"I need a break"

Well, today was Braden's first soccer game. For the past two and a half years he has sat on the sidelines with me as we watched Kaylee take swimming lessons and take part in dance class. He was so excited that this year he would be able to do his own thing. Even more - he would be playing with his best buddy. As far as he knew it would just be the two of them out there playing by themselves and that was okay with him. Over the past few weeks he has told every one we come into contact with that he is going to play soccer. He got really excited when he got his new soccer shoes and his "knocker things" that I had to remind him are really called "shin guards." He has done a great job at not kicking his soccer ball in the house (because Daddy D says not to play ball inside). His first practice was quite interesting from what I hear. Actually, Matt described it as a "kindergarten fire drill." Since I taught kindergarten for one year, I quickly understood. However, I don't think anything could have totally prepared me for today...

The game was at 1:00. We planned on leaving at 12:00 and being there 45 minutes early, but I wanted him ready early. At 10:30 I put his shirt and shorts on him. Kaylee came in and laughed because "Mom - he's so cute - it looks like he's wearing a dress." (Yes, the smallest jerseys are still huge on the 3 year olds). I tightened his shorts and walked away for a few minutes. When I came back they were on the floor and he was just standing there looking at me saying, "Mommy my shorts fell off." Okay - we already had a wardrobe malfunction at Kaylee's dance recital last year and I was not about to have my little boy on the soccer field run out of his shorts. We still had an extra hour, so we loaded up and went to look for some smaller black shorts. He walked through the store holding onto his shorts because he was afraid he would lose them, and whining the whole time. Finally we found some shorts, and were on our way. I even let him change into them in the Target bathroom so he would not have to hang onto his shorts any longer.

After sitting in traffic forever - apparently everyone around here plays soccer on Saturdays, waiting to find a parking place and a half mile hike to the field we were ready to play. He got out there and did a great job at kicking the ball when he got close to it, not the best at going in the right direction, but we'll work on that. After about 4 minutes of playing he said he was ready for a break. WHAT?!?! You're kidding me, right? He was DONE! We took a quick trip down to the bathrooms and then came back to play again. He said, "Nope - I'm just going to sit over here and eat some cheetos and take 3 breaks!" Finally, after a few begs and pleads from his coach and myself, a phone call to Daddy for some extra encouragement, 3 cheetos, a few threats and a bribe for a sno cone on the way home he decided he would finish the game. Geez, I never knew that you had to be a psychologist to get kids to get out there and play. By the time it was all over I was spent. (And we still had to hike back to the car).

Where was Kaylee during all of this? Well, you see - she decided that she would climb on the kitchen counter this morning and get her finger nail polish from the top of the refrigerator. (The child has NEVER been a climber and she decides that she's going to do this now?) She was sitting off to the side with her friends and being pretty good. However, I noticed that she had a purse full of goodies and thought I should check things out. Yeah, it was too late - she had already painted her nails and a few of her friend's nails as well. Oh, joy. (There's a reason we have not signed her up for soccer. I'm pretty sure that nail polish and a purse are not part of the standard uniform). :)

Well, it's all about the memories and hopefully a few good pictures along the way. Here are a few from today...

This reminds me of a song, "My Buddy, My Buddy..."

Waiting patiently for the okay to kick the ball.

Determined to kick the ball really hard.

After it was all over.

The infamous "phone call to dad"

"Good game Buddy"

Another Call Home and Another Story to Tell...

I know I haven't updated anything in a really long time. Here's why. You see, Matt works out of town every other week. When he's home, we spend the majority of our time as a family or catching up on everything that fell apart when he left. I'm sure he is quite hesitant when he calls home at times because there is no telling what story he is going to hear on this end. When he's gone, our weeks consist of things like this...

Gracie ate yet another stuffed animal on Thursday - yes, it was about 12 hours after Matt left. I spent all evening trying to vacuum up the little beads that filled the poor puppy's midsection. She usually pulls these stunts within a day or so of Matt leaving town. Sometimes they are easy to handle and sometimes they end up costing a lot of money. Right after Christmas she licked her paws until they were all raw and bleeding. She could hardly stand up and walk. Now, why would one do such a thing? She was miserable. I felt bad and was out of medicine from the last time this happened. So, I took her to the vet. They tried to tell me some big long thing was possibly wrong with her and gave me a long list of treatment options. They also sent me home with some antibiotics, pain meds, cleaner for her feet and numbing solution, and a big cone for her to wear and look like a walking or stumbling "radar." Cost - $250. (Oh, and the cone lasted about 4 days - she kept ramming into things to break it off of her because it drove her crazy. We finally got sick of taping it back around her and being chased down like a bull chases a clown in the rodeo. She would literally start in the front room and run behind us until she hit us from behind and the cone fell off.) Ouch!

The next time Matt left she got really sick. She couldn't keep anything down and had some other problems that I will spare your eyes and minds from. Let's just say it was bad and I got sick of being up all night for 3 nights and cleaning the floors constantly. I took her to an all night animal clinic on the 4th night and they kept her overnight. After an Xray and a shocked vet, we found that she had eaten something - probably another sock or something cloth-like, and it had blocked her intestines temporarily. Lots of fluids, special food and attention, and $600 later she was back home and happy again. Oh yeah, and Matt got home that night - a few hours after she perked up.

The next time he left town Gracie did nothing. She was good. Then I walked into the back yard and found the neighbor's dog in our yard. Yep, she broke the fence (actually it was pretty rotten anyways) and just waltzed right in. When I went to get her and take her back she ran away from me and went back to her own yard. Once on that side I built a temporary "wall" to keep her out until we can get to replacing the fence. Of course, this trip only lasted 2 days thanks to jury duty and an ice storm. I guess Gracie didn't have time to get into much.

We are on trip number four for the year and that is where the stuffed animal got shredded. I don't know why she did it - never do - it has been around for years and she hasn't bothered it, but I guess it just gave her the wrong look one afternoon and she let the poor little puppy have it. Thank goodness she moved on to things that are not "security objects" and necessary for sleeping around here. Someday I will post a picture of all of the "dollies" and "puppies" that have the "mark of Gracie" on them.

Now, when I am not dealing with cleaning up or picking up after Gracie I am working on keeping things picked up so she won't get into them. Yes, I feel like I pace the house from the time my feet hit the floor to the time I fall asleep and I look for potential problems. No food can ever be left on the counters - it is always an easy target. I have to make sure all food is always put away immediately. Braden even had a meltdown tonight because he stepped away from the table and while he was gone I noticed his plate was empty. I picked it up and put it in the sink only to have a HUGE display of dissatisfaction from him a minute later. He accused me of eating his pizza. Now, why would I want pizza that a 3 year old little boy has picked at, licked, and eaten parts of??? My guess is that Gracie took her fair share when no one was looking, I thought Braden was done, and in all reality he probably only got a few bites plus the applesauce and yogurt that went with it. OOps - problem solved with a small container of Jell-O. (For Braden, not the dog). Once we got past that problem I was off to get the kids bathed and into bed at a decent hour - it is a school night for miss Kaylee after all. Before I could do that I had to attempt to solve the mystery of "why the heck is a wet paper towel roll wadded up and in the bottom of the bathtub?" And, "what are all of the polly pockets, Cinderella and Prince charming doing having a swimming party in the bathroom sink? I just finished cleaning this bathroom and this is how I am thanked!?!?" Oh well - bedtime is in 30 minutes - not near enough time to get to the bottom of these so I won't even try.

Well, Matt called home right about the time I was tucking Kaylee in and he got a different story for a change. He got to hear her read her very first "book." Recently I decided that she is ready to learn to read since we have been playing the "how do you spell..." game over and over again in the car. She was very excited and after about 30 minutes of working on it today she was really starting to get the hang of it. I am so proud of her and happy that I got to actually watch her when she first started to get it. She obviously has a long way to go, but it is so priceless to hear your baby sounding out words for the first time. For now, I will take "c," "at", "CAT!" It is SOOO cute and I wanted to make sure and write this down because I know that I will forget the exact date later on. Someday when Gracie stops eating stuff and drama slows down I will get around to updating pictures; but for now know that I am not just sitting on the couch eating bon bons. I may be sitting on the couch, but it is probably because I am listening to my little princess read me a new story. :)

A New Year and A New First

Before the flight...

A little nervous, but at least Dolly was here...

So excited he could hardly contain himself...

I know that I have completely skipped all Christmas and holiday event pictures. Those will come soon. However, I had to go ahead and update from today before I forgot the kids' comments.

This morning we got a nice surprise. Matt called and told me that he would be flying from Florida to Nashville to Addison (just north of Dallas) and then had a short ferry flight to Dallas Love Field. That NEVER happens. Today was day 6 of his trip, and typically day 6 takes him to places like Southern California, New York, or Timbuktoo... Then, he gets home late on day 7. Since he was going to end in Dallas the company would allow him to come on home for the night. The big surprise was that they were going to allow me and the kids to ride with him from Addison to Love Field - the kids have never gotten to ride in one of his planes when he was flying, so this was going to be quite a treat.

So, Matt called his mom and asked if she would drive us over there - so we wouldn't end up having to go back later to get our car, and she thought that would be a great idea. We didn't tell the kids about going for a ride until right before getting on the plane. Of course they were thrilled at that point - they got to see their Daddy in the middle of the week and go on a ride in his Hawker 800 XP (as they tell everyone). :)

We loaded up in the plane and Matt and his Captain prepared everything up front while I tried to keep the kids from being too loud or out of control. Braden sat in his seat patiently watching out the window for things to start moving, and Kaylee got a little more nervous by the minute. She asked how high we were going to go and if we would get close to the sun or not. Thank goodness for the left over sprite from her lunch. I kept offering her sips of that to take her mind off of her nerves. Once we finally took off, the kids squealed at every turn or movement we made. Their comments from that point on were priceless...

Braden during Takeoff

Kaylee just after takeoff...

As soon as we could start seeing houses from the air, Kaylee informed me that she was pretty sure she saw our backyard (nevermind the fact that we were 45 miles from home). I'm not sure who said the next thing, but they informed me that they were pretty sure that they could see China - or at least the Ocean. About 5 minutes before we landed Kaylee asked me, "Mommy, where is that lady that comes out and gives me snacks?" (She later told us that she thought that maybe the lady was getting snacks ready for us in the bathroom or something). I guess she is used to the airlines or something. It was priceless and when I told Matt he made sure to tell the Captain that his daughter was a little dissappointed that the flight attendant never appeared.

Snacks???

We got a lot of pictures and enjoyed our day and have already started 2009 by experiencing some more "firsts."

5 years old!!!

Our Little Christmas Present - 5 Years Old

I am going to stop after this one tonight. I can't believe that tomorrow is K's 5th birthday! She is growing up so fast. This is her last year to be at home with me during the week. (She does go to preschool 2 days a week, but the "freedom" of being able to do things in the middle of the week will be over in about 9 months when she starts kindergarten).

This has been an exciting year for little miss K - she goes to preschool twice a week where she has learned all kinds of things - Spanish, sign language, how to write, letters and sounds, numbers, patterns, rhyming, how to spell some words, and lots of songs. I love to pick her up from school and hear about all of the fun things she learned how to do. She also still loves taking dance lessons. She does Ballet and Tap and had her 3rd recital last week (more pictures will be posted soon). Over the summer she learned how to swim and had lots of opportunity to practice. She has started "playing golf" with Matt and I when we go practice at the driving range. K has really grown in many ways this year. She is starting to become more independent - although she still enjoys a little snuggling from time to time. It is fun because we can do so many more things, and she can help out a little, too. However, I would be lying if I didn't say that it is a little sad for me too.

Here is a picture from yesterday - I think that this is one I am going to have to frame - I love the little look she has on her face. It gives a little insight into her personality.

Waiting for the music to start for her ballet dance.

Malikilikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaian Christmas day!! That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway...

Goofing off before dance class one day.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

God speaks to little ears...

One day not too long ago I was preparing for one of my students to arrive. As I was getting things out, K informed me that she was starving and needed a snack. I went to the kitchen and got her some goldfish or something and then she asked for some cheetos. I was in a hurry, so I just handed her 3 and went on my way. She stopped me and said, "Uh, Mom - I think I need 4 cheetos today because I AM 4 years old, you know." I responded with a quick, "not right now K - I have to work and you already have goldfish." Her closing argument was what kind of made me think that I am going to have to start getting more crafty with my responses.

"Uh, Mom - I just talked to God in my bedroom and he informed me that I should have 4 cheetos since I am 4. Soon it will be 5."

Well, since God said then I had better give in, right? That was what she was hoping for, but not what she got. I told her that next time she talked to God she needed to tell him to let me in on these things, too.

Working on our LLLLL's

Most people hear B talk and comment on how well he talks. He really does well. His vocabulary is rather large for a three year old. In fact, sometimes we catch him using words just because he likes the way they sound. A few weeks ago his word was "certainly." He used "certainly" as often as he could for a few days. Tonight he invented a word. His word was "side-wards." He was trying to describe how he was jumping - I guess a combination of backwards and sideways??? Hmmm...

There is one thing that B will have to overcome over the next few years - that is pronouncing his L's. He tends to make a "w" or "y" sound instead of "l" sound. I think it is cute, and it is very common, so I don't get onto him for it - he has plenty of time to work on that stuff. I get a kick out of hearing him say stuff like, "Mom, it's reawwwy (really), reawwy, reawwy cold outside today, huh?"

Last week I was going in to his room to tell him good night, sing him a song and then give him a good night kiss when he stopped me. Out of nowhere he asked, "Mom, why won't you kiss me on the 'yips' ? Do you think I might 'yick' ya or something?" I just laughed and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. While I was doing that, he turned and licked me across the cheek. Now, where he thought of such a thing I have no idea - maybe the dog gave him an idea, or maybe his daddy did. Who knows??? He is such a little goof ball at times.

Ouch!

Well, December is half over already! As I sat with the kids tonight and watched a bit of Mary Poppins, I realized that the last 3 or 4 weeks have just flown by. No, actually the last year has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were watching the "25 days of Christmas" on ABC Family and the gingerbread man cell phone commercial was playing. Crazy, huh?

I haven't written lately because I guess we have been completely consumed with all of the events that take place during the holiday season. I'll try to fill in as many stories as I can tonight, and then hopefully get back to it soon and finish up.

I guess I can start with little man, B. . . He has given us a few excuses to laugh this past month. I mentioned earlier that we have gotten back into playing golf, and that the kids go with us to practice at the driving range. Well, a few weeks ago we took both kids and of course there was only one small club for them to share. We tried to lay down some "rules," but apparently were not that effective. The biggest rule is that they are not to walk up to anyone while they have a club in hand, and they are not allowed to swing a club anywhere but in between the ropes (while we are supervising, of course). Somehow the rule of not swinging a club escaped little K's mind for a short moment, and she decided she was going to "work on her swing." As she pulled the club back, her little brother ran right into the head of the club. Luckily she doesn't have the strength to swing that hard now, and he wasn't running too fast. Nonetheless, he ended up in tears and she felt very bad. Matt was concerned, but also a little embarrassed that something had happened, so I took B to try and calm him down while he spoke with K. The calming down took a while, and finally I was able to get him to explain to me what happened. His explanation was priceless...

"I was walking around and Kay Kay hit me in the head with a golf club... And I'm not even a golf ball!!!"

I tried really hard not to laugh at the moment and just remember the story for later so that I could share it with Matt.

We ended up having Christmas a few weeks early with Matt's parents and Grandma since we will all be in different places over Christmas and wouldn't see each other for a while. K and B's gift from Matt's parents will hopefully solve some of the fights over the one golf club, and give them both something to do while at the range... Here are a few pics...