10 More Days!?!?!?!

Oh, sweet blessedness that is the first day of school... How I long for you. How my children long for you. This summer has been miserable without your impending joy and entertainment.

Yes, people, even my children are ready for that first day of school this year! There is no dread in this household. Oh, no! Just the opposite. My kids are bored. I am preoccupied with everything baby and it's too hot to send the older 2 outside to play. When it hasn't been too hot, it's been too wet (like these past few days, but boy have we needed that rain).

*sigh*

The end is in sight. That light at the end of the tunnel. That glorious sunrise after a long, dark night. That first day of school.

The kids have been at each others' throats the past few days. It's getting old. Yesterday, Aurora kicked her brother. Today, Ryan punched Aurora--in the face! Now, in each situation, they both deserved it. I'm sure of it. However, we need more constructive things to do than practice our self-defense skills.

Unfortunately, everything to do here in Tulsa requires $$$. Something of which we are lacking since I have not gone back to work. Oh, we're making do. But, that extra few bucks to go to McDonald's or some other childhood form of entertainment is out the window. It's been too hot to spend even a morning at the zoo. My kids are too loud for the library--when I take them. Rob swears up and down they're good and quiet for HIM when they go to the library! Such a strange phenomenon, that is.

In the meantime, we have rooms to clean and more messes to be made. With the weather turning cooler these past few days, I'm hoping a trip to the zoo can be placed on the agenda. We've got cabin fever.

Polish the floors... Not exactly what I meant

Yesterday, Aurora and I went to ULTA to purchase some beauty supplies. I got more makeup and Aurora spent her money on sparkly teal nail polish. This morning, she wanted to paint her fingernails herself. Against my better judgment, I let her paint them on the floor of the playroom. Ryan was in there, too. Somehow, the two of them collided. It resulted in an explosion of teal nail paint all over everything. Fortunately, the furniture was spared such a colorful swash of polish. My floors sparkle now; I seriously don't think the tiny sparkles from the nail polish will ever come off! MY hands are sparkly, too!

This is the mess. Apparently, Aurora was sitting right at Ground Zero and Ryan stepped down from on top of the step stool. This resulted in the nail polish bottle (which is glass) flying into the air and leaving a trail of teal about 4 feet long.



The fan was on in the playroom. This nail polish was drying fast! I did the best I could to get as much of it off the floor while it was still wet. The nail polish remover was almost full when I started the cleanup process.



It took nearly an hour to get it all up. I sent both kids to their rooms because they were each blaming the other. No one really wanted to take the fault for the accident. I didn't see a need to place fault on either for something that nobody had seen coming. I mean, how were they supposed to know that the playroom was going to be redecorated in 1994's most popular kitchen color?

By the time it was all said and done, quite a bit of the nail polish remover was gone. I went through 2 paper towels. The step stool is permanently stained with teal and sparkles. I think the floor looks pretty good, though. There certainly would be tears if I had not been able to get that stuff up. I'm also VERY grateful that this floor is not actual wood OR laminate. The surface would probably have been permanently damaged from the nail polish remover. Fortunately, there is a nice sheen to the floor now. Of course, it's probably just all the glitter catching the light from above!


And, of course, my hands were not immune to the teal's glittery splarkliness. This was the result of my hard work. I do wish that I could blame either of the kids for the mess, but the truth of the matter is: I let her buy the nail polish. I let her paint her nails in the playroom. I didn't stand watch while said teal polish was in use. Nor did I think about the fact that the polish was in a glass bottle. As many of you well know, glass containers and young children do not mix. Lesson learned. The hard way.

Ryan's Rough Day

He knew it was gonna be a rough day from the time he woke up. Poor Bubba.

When he crawled into bed with me this morning, he stubbed his toe on one of the bed posts. I was desperate to keep the baby and Aurora asleep for a little while longer, so I wrapped my arms around him and did my best to make him feel better. He tried so hard to be quiet, the poor dear.

After he finally calmed down, he wanted to get some breakfast. While he was coming up the stairs, the dog almost tripped him and he spilled his dry cereal on the ground, having to pick it up and start over again.

Right before we walked out the door to swim lessons, he knocked his head pretty hard on the corner of the breakfast bar in the kitchen. It left a pretty good-sized welt on the top of his head.

While at swimming lessons, there were all sorts of bugs around. He had to go potty before class started, but wouldn't step foot in the bathroom because there were all sorts of beetles crawling all over the floor (it rained really hard yesterday and all the ground beetles around here come to the surface for a few days after a hard rain). Halfway through his lesson, he decided he needed to go bad enough to brave the bugs. Reluctantly, he walked into the bathroom alone. There were june bugs all over the floor, I watched 2 or 3 crawl out while I was standing guard outside the bathroom. He finished as quickly as he could and ran out--all the while trying to pull up his swim trunks. I did catch him before anyone could see and pulled his trunks up properly. tee-hee!

There were wasps flying around at the pool today, too. One of them kept flying rather menacingly around the tables we moms were sitting on. We kept shoo-ing it away and it kept coming back. I don't know what it was protecting, but it was not happy with us. As the whistle blew, I was watching my kids trail out of the pool slowly. Ryan kept jumping back into the ankle deep water at the corner edge of the pool. Apparently, another menacing wasp was buzzing around his head. He swatted at it and it must have landed on him. All of a sudden, Ryan screamed "Bee!" and started crying, grabbing at the side of his jaw. I had Ellie in my arms and started running toward him (which was, I'm sure, quite a comical sight). I didn't know exactly what had happened to him, but my Ryan only screams like that when he's really hurt.

Sure enough, there was a little hole where a wasp would have stung him. It was starting to swell at the site immediately. Ryan started calling it a mosquito bite, but I asked him how big the bug was and he said it had big, loud wings. Unfortunately, the pool didn't have anything for bee or wasp stings. All they had was Neosporin and Hydrocortisone. A mom at the pool suggested I get some Benadryl to help with the swelling ASAP! This mom said she is allergic to bee stings and has to carry an EPI-Pen everywhere she goes. I sucked in air and prayed that my boy was not allergic!

So, off we went to the store to buy some Benadryl. I administered it immediately and within minutes, the swelling was gone. Thankfully, Ryan is NOT allergic to whatever stung him today! In addition to removing the swelling, the Benadryl had a positive effect on him; he took a good nap today! After all the excitement and misery from the rough morning he had, he certainly needed it.

We Survived the SBC 2011

Rob was in Phoenix, AZ working at the LifeWay booths at the Southern Baptist Convention for the past week. This means that I was left home alone with all 3 kids for a little less than a week. It really wasn't as bad as I feared it would be...

We took Rob to the airport on Thursday afternoon. Only a few tears were shed. The days kind of ran into each other, but I'm trying to do my best to remember.

************Public Service Announcement***************

I did not post on here or on facebook about Rob's trip while he was gone. I would like to take a moment, as a woman who has previously been stalked, to warn the dangers of letting people know too much about your life. Please don't let the internet know when you are home alone. Please do not use that check-in feature on your phone or social media device if you are anywhere alone. Please, use your common sense. Even if your facebook settings are set to a very secure setting, you are not truly secure online--ever!

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Ok, now that's out of the way...

Friday went smoothly and the kids played really well together. Somebody was praying really hard for us. Not that my kids are hateful little you-know-whats, but they have a tendency to bicker like--well, like brother and sister, I guess.

Saturday, we went to a Lowe's Build & Grow clinic. The kids absolutely loved that! They felt so big with their hammers and nails. It was so adorable, I couldn't help but snap a photo.

We [barely] made it to church on Sunday. I tried to do both my hair and makeup. Since Ellie was born, the people at church only see me with either one or the other done up. This week, it was my make up. I may be too busy to notice that I miss Rob when he's gone, but apparently my slumber patterns notice. The bags under my eyes desperately needed cover-up.

It didn't help that Rob sent me THIS photo:

Yeah, not nice! He also mentioned how well he was eating. While he was out eating all sorts of high quality food, I ate 11 left-over sloppy joes while he was gone. Eleven!!! That's lunch and dinner every day, people!!! If I never see another sloppy joe in my life, it will be too soon!

I must say that it is kind of amusing that Rob came home with a sunburn. That's what you get for teasing this girl! God does really have quite a sense of humor.

We really didn't do a whole lot while he was gone; just a few projects around the house. The kids were pretty content with the things we did; painting, family movie nights, dog washing, bug killing, My Little Pony hair-braiding contests... You know, normal stuff. ;)

On Monday night, the kids tried to have a "Slumber Party" in Aurora's room. They were having a blast, hooting and hollering and playing board games. Around 10:30 p.m., Ryan came out and said Aurora was "bothering him" and that he would like to go to his own room. Hiding the smile that came to my lips, I told him he was welcome to go sleep in his own bed for the night. Within minutes, both kids were asleep. Hmmmm... I thought to myself, "I should let them do this more often during the summer. They're not bothering me and they're wearing themselves out."

That thought went completely out the window the following morning. Both kids were awake at 7:30 a.m. And, they were C-R-A-N-K-Y!!! *slaps forehead*

Tuesday was rough. The kids knew Rob was coming home that night and they were too excited to do anything. I did, eventually, get them to help me straighten up the house. It took vacuuming up a few items from their floors (which, btw, means that the vacuum's hose is now clogged with tiny toys and papers... Aaargh!) in order for them to actually clean their rooms!

There were storms forecast for the evening hours--the exact evening hours that Rob's flight was scheduled for arrival. Which meant that his flight was delayed. Which meant that the kids had to stay up even later. Which meant that they were going to be cranky again the following morning. But it was all worth it when they saw him in the airport. It was like watching those commercials when the soldiers come home. (Only, of course, Rob wasn't a soldier.) The kids ran to him and he picked them both up in his arms. A little melodramatic--to me, the military brat, for a week's worth of absence--but this is my family. I smiled and was so grateful for the scene that just played out. It fit us.

So, Rob is home now. Life is as it should be. I am hoping Rob gets a chance to go to the SBC in 2012. The city of destination? New Orleans!!! Oh, yeah! We will be going with him to that one!

Funny of the Day via the Older 2

Aurora wears an old shirt of mine from my pre-Rob days. It is a graphic tee that says "BOYS ARE LIKE PARKING SPACES" on the front, with "all the good ones are taken" written on the back. Ryan can now read. He asked why all the good ones are taken.

Aurora answered: They're all married.

Ryan: Who's Mary?

Aurora: *sigh* No, Ryan, they are all MARRI-ED!!!

Ryan: Oh. Why are they all married?

Aurora: Well, the good ones are all married. The other ones are smokers and drinkers. No one wants to marry them! They stink!

Ryan: Oh! It's a good thing they're not married. We don't want a stinky Daddy.

Me: Shakes head and covers smile.

A Heat Stroke Waiting to Happen

So far this morning, I have spanked one child for not getting dressed and running around in his underwear. The other child did get dressed, but insists on wearing long sleeves, jeans and tennis shoes--with Christmas socks. The first child is still not dressed and the other child is still changing. How hard is it to put on shorts and a short-sleeved shirt? It's 2 items. I mean, come on! Even I did that this morning!

Oh, and to top it all off, they're both mad at me for making them wear weather-appropriate attire. This whole "train up a child in the way he should go" business is tough when your children behave like they should visit the Emergency Room for sunburn and heat stroke!

By the way, it's been half an hour since they started getting dressed. Neither one of them actually is dressed. Aaargh!!!

What year is it?

I am so ashamed.

This morning, Ryan shocked me with an out-of-place behavior. Let me set the stage:

It's 2011. Our President is black. One (yes, just one!) of Ryan's classmates is black--well, the boy's mother is white, but his father and grandmother are African American. We see them frequently at the school and Ryan has never said anything about their appearance.

Rob and I have had many friends in our younger years who were African American, so we are certainly not racist/prejudiced/bigoted. However, Virginia had a much higher African American community; Oklahoma is VERY white. Especially the area of Oklahoma in which we live.

I drop the kids off at a cross walk outside of the school every morning. They feel big when they cross the street. Usually, the crossing guard is a very old white man. Every now and again, there is a substitute crossing guard. This morning, the substitute was a very old black man with very dark skin. Ryan took one look at him and decided he didn't want to cross there.

"Drop me off at the front of the school, Mommy!" he said.

"Why, Ryan? Just get out with your sister." I had no idea what was wrong with him.

"He looks weird." Ryan said.

"He just has a different color skin, Ryan." Aurora chimed in.

"Ryan, he's just a person--like you and me. You don't need to think any differently about him than you do about anyone else." I tried to calm him down with logic, but it didn't seem to be working.

"I just don't want to get out here, Mommy!" Ryan slumped down in his seat.

I turned the car off, completely prepared to walk across the street with Ryan to calm him down. I couldn't believe this was happening! I don't know what made him feel better, but he put his backpack on and stepped out of the car. Aurora held his hand--that is, until Ryan took his hands from her and made blinders on each side of his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at the crossing guard. I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes. What have we done wrong here?

I thought about this man's life. He was old enough that he would have been an adult in his mid-thirties during the 1960s. This man watched Martin Luther King, Jr. march into Washington and set the stage for desegregation and equal rights. Maybe he even campaigned for the Civil Rights movement. My 5 year old didn't know about any of that.

Aurora knows. Ryan will know this, too. We must teach our children of the past so that the mistakes that were made will not be repeated. It must not be repeated.

The Nutella Monster

Ryan has had a couple of funny looking mustaches lately. I thought he had been getting into my Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (which are my favorite, btw). Until this morning when I caught him red-handed with this...

I have been wondering why the Nutella hasn't been lasting as long as it used to. Apparently, he's done this more than once. He would wash the bowl and spoon out in the bathroom sink and hide them in his room. Since he wakes up before we do (he actually wakes up before the crack of dawn), he goes and sneaks it first, then comes upstairs.

I used this amount of Nutella to make their sandwiches today. Waste not, want not!

Yesterday's Funny of the Day

Ryan has been watching Super Hero Squad a lot lately. As a result, Aurora has been watching it, too. Last night, they had a conversation about the superheroes that went a little something like this:

Ryan: Are superheroes real?

Aurora: No, I don't think so. The only person with super powers that I know of is God.

Ryan: Yeah. He has the power of love.

Rob and I looked at each other and just smiled. I thought I was going to melt with the absolute sweetness that was oozing from my children. It kind of makes me wonder: Why don't we, as adults, ever think about stuff in that way?

Ryan and His Babies

I haven't been sleeping well at night. The newest baby (who is yet to be born) is keeping me up all night long. So this morning when I had to get the kids to school, I had a little bit of a short fuse. Both kids were cold and tired, too, and it was quite the combination.

All day yesterday, I was shopping for the kids' Christmas presents and for the last baby supplies we needed. Rob went out with me in the morning and my friend, Lynn, went out baby shopping with me in the evening. While Lynn and I were baby shopping, Rob texted me to get some wrapping paper for the kids' Christmas presents. No problem, right? I mean, how hard could that be? Lynn and I found wrapping paper within 5 minutes of the text. We were on our way to the checkout shortly after that.

It wasn't the shopping that was the problem... It was Ryan! He saw the wrapping paper this morning and decided he liked Aurora's pink wrapping paper better than his red wrapping paper. Now, this is the child who loves red. This is also the child who is content with whatever he gets--most of the time. I asked him why he didn't like his red penguin wrapping paper and instead liked Aurora's pink wrapping paper. The answer astounded me:

"Because Aurora's wrapping paper has babies on it."

I looked at him and told him that was too bad. He's getting red wrapping paper with penguins on it. *rolls eyes* I'm NOT going back to the store to exchange wrapping paper because it doesn't have babies on it. For goodness' sakes!

Ryan's Funny of the Day

It was nap time and I told the kids they could come out at 3:30. At 3:15, Ryan started asking "What minutes do we have?", meaning "How much longer do I have to be holed up in my room?".

At 10 minutes, he counted to 10. "Mommy! I counted all the way up to 10! Can I come out now?" No, Ryan. (He must have gotten distracted for a few minutes, because I didn't hear from him again until 3:27.)

At 3 minutes, he asked again. "Awww, that's a baby number! 1... 2... 3...! Can I come out now?" No, Ryan.

At 2 minutes, he asked again! "That's another baby number," he said and slammed his door shut in disgust.

At 1 minute, I just decided to let the poor boy out!

Ryan's Funny of the Day

Rob was cleaning the living room and Ryan really wanted to pet the rabbit. We told him to wait until after Daddy was vacuuming. As soon as the vacuum turned off, Ryan looked at me and said, "Mommy, do you know what Hershey is?" Puzzled at what his current train of thought could possibly be, I looked at him and asked "What?"

"Hershey is a little black varmint!"

*Oh, my*