The Pink Room

The Pink Room. It makes me think of an upside down strawberry ice cream cone. God I hate it. But my daughter loves it. I do not think it matters what shade of pink you choose, it will probably always seem to come out reminding me of Pepto-Bismal. Ugh.

What Mother's Day?

No - really, I did have a Mother's Day. It is just a day that both my DH and I wish would disappear. Well, the bad parts anyways.

Not only was it Mother's Day, but it was my DH's birthday as well. Now how do you go about celebrating that? You can argue that he gets Father's Day too - well, I have a birthday as well. So, we looked at where we could compromise. He got to play golf all day on Saturday with his buddies (and I mean all day - gone from 7am to almost 9pm). He got to sleep in a little on Sunday (I was up at 5:45am with the baby, he was up at 7:45am). Don't worry - my birthday is this month as well and I will get to sleep in on my day (on Father's Day, DH plays golf and is gone at the crack of dawn).

We met my Mom and Step-Dad for lunch. This was one of the best parts of the whole day - it was a really delicious and relaxing meal. The unfortunate thing is that when DH was getting dressed for lunch, he realized the carpet in the closet was wet. The ball valve in our closet had somehow split along the brass. Now how this happened, even he doesn't have a clue and he is a plumber. So he turns off the water, stops up the area with towels, and we go to lunch. It wasn't until we stopped off at Home Depot after lunch that he was kicking himself for not shutting the water off at the main because the ball valve would probably still be leaking from the brass. And it was. I don't blame him for this plumber's error. He was in a rush to try to get out for our lunch reservation.

1 1/2 hours later, a new ball valve is on, along with a larger hole in my closet, the carpet and padding is completely ripped out and in the garage and my DH and I had about 15 minutes to get ready for the babysitter as we had a date night at the Warren Theater in the balcony for dinner and a movie. We saw Star Trek and consumed large amounts of adult beverages. That was a great ending to our day.

It is now 5 days later and my slab in the closet is finally dried (yes, it was that wet). Now I am wondering how many Mother's Days will come and go before the numerous holes in my bathroom and closet are patched and painted, as well as re-flooring the closet? I never blogged last month about the 3 other holes that DH had to cut into the sheetrock in our bathroom because a screw rusted out on our shower valve and was leaking into our closet. After two soakings, you can now understand why the carpet had to go.

Already 1/3 and more of the way done

Where has the time gone? We are already into the middle of May! Can you believe that a little more than 1/3 of 2009 is already come and gone? I feel as if time has moved too fast and I have missed something. I do not know when I even posted my last blog. So, here is a quick update of things.

Nine more schools days and my children are free (well, sort of) for summer. I am diligently trying to get activities scheduled for them, so that I can try to have some time for me. I am determined to get some scrapbooking and knitting done, so that when I do start back to work, I feel as if I have got something accomplished for myself. Selfish, I know, but a much needed time to release my creativity and work my brain.

As it is, JT is doing t-ball in the evenings until the end of June. That is if the rain doesn't keep canceling his games so that the league has to reschedule them for 9pm or later. Why the league thinks it is okay, or even appropriate, to schedule 5/6 year-olds for this time I do not know. But hey, they are not the ones having to deal with the tired, cranky kids the next morning. JT is going to be doing gymnastics again this summer. We had the opportunity to do a Level 4 Rec at Bart Conner's, but that is more for kids who are looking at gymnastics being their main sport of focus. JT wants to still try and play everything, so we are putting him in Beginner Boy's. Now to decide if he will do it for 1 or 2 days a week. He is also signed up for 2 days at Gymboree for play and activity time, and swimming in July.

KD is doing Gymboree and swimming with her brother, her gymnastics is 1 time a week, and now we are looking at adding dance. If we do not get her into dance this summer, she will definitely be starting it this fall. She is an active little girl, but not as high energy as her brother, so she has the lighter schedule.

Ry-Ry will now be referred to as Bulldozer, or Dozer for short. That is because that is all he does is just plow through everything and get into everything. He is a constant little man in motion, but thankfully not walking or running without assistance. He can toddle while holding onto one finger, but he knows he can book it on all fours and still prefers this mode (unless he is cruising around holding onto the furniture). I have yet to figure out a place for him. It would be ideal to have him in a MDO program the 2 days the kids are in Gymboree, so that I can work in my DH's office, or get things done sans kiddos. But then again, I will probably be driving a kid here, driving another one there, and not having anytime to myself. So, unless something just falls on my lap with him, I guess he and I will be cruising the streets together (and caging him in his playpen when I do need to fold laundry).

I hope to have updates over the summer of fun activities, sayings, and events. As it is, my biggest excitement is this Sunday. I am going to go to Kayne's house for a "Fashion with Heart" event. I am a whirlwind of emotions. I really support Go Red for Women and the American Heart Association, since my Sorority's Philanthropy is for Cardiac Care and Research. But the biggest buzz is that it is at his house! Now what to wear? What to wear? What to wear? Dang - I've got to get into my closet, get dressed up, take a picture, change, take a picture, etc. till I find the right outfit. Too bad my birthday hasn't already come along so that I would have new clothes. Too bad either that I haven't lost all of my baby weight. Oh well - this fat mama, will just have to be a sassy mama instead!

I hate spring... not really but it's not good for my family

It's spring in Oklahoma..... that means anything goes. It could be freezing in the morning, then sweltering in the evening. You can have beautiful, clear skies with warm weather, and a severe thunderstorm and/or tornado that night.

I love the constant change of spring weather in Oklahoma, but what I do not like is its effects on the animal life. Primarily, the life of insects and arachnids. When the flies and gnats start swarming early in spring, a blessed cold front to kill them off is always a plus. But when the weather starts turning warmer and wetter, the nastiest spiders seem to creep into my house and take shelter in my son's room. Of course, it would be his room because he is the one that is allergic to everything. You know, it is like the theory of cats. Cats only want to cuddle with the people they know despise them the most. The same seems to be true of the brown recluse spider that is better known as the fiddleback spider.

If you know me, I completely despise spiders. I do respect them, especially those that are beneficial to a gardener like the Daddy Long Legs. But since I do not garden, I prefer all those that enter my house to be dead. Especially, when they are hanging around above my son's bed.

He was already bitten once by a fiddleback last year. Of course, it was in his bedroom. The bite started off looking like a little pimple, but within a few hours it got larger, pussier, and by the next day started pitting in the middle. It was healed within a week, but not something anyone wants to see or have their 4-year-old experience.

His room is not a mess. In fact, he is the one that is most likely to have his room organized (including his closet). Everything has a place in his room and he will tell you where things go. It just so happens that his room is the only one that stays dark all day long and maintains the same constant temperature. It is the perfect environment for the fiddleback spider.

I called and left a message with the pest control company that we use late last night. They called me before hours this morning and I am expecting them come Monday. Hopefully, it will be a one and done treatment to protect his space, but if not, at least I am not charged for everytime they have to come and spray.

Getting back in touch

I feel so loved this week. First, I got to meet a friend, whom I haven't seen in a long time, for lunch. While waiting for her to arrive at the restaurant, I get another call from another girlfriend, whom I have missed so dearly. We have a play date scheduled next week and I am bursting to tell my kids - but I'm thinking it would be better to surprise them instead. Partly because I am afraid of jinxing the good behavior streak they have been having at school. I'm afraid they will be all worked up, they won't think right and therefore do wrong.

These touching surprises to get together with friends is much needed, and much deserved. I have just gotten into such a rut of trying to get through the week of hauling kids to and from school, doing dishes/laundry, going to t-ball, gymnastics, and now my golf clinic, that there doesn't seem to be anytime to sit down and appreciate what I have, and who is in my life. I have just been trying to live for the weekend, when I have a longer stretch of time available to me in order to try and complete the tasks I have set forth for myself. My goal - get my house and life in order because I am ready to have friends over for dinners and fellowship.

Now that I have had these little refreshers, I am geared up and ready for "Spring Cleaning." I am wanting to get out of the clutter in my house, and to also clear out the clutter in my life. I just have to figure out to whom I am going to give all of this stuff (don't worry Melessa, the baby stuff is safe for you). But I am planning on having it all done by Mother's Day weekend, so that I can start living life again. Especially since I'll be home with my kids this summer and I want to be able to have time to enjoy it.

Long time coming

JT: "Dad, is Yoda a crocodile?"

I love watching movies with my children. Although it drives my DH crazy because our oldest is constantly running commentary about what he is seeing, thinking, hearing, etc. He does not have the ability to sit down and quietly ingest anything on the TV or in the movie theater. There is constant movement and/or chatter from him. How his little batteries keep running as long as they do all day without being completely drained is beyond me. I just hope that he can maintain his energy and momentum as he gets older and attends school full-time.

Lately, he has been asking me a lot of questions regarding the human body. No, none of the sexual functions (thank goodness), but I know what most of you were thinking. He has been asking about why bones are so hard, how do our bodies bend if our bones are so hard, etc. So, if anyone has a pre-school book on how to explain some of these questions, I would love to know the title. It seems that every time I try to answer him, it just spurs on a series of more and more questions.

For me personally, I have been spending the last month cleaning up poop from the little one. He has been having a series of diarrhea since the week before Spring Break. It will go for about 4-5 days, then seem to clear up, then start again. For the last 2 weeks, he has been running a temperature off and on. So, in order to rule out certain bacteria and poisons, I am having to take poop samples from him. Trying to capture a 10-month old's stool sample, while not contaminating it with urine, and filling the vials up to the right level is no easy feat. My saran-wrap-diapers have not been as successful either, as spillage is quite often a factor. There is no leak protection with these diapers. I am hoping he gets over whatever it is that is upsetting his stomach soon. I know that my DH is not wanting to be on poop-patrol, seeing as he is working all day today replacing a sewer line for a friend. But why should I have all of the glory from our child?

KD is just KD. She flits, she floats, she flies through life. My DH has come to realize this of her - FINALLY. He now understands that she does not have any athletic ability in her body (beyond doing her gymnastics), and is accepting of the fact that she is more into the Arts. This has been a great eureka moment for our family, and things seem to be going much more smoothly for her.

I'm still pondering the job situation for next year. I have notified several places about my interest to meet with them. It is just up to them to see if they are willing to meet with me. I just hope that when I do return to work, it will be the best fit for me because in turn it will make it the best fit for my family.

Who, What, Huh?

This is Wendy. I have temporarily misplaced myself. Once I figure out who I am, what I am supposed to be doing, and I get back on track with life, I may return your call. Until then, please leave a message at the beep.

**BEEP**