landon is watching Toy Story 3 Monster’s Inc. right now. I am letting him watch all the TV he wants today. It keeps him still and near the puke bowl in case he needs it. And it keeps me from having to follow him around the house hoping to catch his upchuck because, as we all know, toddlers give no warning before spewing.

– I’m grateful to my husband. He’s been amazing this weekend. He helped me out so much in a variety of different ways and this morning before leaving he told me he knew today was going to be sucky and he was sorry. I so needed to hear that. I didn’t need a pep talk about how I could do this and how I would survive this day and how I just needed to power through. I just needed to hear some acknowledgment that today, indeed, will be a sucky day. What a guy…

– I’m going to sit down and take a nap on the couch fold laundry while Landon watches his movie. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t yak on me while I sleep work.

– Go Monday – FTW!

Filed Under: Family, Gross, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Lee, Life Tagged With: E-Free Christmas Dessert Musical, JewelMinx, Kids, kids with flu, Monday blues, sick kids, STL Family Life

Bits and Pieces

June 10, 2010 by Kelli

Yesterday was the big day. Landon got his cast removed. I’ve never had a cast before, but I imagine that had my arm been wrapped in plastic for almost a month I would want to bend and straighten my elbow over and over and rub my hand up and down my arm like he did. It was really adorable. He seemed quite thrilled with his ability to once again move his arm. He now has a removeable splint that he’s supposed to wear while he’s playing (so essentially all day long) for the next month.

Right. Good luck with that. He’s already figured out how to take it off.

I had to take all three kids with me to have his cast removed. I was worried. But they did great. They didn’t freak out when the saw was turned on and niether one of them asked if they could have a cast put on.

I cleaned out the bins of old clothes in the basement yesterday. I filled four oversized garbage bags to be dropped off at Goodwill and a fifth garbage bag filled with clothes that had apparently been home to our mouse family last year. Do you know what it does to someone like me to have to stick her hand in a bin that has obviously harbored small furry creatures? I’m surprised I didn’t go into cardiac arrest. I kept expecting little zombie mice to start crawling out of the box and up my arms. I didn’t even try to see if any of the clothes were salvagable. I just dumped them in the trash bag.

*shudder*

Lee and I are still attempting to keep up with P90X. The workouts themselves, while hard, are not that bad. Finding the time to do them, however, if proving to be a bit of a challenge. I can only get up at 5:00 AM so many days before I turn into crazy-psycho-needs-some-sleep mommy. I figure I’m of better use to my kids awake and alert but slightly flabby than super fit and walking in my sleep.

And finally, to cap off this most random of posts, I will let you know that it appears someone got a hold of my new camera yesterday and took several pictures. I’m not going to name any names, but the evidence is compelling.

To read my latest post for STL Family Life, click the tab on the right or right here.

Filed Under: funny stuff that happens, Kids, Kids do the darndest things, Landon, Life, Motherhood, Random, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Funny Kids, Kids and Cameras, Kids and Casts, P90X, STL Family Life

Reunited and it feels so good

March 17, 2010 by Kelli

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

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…

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Landon, Life, Sloan, Tia Tagged With: Kids, Life Goes On, Reunited, STL Family Life

The good news? I’m a blonde again…

March 10, 2010 by Kelli

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.