Music to my ears....

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! The heat and humidity were replaced with a cool day which was perfect for a trip to Adventureland. So I called Danyel and coerced her to take the day off and come with us. Let's just say I didn't have to twist her arm too hard! LOL. My brother just started his summer break from dental school and got into town last night so he came with us too. It was great to have him there to help with the kids and take Katherine on the rides her mom isn't "cool" enough to go on anymore. I must be getting old, because man do they make me sick! UUUGH! The kids went on tons of rides and slurped down frozen lemonades before they crashed. It was such a great day.

But here's the best part --

Remember this when all of a sudden Caleb started to call me "Mom" (not Mommy or Momma)??? It broke my heart, and ever since that day, he's only called me "MOM". Well, all of sudden and totally out of the blue.... today at Adventureland, he called me Mommy again. Oh the sweet sound!! I was beyond elated. Over the moon thrilled that I was once again I was a "Mommy". I clapped my hands and tickled him and made a huge deal out of it. He roared with laughter and kept saying it. I was in Heaven.

Then later as we were walking to the car, I was carrying him and he put his little hands on my cheeks and said, "Mommy". I was thrilled and gushed all over him -- tickling his tummy, kissing his cheek and dang near jumping up and down. They lady standing next to me witnessed this and said --

Random Lady: Oh how cute. How long ago did you adopt him?

Me: Stunned..... He's not adopted.

Random Lady: Oh, he's just a really late talker???

Me: UUUMMM, no. Actually he talks really well for his age.

Random Lady: Well then, I just don't get why you're so excited about such a simple thing. Really strange.

OK -- I'm not dignifying that with a response, but really, why would ya??? Why don't you just mind your own dang business and stop eavesdropping on my conversation with my 21 month old son. UUUUGH!

One cute Katherine story for you --

We took the kids on the Underground Railroad ride. I use this term loosely, but it's sort of a roller coaster, in so far as how it's set up, but you don't go fast or anything crazy. It's a great kids' ride. Anyway, it's themed around coal miners -- hence the "Underground". Anyway, as we were waiting to get on the ride, Danyel was pointing out to Walker (her 3 year old son) and Katherine the miner talking and telling the tale of the Underground. I can't remember what she called the talking miner, but Katherine quickly piped up and corrected her, saying, "No, Danyel, that's actually animatronics". We were all dying laughing, and once we all caught our breath, Danyel said, "Only your daughter would know something like that". How true!!

I must be a genious....

....because every time I guess Caleb is sick... well, he's sick. Can my poor little boy come down with *anything* else????

This morning I took him back into Dr. Jon's office and sure enough, his little throat was right red and his tonsils were swollen. He swabbed it to check for strep throat, and thankfully it came back negative. Then he did some blood work to make sure it was virus... which it was. So, he's got a virus, which I can't remember the name, again!

For anyone who's wondering... it's not hand foot and mouth again. With HFM you get little ulcers in the throat, which he doesn't have. But, having HFM (which he had less than 2 weeks ago) weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to other random stuff. Good to know!

Poor Caleb, he's so crabby, isn't eating, and contagious for 48 hours. I'm thinking he's on the mend though, as last night he slept through the night again. He's still not eating, but at least now I understand why. So, for now, he's on a steady diet of popsicles, fruit and anything else that will slide down easily!!

Here's to hoping he's better tomorrow! It's supposed to be a gorgeous day -- under 80* and sunny. The *perfect* day to take the kids to Adventureland, and then after naps we can hit the farmer's market in Valley Junction. Laurie also asked me to watch Morgan, so if Caleb is better, she'll come and play for the night.

OK -- I'm off to scrap!! I've been working on the same page for days now, so I'd LOVE to get it done!!

Pure Exhaustion...

Which is exactly how I feel today. I've been fantasizing about sleep all day, and poor Matt was about ready to drop over at work...

Last night, Caleb started crying just before 2 am, and his "crying" turned into absolute hysterics within minutes. He was a mess. Absolutely uncontrollable. He refused to let me hold him. He was kicking, throwing his little arms, rolling around on the floor and holding his tummy for a *good* 30 minutes. It's a miracle he didn't wake up Katherine!! I finally took him down to the basement and put on Cars, and after a little while, he settled down, but stayed awake for the entire movie, and thankfully ended up cuddling on my lap.

Finally, at 4:30 am I put a totally awake little boy into bed, praying he'd sleep. Thankfully he slept in to about 8, and woke up surprisingly happy. Confused I chalked it up to a bad dream....

Then later tonight, we had a little pool party in the backyard. Originally, it was going to be in our yard, but the lawn care guys came and sprayed it, so we took the pool down to Danyel's house and filled both pools up down there -- one for the "big" kids, the other for the "little" kids. We grilled out, and Caleb refused all food. Within minutes, he was super clingy, crying and just a mess.... So Matt took him home while Katherine and I stayed and played.

So tomorrow -- off to Dr. Jon's we go again... Is it possible that he can really be sick -- AGAIN?? UUUUUUGH!

Weekend Update

It seems like just hours ago we were at our Friday morning playgroup... The weekend was incredibly busy and flew by. Since I've got a ton to do -- and have no business spending tons of time surfing the net and blogging, here's some of the highlights --

Saturday night was the big neighborhood smokefest, so early in the morning, Katherine and I started making cookies -- 5 dozen of them to be exact. Now, for anyone who doesn't already know, I've got a thing with eggs -- raw or cooked, it makes no difference. I HATE them. I hate them all!! Literally, if you put $1,000 in front of me and told me I could have it if I could choke down a plate of scrambled eggs, I'd pass. Everything about them disgusts me, so imagine how I felt when Katherine insisted that she could eat the raw cookie batter. If I heard, "But Aunt Crissy does it and she says it's really yummy" one more time, I was going to go insane. OK -- for the record, I'm not one who gives a lick what others do... So the fact that Crissy eats a bowl of raw eggs is completely irrelevant to me. COMPLETELY. Sorry, if I'm depriving her from one of childhood's greatest joys, but it's just about the grossest thing I can think of.... So, next time Crissy comes, her and Katherine can make up some cookies and eat all of the batter for all I care.... But I won't be there to watch it.

That night we had the big neighborhood smokefest, and it was a rockin' good time for sure! Troy (Andrea's husband) took Friday off from work and started smoking all sorts of meat -- chicken, pulled pork, brisket, sausage, ribs etc... The food was incredible! There were 57 people there, and almost everyone stayed until midnight or so. I took tons of pictures, so I'll post them when I get a chance to download them. You won't believe all the kids -- 4 big picnic tables full, and they ran around and played until they literally couldn't stand up anymore. I ended up taking Katherine home a little after midnight, and we both crashed in my bed until Matt got home .... at 3 am..... Sunday morning came all too early!!

Brian and Val came on Sunday and stayed until this morning. UUUUUGH! Right now I'm kicking myself... Why didn't I take pictures of the kids together, so that I could post it here??? Won't make that mistake again!! Now that they've moved to KC, we'll see them tons -- especially on Hawkeye home games. I'm a Hawkeye by marriage, but Val ... she's a Hawkeye, and just as fanatical as the guys, so there's NO WAY she's staying home! LOL. I'd be just as happy hitting the outlet mall, but Val... not a chance.

This morning after they left the kids and I went to Ashby Park with Ben, Michelle and Tessa & Jen, Anna and Nate. Ashby Park is a little splash park for kids with water fountains and shallow water. We packed a picnic lunch, and Katherine saw two little girls from her preschool class, so that was really fun for her.

OK -- I'm off. Tons to do. Cleaning, laundry, you know the drill.... Basically everything I neglected this weekend! LOL.

Duck, duck, goose

Have you ever had one of those days when everything you do goes opposite of how you originally planned, and you realize it couldn't have been better? Today was one of those days....

We were hosting playgroup at our house this morning and *originally* we were going swimming. So I filled up the pool on Thursday afternoon, and bought snacks and juice for all the kids. However, when we woke up, it was cool and cloudy -- definitely not swimming weather. It looked like it could downpour at any second. So instead of the pool party I originally envisioned, all of the kids played in the backyard. Everyone had a great time. They climbed like monkeys all over the swing set, played tag and hide & seek, made up their own version of red light - green light, and then at Andrea's suggestion played duck, duck, goose.

Caleb chased Max (Andrea's oldest son who is 5) around the backyard with stars in his eyes all morning. Anything Max was doing, Caleb was going to try. ANYTHING! He has such big kid envy, and ADORES Max. Anyway, as they were playing duck, duck, goose, Max was the first one to walk around the circle and tap each of the kids on the head and say "duck". Caleb thought this was the funniest thing he'd ever seen, and found it a wonderful excuse to hit everyone in the head and yell "DUCK" at the top of his lungs. He was roaring with laughter, and there's just something about his deep belly laugh. It's so real, so heartwarming and couldn't be more contagious. All of us "moms" were sitting watching the scenario unfold and laughing so hard. It was hilarious!

He totally didn't get the "goose" part, where if you were the one tapped on the head when "goose" was said you got up and chased the tapper. Whenever this happened, Caleb would squeal with laughter and start running -- in totally random directions. Then when the running stopped, he'd flop in Max's lap and give him a great big hug. Max loved the attention! But.... he had such a hard time running when he had to maneuver around Caleb. LOL. Fun times today at playgroup!!

When it was time for everyone to leave, and Caleb saw Max turn and walk away, he started crying and holding out his arms. Between sobs you could hear him choke out "HUG"! When we realized what Caleb wanted, Max turned around and Caleb threw his arms around him. AAWWWWW.... It was the sweetest thing.

Then for lunch, because the carpet cleaners were coming, I made up trays of food and we had a picnic in the basement. I turned on Cars (one of Caleb's recent obsessions) and we hung out in front of the TV, eating on a blanket on the floor, and dancing to the music.

Around 1 today it started to rain, and I don't think it's stopped for more than 10 minutes all day. Originally I was going to try and finagle naps around the carpet cleaners but it just didn't work out that way. Because of the rain, the cleaners were late -- so I couldn't put the kids down for naps at their regular time. So while they were cleaning the carpets, the kids and I stopped by my parent's house to get some much needed Grammy and Pop-pops time. By the time we left, Caleb was deliriously tired. He was walking around, stumbling into the couches and begging Pop-pops to pick him up. The kids fell asleep in the car, so I went down to the basement (which was the only carpet in the house not cleaned) and laid out blankets and pillows. Then I went back out to the car and got the kiddos and we had a slumber party in the basement. Again, not what I originally planned, but the kids got to spend time with mom and dad and got a slumber party to boot. It was great! I wouldn't change a thing!

On a different note...

I swear if it rained one more drop today our house was going to float away. Troy (Andrea's hubby) told Matt that we got a little over 3.5 inches, but the news said it was closer to 4. OK, let's be honest.... it's completely irrelevant if we got 3.5 or 4 inches of rain today. In either event, it's WAY too much! The streets are flooded, the ditches are overflowing, and due to the high winds, tree branches are all over the place. And lots of rain and humidity, aren't exactly ideal conditions for freshly cleaned carpet! UUUGH!

The carpet cleaners left us super cute blue booties to wear on the carpet until it dried completely. Katherine and Caleb were like little fashionistas modeling these things before bed. They loved them!! But the best part was for Katherine.... I hate "potty" talk of every kind and don't allow her to say objectionable words. Well... because she was wearing these adorable blue booties, she was singing "Shake Your Booty" and dancing around like a rock star for a good hour. She loved feeling like she was getting away with something!! Yep... She got me!! LOL!

I hate cleaning!!

After today, I've decided that "clean" is a relative term...

Before we had kids, if our house was dirty, it meant that we had a load of laundry to do, mail laying out on the counter, or that the bathrooms needed a quick wipe down. Let me tell you, by today's standards, that was CLEAN!!

Every June we get the carpets cleaned, and I just remembered that tomorrow is the day. They're coming around 1:00 or so, which will be prefect -- just in time to interfere with naps. Gotta love that timing!! LOL.

Anyway, so that we can get ready for them to come, Matt and I spent a good chunk of the night picking up the toys that have invaded our house. I swear, it looks like a toy store used our house as a holding bin!! I literally don't know where to go with it all. It's ridiculous. So right now the kitchen and dining room are overflowing with everything from basketball hoops to ride-on-toys. You can barely walk to the sink!! It's such a mess! Which is also perfect timing because we have playgroup at our house tomorrow morning -- thank God it's going to be outside in the pool -- and I've got to spend a good chunk of the night cooking for the Smokefest on Saturday night. Oh, and Matt's parents are going to be in town tomorrow night too. They're leaving Saturday morning for a trip, so we'll probably see them for dinner before they leave.

So -- my house is a disaster!! Clean by NO ONE'S standards. I have end tables in the hallway and rocking chairs in the bathroom, and I'm busy all day tomorrow and Saturday. Which means... that when BK and Val arrive on Sunday, they'll walk into a war zone! UUUUUGH!

Well, instead of cleaning this afternoon, I booked our tickets to Disney! WOO-HOO!! I am sooo excited. This will be our first flight with the kids and their first experience at Disney. I'm sure Caleb will have a great time, but Katherine will be over the moon excited. She's all about princesses, magical weddings and fairy tales right now, so she's going to be in Heaven. I can't wait to see the look on her face as we walk through the parks for the first time. It's going to be quite the week for her!! We leave November 3, and the countdown is ON!!

All of a sudden....

My sweet little boy has turned into a tacklin' fool. Within the past week he's developed this new move where he runs up to Katherine and hugs her around the waist and then lifts his legs and wraps them around her. After a few seconds of her trying to hold up his dead weight, she lowers him to the floor as gently as she can and then collapses on top of him. At this point it's all giggles, but come on.... it's only a matter of time before she drops him right on his head. And the more I make of it, the more he does it! So there's a fine line....

Today was picture day, so the kids and I made the hike to Ankeny to meet up with Holly. It was for Caleb's 21 month pictures, and let's just say he was in rare form.... He pretty much did everything BUT pose for the camera...

He ran in and out of the studio no less than 10 times, and then broke into hysterics when we had to tackle him and drag him back in front of the camera. Gotta love the deep belly laugh -- only wish it was in front of the camera, not as he was running away from it!! Our initial response was to ignore him and take some pictures of Katherine alone. He could have cared less until Holly laid her on her tummy with the hopes that he'd warm up to the idea and come back into the studio room. Sure enough, as soon as he saw this, he did come running -- and belly flopped right on top of Katherine. He quickly got up, kicking her right in the side of the head, and found a ginormous square furry pillow which was perfect for nose diving -- until he banged his head on the wall.... Oh and then, he noticed that Katherine was standing in front of the camera and he decided to try out his new tackle move (see first paragraph), and he stumbled over his own feet and about ripped the backdrop from the ceiling. Nothing short of pure chaos. At this point, I'm sweating and praying for miracle, and Caleb is using the studio as his personal jungle gym. Ay-yi-yi!! Oh, and Holly.... patient doesn't even BEGIN to describe her!

But in the end, I think we got a few great pictures, so that's what matters most. Holly is going to edit them and then email them to me.

Danyel is in New York all week for work, so we had Rick and the kids over for dinner and little pool party. I originally thought we'd eat inside and then head to the pool after dinner, but the kids had other plans. As I was making the salad dressing, I heard screaming and laughing in the backyard. Rick was out there with the kids and they were in the pool already. So we ate outside. After dinner, Andrea brought Max and Isaac over and Tiffany & Justin brought Grant over. The kids had a blast!! They played their little hearts out until bedtime and then crashed.

On a totally different note...

I know it's only Wednesday, but I'm already looking forward to this weekend. We're having the annual neighborhood Smokefest (BBQ) on Saturday night, and then on Sunday, Brian and Val (and Will) are coming to stay the night with us. Fun times!! I love weekends. I love summer. And there's nothing better than the weekends around here in the summer.

We're home!!

AAAHHH yesterday -- it was quite the day!!

Caleb decided that 4 am was the perfect time to open his little eyes and start the day. Needless to say, I wanted to stay in bed for at least a couple more hours, but guess who won??? Yea, it wasn't me!! LOL.

So I flicked on the TV praying I could find something on that early. (We were still in LeMars so I didn't have the TiVo or any DVD's at my disposal)... Luckily I found a kids show that Caleb seemed relatively interested in -- for a few minutes.... Trying to keep him quiet for 3 hours was nothing short of a Herculean feat! Thinking back, I should have put him in the car for a drive, but it just didn't cross my mind at the time!

Speaking of driving around.... Caleb has decided that his limit in the car is 2 hours. He naps, eats a snack, and makes funny faces at Katherine, but after the two hour mark, he's done. And LeMars.... it's 3 hours from Des Moines. Which means that the last hour or so is nothing short of a scream fest. UUUUGH!

When we got home, we headed to my parent's house for a BBQ. Katherine was planning on having a slumber party and popcorn party with my parents, but since Isaac was still home, we all went to a movie. Usually, I'm pretty selective about what Katherine watches on TV, but I didn't have time to check out the movie ahead of time .... and quite frankly since I was up since 4 AM, I was too tired. In my defense I did see a McDonald's commercial for the Surf's Up movie. They've got little figurines from the movie in the Happy Meals, so I assumed it was a kids movie.... Shame on me!!

It was a cute movie, but most of the humor was much too old for a 4 year old. Every time she heard a "naughty" word, she'd point it out -- almost yelling in the theater. The 8 teenagers in front of us, got quite a kick out of her. Every time she's say "They just said 'shut-up' and we don't say that Mommy" I'd hear the peanut gallery snicker in front of us. That's fine though. I don't want my child saying "shut-up" "butt" "hate" or "stupid".

After the movie was over, Mom, Dad, and Katherine drove me home, and she took off for the slumber party that she had been looking forward to all week. From all accounts, they had a blast!

Caleb and I had some great one on one time this morning. It was so nice -- I haven't had several hours alone with him since Katherine was in preschool. We read books, played with his toy train, shot baskets in the living room and caused a 'little' chaos in the basement. FUN TIMES!!

Then at 11:30 Caleb had his second haircut. All I can say is.... HOLY COW! He cried and screamed from the second his behind hit the chair until we walked out of the door. It was quite the scene. I felt so badly for the girl trying to cut his hair that I probably apologized a million times. LOL. And to top it off she was cutting his hair with a scissors. I was certain she'd cut his ear off with the constant squirming and kicking. He just wouldn't settle down. But in the end, his hair looks great! I'm so happy with how it turned out, and we'll definitely go there again, but .... I'm dreading it!! So many people told me "it'll get better", but I've got to say, I just don't see that happenin' any time soon!

LeMars

We're in LeMars for Father's Day and Matt's Dad's 70th birthday celebration. It also happens to be ice cream days, and for those of you not familiar with LeMars, they claim to be "the ice cream capital of the world". Tons of fun stuff going on -- parade, free ice cream, art in the park, etc...

Cute Katherine story for you...

The crib that Caleb is sleeping in is in the same room as our bed. I had planned to let Katherine sleep in bed with us so that she wouldn't have to sleep alone in a strange house. So while Matt stayed outside with his parents and brothers, Katherine and I went in (around 11:30) to go to bed. I told her that she had to be SUPER QUIET so that she wouldn't wake up Caleb. She agreed, and I opened the door and we jumped into bed. After we were under the covers and snuggled in, she put her hand on my face and said:

K: I am so blessed to have you as my Mommy.

M: Oh honey, I'm blessed to have you as my daughter.

K: I love you so much sweetie.

M: I love you too, baby girl.

It was quite the AAAHHH moment. Boy do I love that girl.

This morning we got up and went to the parade. It was such a great parade for a little town. It was super long, and they gave out tons of candy. And, really, that's all you're looking for if you're 4!! Katherine's favorite part was the Shriner's on their little go-carts. They did their little stunt routine right in front of us. All three kids (Katherine, Caleb and Leo) were such angels. They LOVED it!!

Val -- you'll get a kick out of this... the parade lasts for about an hour and a half. Normally wouldn't be so long, but a TRAIN cut it off. Oh, and it didn't happen just once!! Nope -- two trains during the parade!! What are the odds of that??? Oh, wait, this is LeMars!! LOL.

Dentist

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't shed LOTS of tears over the "surface cavity" in Katherine's mouth. I obsessed over it since last Thursday when I found out it existed, and worried that one bad experience would ruin the good thing we had going on with the dentist. Up until Friday she LOVED going....

Her appointment was at 2:00, and it couldn't have gone better if I had scripted it myself. She crawled into the chair a couple of minutes after 2, and was done at 2:12. No Novocaine, no anesthetic, no shots of any kind. Dr. A came in and said a great big hello, gave Katherine a hug and she jumped right into the chair. He asked her to move her head all the way up to the headrest, and her little legs barely touched the back rest. He showed her the drill, tickled her front tooth before inserting the "bit", and then started drilling. I about fainted when he didn't numb her up, but the cavity hadn't penetrated her "tooth" yet... it was still in the enamel. So she didn't feel any pain. THANK GOD. He gave her a mirror so she could watch her mouth turn a neon blue from the heat lamp that they use to quickly harden the filling, and she got a huge kick out that.

I sat back and watched... tears rolling down my face... It was horrible. I would have traded places with her in a second. The guilt from letting my little girl get a cavity was too much. I really felt terrible.

Thankfully it was a great experience. She was done in 12 minutes flat. No shots of any kind, and a ton of stickers and prizes to boot. AAAHHHH, I'm glad it's over.

MOM!!!!

How can the sweet sound of your baby's voice calling your name about bring you to tears??? We were just playing in the backyard... running around in the grass.... swimming in the pool and hearing my little Caleb call my name stopped me dead in my tracks and sent chills up my spine....

Caleb aged me about 10 years tonight... I'm not sure when it happened, but all of sudden, he started to call me "Mom". Not "Mommy" or "Momma". No... just "Mom". Katherine still calls me "Mommy", and my 21 month old son has decided he's too cool for that... Now I'm just "Mom". What???? I'm not old enough to be someone's mom.... I still want to be his "Mommy" or "Momma".... but no.... tonight HE decided that I'M just a MOM!!!

What's even more charming is that when he's done eating or his diaper is being changed he'll start chanting "all done MOM"! He's really starting to talk now, not just words, but small sentences. And when he doesn't know what to say, he'll just add some baby babble and keep going. It's so adorable. Now we just have to work on the MOM thing!

So tonight, since Rick and Matt were both gone for work functions, Danyel and I decided to get together for dinner and a little pool party. Earlier in the afternoon, I made a Target run so that the kiddos would have all sorts of cool pool toys, and they certainly took advantage of them. As soon as the kids saw the pool the dinner plans instantly got sidetracked. The kids immediately took the plunge so I ran to this great little Mexican restaurant and got super yummy take out for us all. Before we knew it, the backyard was filled with kids. Andrea brought the boys over and Jodi and Carrie brought their kids over. It was so much fun!!! I love summer!!

Not again...

I hate it when I'm right... well, not all the time! LOL!! But yesterday I hated it. I suspected that Caleb was sick... he hadn't eaten much of anything since Friday, he was super clingy, cried or whined most of the day, flat out screamed if I walked away from him, and woke up in the middle of the night. Sure enough, I take him to Dr. Jon yesterday and guess what??? Hand foot and mouth. The poor little guy has tiny blisters lining his throat. Yea, I wouldn't be eating much of anything either. Which makes me wonder... is there anyway for me to get hand foot and mouth??? LOL!!!

So, going back through time, adding in the "incubation" factor, and determining when he started to get symptoms, I figure he got this wonderful virus at Jumpin Jacks on Thursday. Wednesday we were at Todd and Caroline's house, so nothing there, and last Tuesday when we went to Adventureland it would have been too far out to match up with the symptoms. So by now the worst of it is over -- thank goodness!!

Last night we went to Abby's third birthday party (she's Matt and Jodi's little girl and lives across the street from us). They have a super cool attachment that they put on the end of the slide, hook up the garden house and let the kids have at it. It makes such a cool little water slide in the backyard!! AAAAHHH, It was giggles galore. They had a blast playing in the pool, going down the slide and playing in the water table. I'm so glad summer is finally here and they can swim almost every day now!! ** If you watch the slide show Danyel made, Katherine has on a striped one piece suit with her hair in a ponytail **

And poor little Caleb! He missed out on all fun since he had to be quarantined. So he spent the night bonding with Daddy and rumor has it, he got taken out for ice cream... So it wasn't all bad for him either... Just wished he could have joined in on all the fun at Abby's!

Later that night after we got the kids to bed, Matt and I were laying in bed chatting about the day and trying to watch something I TiVo'ed earlier. I'm not sure if it was a commercial or the regular show, but a baby came on, and I made some off handed comment about how much cuter Caleb was. Yes this is shallow, but am I wrong to not think that my babies are some of cutest kids on the planet??? Nothing you can really fault me for, right?!?!?!?!? Anyway, a few minutes later Matt and I hear Katherine sobbing in her room, so he goes in to check on her. Guess what.... she thought I was telling her daddy that I thought Caleb was cuter than she was was, and she wanted to make sure I thought she was adorable too. OOOHH, Katherine.... There's not an hour passes that I don't tell her that I love her, that I think she's the most wonderful little girl I know, and I am blessed beyond measure to be her mom... It makes me sad to think that thought even crossed her mind.....

Caleb seemed to be feeling much better today, so I wanted to be able to take the kids out and do something fun. Since it was a little on the warm and humid side, and I didn't want to overheat a crabby toddler, we decided to head down to the Science Center with Ben and Michelle. The kids had so much fun. They watched a kitchen chemistry presentation and got to explore with magnets and bubbles.

The highlight of the day had to be the new 'Backyard Monsters' exhibit. It's an enormous room filled with robotic insects that are probably 10 or 20 times my size. They are ginormous and really lifelike. Actually, a little too lifelike for my taste. I'm not a bug-a-phobe, but I've got to tell you.... I was really nervous in there. I knew they weren't real, but my body was covered in goosebumps, I was chilled and sweating at the same time, I felt like I couldn't breathe and my skin was itching. It was terrible! And after Michelle thought it'd be funny to itch my shoulder and make some little noise in my ear, I was DONE. ABSOLUTELY FINISHED!! I had to get out of there... So I left Katherine with Ben and Michelle and Caleb and I ran for the door. I'm shocked at how I reacted, but I literally felt ill and had to get out of there immediately!!

Beach Bum...

Caleb... is it possible that he could be sick yet again???? He was up from 2 - 3 am last night, crying and inconsolable. He hasn't eaten all weekend, and this morning before church he threw such a fit that Matt and I decided that he'd take Katherine to church while I stayed home with Caleb. It was quite the morning.... he screamed and cried and threw quite the fit while Matt and Katherine were at church, so by the time they got home, I was ready to hand him off and take a shower .... in peace. Oh, the little luxuries! LOL. As soon as I was ready, I took him up to my parents house to let out the dogs. (They were gone all day). Going up to Grammy and Pop-pops house is one of his favorite activities, so I spent quite a while up there and let him have the run of the house. At first he was looking for them and calling out their names, but after I told him they weren't home, he made himself welcome and had the run of the house. He was happy... Thank goodness!!

Then tonight after naps we went over to Rick and Danyel's house for a little fun in the sun. They had out the pool and sprinklers, so we put the kids in their swimsuits and went over for the first swim of the season. There were 12 kids or so, and Katherine had a wonderful time. Caleb continued to cling to me and cry... UUUGGGHH!! Finally Danyel busted out slices of watermelon and once Caleb started to eat it, he didn't make a sound. He was happy!! He had red juice all over his face, dripping down his little chin and all over his chest. I haven't seen him that content all weekend!! If only I had my camera!!

After that, he hopped in the pool, played with the kids, and got into all the toys. WOO-HOO!! A happy boy makes a happy momma!! He looked adorable. Danyel gave him a pair of "hip and happen' swim trunks" and he had on those with a faded blue T-shirt and his long bleached hair. He looked like he spent months at the beach already.

After everyone else left for dinner, Rick, Danyel, Matt and I decided to order Casey's pizza. Caleb ate and ate and ate... He ate more in one sitting than he had in total all weekend. Here's to hoping he sleeps through the night!!

NBTB...

Hello summer!! AAAHHH, it was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. It was the perfect day to work and play outside.

So early this morning, Matt and Tracey (our neighbor directly across the street) went to buy a couple of truckloads of mulch for the landscaping. While they were gone, I took Katherine and Caleb on a walk around the neighborhood... Caleb in his stroller, Katherine on her new "big girl" bright pink bike complete with Ariel helmet.

When we were about 2 blocks from home, we came up to a house that had a boat and a car in the driveway -- both on the same side. The sidewalk, which, by the way is a public right of way, was completely blocked. The other side of the driveway was empty. Anyway, the boat took up a large portion of the driveway, so the car was not only covering 100% of the sidewalk, but it was also about a foot from the street. So, the question is... what would you do??? You have two kids, one in a stroller, the other on a big girl bike with training wheels.... Do you have your 4 year old daughter go in front of the car (ie between the car and boat) or down the driveway and very close to (if not IN) the street?

Being the safety freak that I am, I had her go between the car and the boat. There is NO WAY I'd EVER teach my child that it's a good idea to drive their bike in the street. So she gets off her bike and I help her wheel it around the car. As I'm doing this, a guy comes out from the house and we have the following conversation...

Random Guy (RG): I guess I should have moved my car.

Me: That's fine, don't worry about it.

RG: Well I am worrying about it, because you had your kid ride her bike through my grass, and now look at the lines that will be there for the next several hours.

Me: Wow, I apologize, but the sidewalk was blocked, and

RG: No AND... you should have taken her out in the street rather through my lawn.

** OK, for the record, she put small tire tracks in a two foot stretch of grass. If I had gone down the driveway, she would have tire tracks over about a 6 foot stretch of grass.

Me: Again, I apologize. I didn't realize it was that big of a deal, but if it's something you feel strongly about, I suggest you don't block the right of way in the future. (Especially considering there's a billion kids in the neighborhood).

Random Guy get in his car, moves it to the totally vacant side of the driveway and wants to keep yelling at me. As much as I would have liked to had it out with him, Katherine was there, and this, more than anything was a lesson for her.

On a totally different note....

I am so thankful for my girlfriends. Some old... some new... some right in my back yard... others far away... some I chat with daily (OK.. several times a day)... others I talk to less often. Some I share the bond of motherhood... others a memory of single days living in the sorority house... and some like Val, a shared childhood... a similar history... memories from way back in elementary school... and dreams of what our future would be like... Back when we were both on the high school debate team (and NO we weren't nerds!) we always put "NBTB" on the bottom of our briefs.... It represented a funny similar characteristic that we both had and it was something we always kept from the boys....just our little secret, an inside joke.... So today when I opened my blog and saw NBTB in her comment, I had to laugh. Thanks Val -- it's been a day, and you have no idea how much I needed it. There are some (but very few) things I can't put in this blog, and let's just say, one such thing happened today. Yes, I'll call you later, but the last 24 hours have been ....... UUUGH, I can't even find the words.... But.... I'm so thankful for you... so thankful for our friendship... for our shared history... and so thankful all the wonderful girlfriends I'm blessed to have in my life. Thanks for making me smile. Oh, and NBTB to you.

Dentist

Today was the day Katherine had been looking forward to for over a month now. Unbelievably, she couldn't wait to go to the dentist, and has been awaiting today with great anticipation. She's the only child I know who puts going to the dentist right up there with a trip to to Cold Stone. LOL!!

While I took Katherine to the dentist, Matt's mom offered to watch Caleb so that I wouldn't have to chase him around the office while she got her teeth cleaned. No brainer there!!!

As I dropped him off at Todd and Caroline's and told him goodbye, he gave me a great big hug and kiss and told me goodbye with a smile on his face. I can't tell you how wonderful it is that he's starting to get over the "separation anxiety" stage. He's growing more independent by the day, and in his own little way, he knows I'll be back for him soon.

Katherine could hardly contain her excitement as we pulled into the parking lot of the dentist office. All she could talk about was the cool new toothbrush she'd be getting along with the stickers, bracelet, and princess toothpaste. Let's just say she definitely hit the jackpot. She sat in the chair like such a little lady and chatted with Cindy about going to Disney World this fall and everything Caleb. Oh how she loves that kid!!

The bad news came a few minutes later... She's got an itty bitty teeny tiny cavity. UUUUUGH! No matter how small it is, a cavity is still a cavity... I can't believe it. I feel like the worst mom in the world. I have no idea how this could have happened. I feel awful..... Just terrible....... So, we're returning next Friday to get the cavity removed. Evidently it's "very surface" and "barely there" so she won't get a shot of anesthetic... thank God. Apparently it won't hurt, but still.... I totally get an "F" in the mom department today. The thing that I hate the most is that right now she loves going to the dentist and I'm afraid that next Friday will change all that. I'd trade places with her in a heartbeat.

After we got done at the dentist, we picked up Matt's parents, Caleb and Leo and went to Jumpin' Jacks. (Jumpin' Jacks is a place that has tons of inflatables, arcade games, surprisingly good pizza, and bubble machines). The kids had a blast jumping around in the inflatables and eating pizza!! They just went nuts in the big frog house and the three of them were laughing so hard at one point that they could hardly stand up. Let's just say that Katherine and Caleb slept like rock stars this afternoon.

We decided to head to Valley Junction after naps and hit the farmer's market. Matt was craving all of the yummy street vendor food, and Katherine and Caleb split perhaps the largest snow cone I've ever seen. It was heaven in a cup!! Their lips were bright blue and they had smiles plastered all over their little faces the entire time. And I got to go to one of my favorite scrapbook stores. Oh, happy day!

When we got home, we went outside to play with the neighbors -- 6 families in total. The kids had a blast and before we knew it it was pushing 9:20. It was a late night, full of fun and friends. And really.... isn't that what summer is all about?

Caleb.....

It seems that with every passing day Caleb's little personality is blossoming. He's incredibly funny -- and knows it, he's learning more words by the day, and always trying new things. He's such a boy, and has this innate competitive drive to always keep up with his big sister. It's amazing to be able to sit back and watch him develop into a wonderful little man.

Today we spent the morning with Matt's parents and Leo. The kids had a blast playing together. They ran around the backyard, played in the sandbox and acted like little monkeys on the swing set. Katherine's latest obsession is "skinning the cat", and she does it until her hands will no longer hold her up. I'm shocked at how flexible she is, and can't believe the abs on this girl. I've got a gymnast it the making!!

Caleb followed Katherine and Leo around with stars in his eyes. If they were doing something, he was going to try it! Leo is in the process of being potty trained, and at one point, Katherine had to go to the potty so we put Leo on as well. Guess who also had to give it a try???? You guessed it!! My little Caleb. He ran over to the potty chair and was pulling at his pants. So I took off his diaper and put him up there to see what he'd do. He sat there for about 30 seconds and was done. He had no idea what to do, but at least he sat there... No potty success, but at least he isn't afraid of trying! I haven't pulled out our potty chair yet, I wasn't planning to even think about potty training until he was 2 1/2 or so.... But who knows......

Caleb is all about kissing today. It's pretty funny. I always give the kids a kiss after I'm done buckling them in their car seats, and Caleb kept asking for more kisses. After about 5 or 6 of them, he held up his little hand and said, "ALL DONE MAMA". LOL.

Then, at nap time Katherine rushed into her bed while I changed Caleb's pants so that she could be the much coveted "nap leader". (Oh yes, that's a beautiful thing!). I told Caleb to run in and give Katherine a kiss good night, and he took off at a dead run into her room, grabbed her cheeks with his little hands and yelled, "MMMMMMMMWWWWWAAAAAA"!!! Then, just as quickly as he ran in, he took off into his own room and tried to get into his crib. Katherine was laughing to the point of crying. It was so funny to watch him!!

Then today, he gave Grandma and Grandpa both kisses on the cheek. It's all about the love today!

Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa, they're quickly learning all of Caleb's little quirky behaviors. I don't think I've blogged about this before, but he's never (yes NEVER) said yes. Actually, he's never EVER given an answer in the affirmative. For example, if he's on his favorite ride at Adventureland and I ask him if he's having fun, he'll yell "NNNOOOOOO!" If I ask him if he wants to go to the park, he'll raise his little fist in the air and yell "NOOO". Katherine calls him "Our Mister "NO" guy". (Sounds like a pretty good title for a future scrapbook layout huh???) He says "NO" about 50 different ways, and trying to watch Matt's parents figure out if he really meant it or not, was hilarious. They kept asking me how they'd know if he really meant "NO". I kept telling them "Oh, trust me. You'll know". Finally when it was time to go home he didn't want to and he stamped his little foot, pulled his arms in close to his body and yelled "NO". They just laughed and said, yes, they knew what he meant.

One other cute Caleb story.... Yesterday at Adventureland Fran and I took Caleb and Leo on these little toddler cars. They had soooo much fun!! Caleb started pumping his little fist in the air and yelling "GO GO GO GO" the whole way around. The boys were having the time of their lives!!!!

Night terror

Last night was a rough one. None of us got much sleep.

Caleb woke up up around 2 am screaming and crying. He's cried out in the middle of the night before, but immediately falls asleep. Last night... not the case. He cried for about 5 minutes so I went into get him and make sure everything was OK. When I opened the door, I could hear him roll over and then stand up. He wasn't standing up in his crib crying, he was laying down, holding onto his beloved Big Bird and crying in his sleep.... Bad dream? Maybe, but I really don't think so. After I picked him up he continued to cry and scream for a bit, but then realized that I was holding him and he settled down. I was up with him until almost 3 am and then put an exhausted little boy back to bed.

This morning he slept until 9 am! Much later than normal, but considering what happened in the middle of the night, my poor little boy was tired. I sooo hope that he sleeps peacefully tonight.

The kids and I spent the day with Matt's parents and my nephew, Leo. We met them at the mall, played in the play area and had lunch. The kids had a blast! Then after everyone woke up from naps, they came over to our house for dinner and to play. Leo was in heaven! He ran around outside with some of the neighbor kids, played with tons of new toys, and went over to Rick and Danyel's house for popcorn and cartoons.

While the kids played outside tonight, Fran and I went to Hobby Lobby. A ton of their scrapbook stuff is on sale 50% off, so I had to pick up a few things. I needed an off color of paper for Katherine's new pictures, so I was able to find the perfect stuff on sale. Gotta love that!!

Tomorrow we're headed to Adventureland and for the first time this year, Matt is meeting us out there after work. WOO-HOO!! Katherine can't wait for her Daddy to take her on all the water rides.

Friends...

Val sent this to me today and I wanted to share it with all of you. I am so thankful that I have so many wonderful women in my life I consider friends, and am amazed at what strength, courage, support, and love they have brought into my life. My life is richer for them, and I am eternally grateful for each and every one of them.

GIRLS IN MY CIRCLE

When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend, and then I started to become a woman.

And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends. One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, "Let's cry together," another, "Let's fight together," another, "Let's walk away together." One friend will meet your spiritual need, another your shoe fetish, another your love for movies, another will be with you in your season of confusion, another will be your clarifier, another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life, on whatever the occasion, on whatever the day, or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, but for many, it's wrapped up in several... one from 7th grade, one from high school, several from the college years, a couple from old jobs, on some days your mother, on some days your neighbor, on others, your sisters, and on some days, your daughters.

So whether they've been your friend for 20 minutes or 20 years, AND ONLY IF YOU'D LIKE TO, pass this on to the women that God has placed in your life to make a difference.

Party at the Hanson house

Matt's finally done with the CFA. Now it's just the long wait until we find out if all his studying and hard work paid off. We'll find out if he passes sometime in the middle of August. The waiting is horrible!!

To help celebrate the end of the studying era, we're having a neighborhood get together. Everyone is out on the deck enjoying a beverage and relaxing, even as I write this! It's so nice!!

Matt's parents are in town for a week watching Leo while Todd and Caroline are in San Francisco, so while Matt took the test today, we all went to the zoo. Here's some pics -- none of them are edited, but I at least wanted to get them on line so that Caroline can see them.

This was just too funny....

...not to post. Thankfully I have a sense of humor about it!!!!

This morning as I was getting out of the shower, Katherine came into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. This was the conversation that we had --

K: Mommy, do you like freckles?
M: Of course, sweetie. They're adorable on you.
K: Thanks. I think so too...... But, Mommy, why do I have them?
M: Well honey, they're angel kisses. Every place that you have a freckle, is where an angel kissed your face.
Katherine gives me a puzzled look, thinks for a good 30 seconds and says...

Mommy, why did an angel kiss your bottom?

OMG -- this girl doesn't miss a thing!! And for the record, it's one small mole, my butt is not covered in freckles. GEESH!