Its back

Went and had my hair done yesterday. Sis tagged along. Just the two of us. Two hours, confined in a stroller. It was fun. Ha!Ha!

Dr. visit this am...return of the cast. Only three weeks this time. (easy for them to say. A 5 year old with a cast for any amount of time is an eternity, much less when it is getting warmer) Told them he didn't need a walking shoe because I had the one from last time. Well, I did have at least. Searched & searched. Hmmm....he says, I think sissy got it and hid it in her room. (knowing I wouldn't go in there because she was sleeping) after we turned the house upside down he admitted he took it & just can't remember what he did with it. Got sent to his room for telling a lie but as I walked past the stairs he was laying on them with his head down. When I asked what he was doing he said, "praying, duh". He's lucky he's so stinkin' cute. I think I might have found a shoe at a medical equipment supplier. We will go check it out anyway. If not, life will be very difficult the next 3 weeks. Doc warned that if that red got even a little damp it would stain anything it came in contact with. great.

Last night's tball. He did a good job. Played second base and stopped a ball and got an out.

Project for this weekend: assemble chairs. Scary that the boxes are so small. I take it to mean there is nothing about them that is already put together?! And SW, not sure how you do it. I am a terrible "boss" for myself. Cannot manage time at all. Have a case on my desk that has been there a few days & haven't even opened the envelope. Will think about it sometime...maybe ;)

sibling love

the boys got out the "surf boards" that they take to the swimming pool and decided to sword fight with them.

sister decided she would get in on the fun

all 3 of them were going at it

she was telling them it was time to stop (before someone got hurt)

need to vs. want to

I need to be cleaning my house & doing laundry. But I really DO NOT want to. I managed to get little man's bedroom & bathroom finished, only because hubby has a clilent coming in town tomorrow and he will be staying with us. Very nice man, has stayed before, but doesn't have children so I always worry about coming into a house with 3! In the process of cleaning (the one bedroom) I decided to move a night stand (by myself). A very, very heavy nightstand. And I decided it needed to go upstairs. Took a bit, but I made it. Only slipped once, but I think I have a permanent indention in my ankle.

addendum to previous post

regarding the part where it was "more for me"...that was in my own little mind. I could feel my self about to reach that point and a little girl time was much needed :)

A good day

Well, we planned lunch as a "booster" for sweet SW...good luck tomorrow, many prayers :) but I think it ended up being more for me.
A great bunch of friends is something everybody needs.
And today I needed them. Thanks girls.
(I cannot believe NOBODY brought a camera this time!)

Much to his dismay, little man stayed at school all day. So when we got home, off he went on a big adventure.
The BB gun has been reinstated on a trial basis, as he tried to shoot his brother over the weekend.

We were checking the mail and Speck was complaining that his picture hadn't ever been in the turkey magazine like his dad said it would. As I was explaining that sometimes it takes a while, he was flipping through...


and there he was! I didn't think I would ever get my phone back! Congratulations buddy on finally getting "published"!!!

as I was typing this he comes in and says "are you seriously blogging about that?" How does he know about blogging?!

seriously?

I do not have a facebook account, I struggle with the blog and the whole privacy thing all by its self, I couldn't handle 2! Just weird that way. Maybe its because my dad is a cop & all I hear about is how bad things can happen...anyway, hubby does have a fb account and I have the password. Sometimes when boredom sets in (& lets face it, thats all the time with 3 kids HA! HA!) I get on and click through cyberspace & sometimes even find an old friend. He doesn't have too many friends, compared to some, but I don't know a lot of them. Most are people (girls) from high school. And that is fine by me. I have never, ever, ever been the jealous type. & I hope its not starting now. I don't even ask about most of them but I do look just to see who they are. Well, what's the old saying..."curiosity killed the cat?" He had a new message, & he's had them before, so I looked. Nothing over the top, or even really out in left field, but in my opinion out of line. They went to high school together & have no idea if they dated & can't decide if I think it matters. From what I can tell she isn't married, so no one for her to worry about. But it has bothered me all weekend. I'm not mad at him, just irritated at someone I don't even know. Silly huh? Afterall, hubby & our friend T dance on tables together and make people wonder who is married to who!

TGIF

ok, so sister has my allergies. Called MD yesterday & he said to try Benadryl first before he prescribed anything. She hadn't ever taken it (& I can't give a new med before I put her to bed or I won't sleep) so I tried it early in the day. THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT! She was like a ping pong ball. Bouncing off the walls & in to everything! She kept pulling her hair down so she looked like a wild woman too.
This was in a matter of about 2 minutes.

She finally dozed off for about 30 minutes so we could make it through the 3rd grade PTO program. However, Speck would have been just as content to stay home. He did not want to go. But I think he had a good time goofing around with his buddies afterward.

So sweet...for now ;)

Handsome boys. Too grown up. 4th grade, really? :(

MIL was in NWA working so she drove down. Hubby was in LA so it was just us. Hmmm...

When hubby is gone the boys like to sleep in my room. Usually one is on the floor on a palet and one in the bed with me. They had a hard time winding down & got in some trouble for fighting (who? my kids? no way!) so I turned off the TV. When I went to check on them I found Speck on top of the pillows in the floor. Guess little man won out. He was sprawled in the middle of the bed sound asleep.

a mean mom's find for the day

The day did not start off well. I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that I am just plain mean. I made them have pictures taken last night, instead of letting them play, and I made them wear seatbelts in the car on the way to school. Can you imagine? Where is DHS when you need them?! After I was through torturing them, sis and I went to wally world. I found these cute dishes on sale for 1/2 price. $5.00 per place setting. I had been eyeing them but wasn't going to do it til I saw the "rollback" (ha! ha!) And I almost waited too long, there might have been enough in yellow, but green was already gone so we went with orange. I bought some blue ones last year @ Target but didn't get the whole set because I waited too long then and it was driving hubby nuts to just have "pieces". I'm sure he'll be excited. I also saw a cute "bistro" set that would go great on my patio. Wonder if I can get it home and together before 5?!

priceless

we spent our evening playing in the dirt, hanging out around the water, swinging from the trees and picking the flowers. I think sis may have even eaten one! & you can see it all on amometcapturedbyshannonwalker.com under galleries & 3 e's. THANK YOU to SW doesn't even begin to cover it for yet another great photo session. You have definately found what you were meant to do :)

Date Night = Nap time

The start of a great night out with girlfriends...lead to dinner @ Olive Garden & a "fashion show" of dresses (as it was prom somewhere)

And with a few minutes to spare before the movie, a stop to purchase some "safety equipment" for an unnamed baseball player. It required some thought...

and discussion...but a decision was finally reached!

On the way out we got a little demo on how to use a kettle ball ( & it works...you should see her arms!)

Then it was off to the LATE movie. It was already an hour past my bedtime before it even started!! Got home about 12:30 am, & hubby didn't even know I was in bed. A little scary :)
After church sis passed out and I laid down to watch TV...& woke up 3 hours later. Think thats a sign I am too old to stay out that late? Probably, but it sure was fun!!

Its official...

I have lost it. Gone crazy. Absolutely nuts. What am I thinking? I am going back to school. I have officially enrolled in college (again). I am going back to get my Masters in Nursing. Specifically, women's health. Its something I have been thinking about for a while. But getting little man ready for K really made me realize it won't be that long before sis is in the same place. I wouldn't trade being home with them for anything, but sometimes I miss nursing. I want to go back to work when they are all in school but going back to the hospital means weekends, holidays and 12 hour shifts. With a MSN I will have lots more options and more flexibility for my kids. I can do it in 2 years but it will probably be more like 3 so no one gets neglected, at least not too bad!

I knew I wasn't ready

But had no idea how "unready" I reallly was. We went for little man's physical and shots today to get registered for K next week. Hadn't really given today much thought, except that I knew he would be unhappy with the whole shot thing, but as for me, nothing major. So I thought. For some reason when we were getting ready to leave this morning I had a melt down. Tears and all. He just laughed at me. The thought of him going to school next year makes me hurt. As if that wasn't bad enough, when we got to the dr office I was informed it would be 4 shots, in his legs. Why did I have it in my head it would be 1 in his arm? I should've known better. Needless to say I am deaf in one ear and missing skin on my arm and neck from him clawing and screaming. We met hubby for lunch and little man went back to work with him for the rest of the day. He wants nothing to do with me now!

grape G2

Well, as it turns out, 32 oz of gatorade a day is safe. Who knew?! Dr. said she was the picture of health, except being mildly anemic, which we can fix with a vitamin. Poor baby had to have blood drawn, and I have said before, I don't even go for their vaccinations, so I'm not sure who was traumatized more. You would have thought her cup of grape G2 this morning was the best thing ever. Completely empty in a matter of minutes. She has had more wet diapers since she got up today than she had in the last 3 :) Pretty sure her dr thinks I am NUTS. Gotta love him though, he was my pediatrician when I was her age. Still kind of "old school". Praying for TH and her grandpa and poor little EC. Hope all is better soon.

backtrack

Great weekend. Pretty much hung out at the house and played. We did order pizza one night. & attend a birthday party. Sunday I went way out of my comfort zone and attended a life group at church, haven't done that since Speck was a baby, and then the EDGE service. All without hubby, like I said, out of my comfort zone, but a good experience for me I think. We went walking again yesterday, that makes 3 days in a row. Never mind the chocolate chip cookies I ate when we got back or the brownie I had for breakfast :) (As long as you exert some energy you can do that, right?!)
Thought we were well on our way down the road to recovery but sis is now throwing up. No fever & she doesn't act like she feels bad, it just hits. And since she is so little, it hits wherever she is at the moment :( Have a call in to the Dr. My nurse brain is working overtime. Don't think its the meds from Fri. that would have happened before now. It could, and probably is just a bug. All the kid drinks is Gatorade. And I took it away from her after my mom mentioned how high the sodium is in one little bottle. 160mg in 16 oz. I hadn't really thought about it but now I am afraid her little body is overloaded with electrolytes and she is sick from not getting it. Great way to start the week.

homemade waffles & monster trucks

Sister is up playing and feeling better. No fever since Friday night.

But is still a little cranky when bubba pesters her.

He's trying to convince me he didn't make her scream.

When we got up this morning I made homemade waffles. They wanted the frozen eggos and said I was mean because I made them eat the ones I made. How awful to have such a mean mom.

After I "tortured" them we went for a 2 mile walk. We went last night too. Maybe, just maybe it will become a habit now that the weather is nice.

He said, "here this is just for you mommy". LOVE it :)

making a wish. (probably to make his brother disappear) he kept asking when it would come true!

After our walk we came in to let sis take a nap and clean up before heading to the movies to see How to train a Dragon. It was ok, but you won't miss anything by waiting for it to come out on DVD. While I was in the shower washing my hair I saw a bright flash and heard a little giggle. Little man was standing there with my camera!! Thank goodness he doesn't know how to get online and download pics just yet :) I couldn't get out and dried off fast enough. Not sure what it is about that shower that causes so many issues...don't think I'll ever forget EW and the "elbows"

This "monster truck" (per Mr. NW) was the cause of my grief last week. I had been wanting something different than a suburban because I had driven one for the last 10 years. My brother in law is a Chevy dealer in LR so we just kept going back. I really didn't know what I wanted so I talked to a few friends and drove a few different vehicles and ended up with a Toyota Sequoia. We went up the mountain last weekend and although they were willing to give us what we wanted for the trade they would not deal on the sticker at all. Guess you can't get both! I came home and did a little more research and found one in TX. We were going to go this weekend to look at it but Monday night my BIL called and said he knew a dealer that had one. I took off Tuesday morning with the two little ones just to check it out. It wasn't the one I was looking for so I went to eat lunch with my MIL. About 10 minutes before I needed to be leaving he called me back and said Landers had one that I needed to see before I headed home. Hubby was in Denver, and I HATE buying cars. So we were on the phone talking and I kept sending pics. The poor little salesman thought I was crazy. Needless to say I drove it home. It isn't "brand new". It is a 2010 but it was the owners demo so it has 12,000 miles but I was willing to trade that for a better deal. Not to mention my BIL bought my suburban from me so I got a little more there than I would have from someone else. Not sure why I felt compelled to explain it all, maybe because its still bothering me?!

Diagnosis...

Strep throat. He said it was unusual in kids under 2, and he didn't swab her throat, but felt "very confident" thats what it is. She is pitiful. Still running fever over 102 and won't eat. He assured me that within 48 hours she would be better. I'm sure we're just beginning the nasty cycle since the other two are such good big brothers who share everything with her!

hurry up weekend!

Little man went back to the doctor today for his foot. And after the 3 hour wait...yes, 3 SOLID hours with him and sis...the walking boot is off. He goes back tomorrow to have a mold made of his foot to get an insert for his shoe. As for now he can run and play, but nothing "heavy". Hmmm...he is a 5 year old boy, good luck with that one I thought, before the Dr. even finished his sentence. A great big thank you to TH for getting Speck from school and to baseball, we would have never made it. I was so happy to hear no practice for either one of them on Sunday. YEA!!

Sis is taking me for a trip down memory lane tonight, and it is not one I even want to think about, much less revisit. By the time we got home from practice she had fever. 102.4 to be exact. She was shaking all over and you could tell by looking at her she felt terrible. She hasn't been sick since her hospital stay in January and that was enough to last for an entire year if you ask me. Maybe she will sleep it off. If not, we will be at the Dr. with her tomorrow. Our insurance is probably looking for ways to cancel us!

Breakdown 101

It was a fairly uneventful day to start. Took boys to school then sis & I went home to eat, play and nap. She got to nap anyway. With a list of things to do, we picked little man up from school and headed to the insurance office to pick up new info. On my way I passed the church that does the food bank every Wednesday from 11-1. The parking lot was FULL. I felt guilty. Although my stop was a necessity, the event that lead me there was not. It was not a necessity at all, it was a want, pure and simple. Those families waiting in line for food, that was a necessity. Can you imagine not being able to feed your children? Material things DO NOT matter. What am I teaching my boys? My heart was heavy. We made our stop then sis had a dermatology appointment. Afterward I had to stop at the bank, DMV, and get gas before picking Speck up from school. The boys got home and the war began. I have no idea how many times I found myself telling them to be nice. Then I heard it. I heard Speck being ugly to his brother. It broke my heart. Not so much because of what he said (really it was just brother stuff) but because the tone of voice, just how it sounded. He sounded like me when I am getting on to them. I panicked. What have I done? How can I talk to my kids like that? I can't imagine how it must make them feel to have their mom sound like THAT. & I know he learned it from me. They don't just KNOW how to have that tone. I composed myself, we ate, then it was bath time. Sis managed to get in my cabinet and squeezed an entire (new) tube of bath & body works lotion onto the rug so I put her in my tub. (at least the bathroom smells good now ;) While she was playing I sat in the floor and started folding clothes, and the tears started flowing. Little man made his way in there and decided he wasn't quite clean enough so he climbed in with her. He started spitting water (never mind the fact that she had probably peed in it) and she was cackling. I just sat back and watched and listened. There is nothing better than a baby with a deep belly laugh. By the time the floor was flooded, I was laughing through the tears. About the time they dried up and I was getting her out, little man says "Wow sister, you've got a lot of junk in the trunk"! Needless to say I was crying again but this time it was because I was laughing so hard. Today I was reminded how blessed I am. How I have failed. How much I love my kids. How much I take for granted. How much I need Him.

Tired

Long day. Last minute trip to LR (& back) with two youngest kids in tow, by myself. Big decision & purchase, again, by myself, as a 1 yr old and a 5 yr old don't get an opinion in this endeavor. Home later than planned & off to pick up grandparents and deliver them "down the road" since they shouldn't really be driving unless NECESSARY. It is kind of sad. Papa gave Speck his 1977 short wide pick up truck last week to rebuild and hopefully drive one day. It now sits in our shop awaiting a make over. Kids all sleeping and I have a headache. I always get sick when I change something relatively big. Maybe oreos will help. Can't hurt to try :)

Catch up

Lunch with the girls last week...so much fun!! SC...loved the purse! Explained it all to hubby, he wasn't quite sure he bought it though!!

So glad S & T joined us. What will we do this summer? REALLY be ready for lunch by the time school starts back!

Sister couldn't wait on everyone, she was just too hungry.

She has been dying to get in and go for a ride, so bub took her (with a seatbelt of course). Not as excited after he got done with her. Thank goodness he still has a while til he can drive.

He was the only one interested in dying easter eggs this year :(

Easter morning came early since it was also the youth turkey hunt. We were up at 5 am to check out what the bunny had left.

Sis was the smart one, she slept til 10. The eggs and candy were a hit.

but the vacuum, not so much. She is scared to death of it.

On our way to church

trying to get them all to be still and look at the same time

then dad gets involved and they do it the first time. Explain that.

hunting eggs. she was so excited to put them in her basket.

these two raced through the yard and would lose half of them running so the other would turn around and steal them.

Speck has a loose tooth. We had dental floss tied around it and Papa was trying to get it out. They told little man they would pay him to grab it and take off running!