Kindergarten

Walking down the little school hallway - I am amazed that I have a child that belongs there. It's all so cute, the little decorations and awards and "Look what we made" things hanging along the hallway. Surreal to me. It seems not so long ago I wondered if I'd ever get the chance to be in the PTO or have a parent-teacher conference and now here I am. We are so blessed with Bubba's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Tracey. She is the ideal teacher for K...young, bubbly, full of spirit. She is a hugger and you can tell she really LOVES these kids. She especially loves Bubba - she thinks he is the funniest kid. At our parent-teacher conference the other day, she said simply "Nothing to tell - he's great!" He's one of the best readers in the class, which is impressive to her since most of the kids in his group are older than him since he has an April b/day...lots of the kids in the class are already 6. She says she never has to tell him things twice (now why can't it be that way at home??). She was meaning she only has to instruct him on a skill once and he's got it. He's also very creative...they have journals they have to write and draw in daily with little to no help from her. They have to write phonectically (did I spell that right??) which seems weird to me but it's working. His pages go from "I wish the war was over" (read - I wich the wr ws ovr) to "I am an alien (ALIN)who has a super (Sooper) Sucker" That one cracked me up. At least he has an array of thoughts, right? I just love being in his little class with the tiny chairs & tables, the block writing and centers...I wish I could just go sit one day, invisible, and watch my little miracle boy play and learn.

Kindergarten is almost over...unbelievable. She said he is more than ready for 1st grade.

I am so proud of him!

The Never Ending Snow Day

Today is snow day #8 for our kids. These aren't consecutive, but after 3 snow days, Bubba had a recurrence of his tonsilitis, so he then missed 3 more days, now we are on another run of snow days, so he has now been at home for 13 days. I love him, but he's starting to climb the walls and drag me with him! I know he's bored...and there's not much to do. Yesterday and today, other bored friends and frenzied moms have relented and we've let the kids play. I wonder if/when we'll have to make up these snow days? I heard 10 days were alloted...what does that mean ? 10 free snow days? Our roads are fine..it's the way back roads that are still icy. I understand, but geez...there comes a point when you need to let the 95% of schools in the county go and just close the one in the problem area!!

Right now my house is quiet as he is away at a neighbors and Sweet Pea is sleeping. The only sound is the fish tank & the washing machine.

I have so much to do and I don't feel like doing any of it. I have clothes to prep for consigment, stuff to gather for my Pampered Chef party tomorrow night and stuff to prep for the Valetines Day kid party I'm hosting on Saturday. YAWN The thought makes me tired.

I know this wasn't exciting but oh well...such is my blog.

On a happy note, Sweet Pea has 3 of her 4 molars :)

Sick of Sick

The whole month of January, someone has been sick. Sweet Pea spiked a fever on Jan 1...I knew immediately that was not a good sign! 3 days after her antibiotics were done, Bubba spiked a fever. In the middle of that, Colby & I both had tummy bugs. One week after Bubba finished his antibiotics, he spiked another fever. Apparently his antibiotics didn't do the trick (tonsilitis) so now we are on round 2. He has been home since last Friday. Friday, Monday &Tuesday were snow days and Tuesday is when he spiked. So, I am the nice mommy who doesn't send her sick kid to school. Fortunately his throat has never hurt during all this, which I don't see how because it is NASTY and his breath is BAD. Other than a bit tired, he's ok.

Sweet Pea is teething. Molars. Fever. Diarrhea. One word - UGH.

Colby has something going on with his tummy - I'm afraid it's gall bladder or IBS...he's going to see a GI. I'm sure he's thrilled I'm sharing this with you :)

I have persistent PMS. Seriously, like a good week to 10 days. What gives?? I'm suffering from an overload of Estrogen. Luckily I am unarmed or I might be blogging from prison. I'm off to the doctor next week to see what we can do about that. I can't take birth control because of blood clotting issues. Maybe that bio-identical stuff that Susan Sommers raves about? Or is that only post-menopausal?

Maybe February will be better...not looking good right now. This too shall pass...but can it hurry up????

Sparkly

One of my favorite things about ice/snow is how the trees look. We drove to the mall yesterday after being stuck inside for 3 days. All along the interstate, the trees were coated in ice and SPARKLING under the beautiful sun. What an amazing site. Like a wonderland. I know ice is a pain, but that's the price to pay to see such a beautiful sight.

In other news - Bubba is out of school again. The snow/ice came Friday, and though the city is fine, up here in the sticks the roads are still a bit hazardous. It's supposed to be 43 degrees today, so I'm hoping for melting :) I will head out myself later to PetCo to return the useless piece of equipment known as a shock collar, which only shocks every 3-5 times...can you see me holding the stupid thing, testing it..."it doesn't work" {pushing button repeatedly} OUCH, ok, that time it worked. But really, what good is that? I want it to work at 5am when pscyho-puppy starts barking. So, back it goes today, day 41 out of 45 until the return policy runs out. Also, Bailey is almost out of food and that's the only place we can get his fancy "old man who is tiny and needs tiny pieces" formula. And the irony of psycho-puppy's food (which can be found thankfully at WalMart)..it's called "Smart Puppy". Um. That's not working!

Sweet Pea is getting her molars and isn't having fun with that. She has one, but the other three look like she's storing food for winter under her gums. I know it hurts, but so does my head! :)

Church

We joined a new church today. The way the Southern Baptist's do it is you leave one church and "transfer" your membership to another. Our preacher said it well this morning...and we had already decided to walk down the aisle & join...he said he was glad for transfers, or as he calls it "church swappin'" :) He went on to say he likes that, but he really wants new church members..as in ones that have never been members...since "swappin'" doesn't add the to Kingdom of God. I liked that. He's a funny guy, the new preacher at this church. Big shoes to fill, since the former pastor was there for 33 years. Wow...he's a brave guy! And he's great. We've been visiting there off & on for a year, but lately I've been feeling like we really needed to commmit. Part of me is heartbroken, as that ends our membership at the BEST church ever in Oklahoma. My heart is still back there. But, we move on. This is the kind of thing I like about God - we haven't been to church in over a month due to Christmas and sickness. And what starts TODAY? A new bible study on Sunday nights. COOL!! And there is one for everyone, but the one I picked is "Attitude of a Transformed Heart". I hope it's good. I need a new attitude..mine's a little down lately. i like it when God says "HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO" instead of giving me hints. I don't do well with hints..I need it written in black marker on the board in class this morning!

So, we are officially members & we are starting a daily challenge that the whole church is doing to read thru the bible in a year. We got a fancy new bible all divided up and everything. Hopefully we'll make it through. One guy in class this morning said he was only 24 days behind (HA HA it's Jan 24)

Lazy Weekend

Last night colby & I got to have date night! It's the first one we've had since Christmas I think. We dropped the kiddles off at mom's and then we went to see the "Tooth Fairy". I can't even remember the last time we went to the movies together, it's been YEARS...seriously. I've only been to the movies a few times in the last few years and it's been either by myself or with mom. It was a really cute movie and totally clean. How refreshing! No foul language, no violence, no sex..just a cute story! I got to sleep til 8:30 this morning. Colby went duck hunting at 5AM. I don't get that. Anyway, if it weren't for Dixie (the psycho puppy) beginning her bark/whine session at 6:30, it would have been even better.

I managed to run out and buy some new scrubs since all mine were pre-Bubba and didn't really fit well. Wonder why??? Then I picked up Sweet Pea. Bubba has gone to the IMAX with his Memaw and is planning to spend the night again. I told him to call me afterwards to tell me what it was about and he said "Do I have to?" LOL Well, no, but you can if you want to. I'm glad they get to be with their grandparents (at least one set) reguarly. That was so much fun for me as a kid. I remember going out to eat with my grandparents every weekend...usually to Western Sizzlin or Po' Folks. I loved that place!!

Remembering

This may be depressing for some of you - this is your warning. Sometimes things in life just suck and getting it out on paper or via blogs is helpful.

I am following a blog of a friend of a good friend of mine (did ya get that?). She recently lost her newborn baby shortly after birth after trying for 10 years and undergoing IVF. I am so drawn to her, I suppose it's the "misery loves company" thing plus the sympathic part of me. Since following her blog, I catch myself thinking of her all the time. It has only been 7 weeks for her, yet it has been 8 years for me. Eight years? How is that possible. She often writes that it just feels like yesterday. Yep...I cannot bring myself to tell her it will ALWAYS feel like yesterday. She will find that out on her own. I don't burst into tears at the thought of W & K anymore, but I do still have tearful moments.(Like while watching a recent episode of Desperate Housewives) For those who don't know me, we lost twins at 22 weeks of pregnancy back in 2001 (2 weeks after 9/11). And for this gal, I cannot imagine carrying a baby/babies to term and having to come home to an empty nursery. That shouldn't happen. It's one thing to lose babies mid-pregnancy. I had no nursery...though I had dreams of one. I had no baby clothes, none of that. I went into the hospital at 18 weeks, knowing there was a good chance I would leave empty-armed. I was grateful to come home to my house, with no signs of babies. It was my safe haven among a world FULL of pregnant women and babies. As she is experiencing now, it seems everyone suddenly is pregnant or carrying a new baby, as if you've landed on some other planet...were all those women & babies there before? Where did they come from??

partly I think I should stop following her blog as it brings up all those feelings...I don't understand how after 8 years it can still seem like yesterday. But it does sometimes. I replay the events of that day over and over. Why do we do that? Maybe that's the only time they were here, so I have to cling to that. For the 3 years we lived in that area, I felt....something...when I'd drive by the hospital. That was the only place they ever LIVED.

As she says, she has now entered a new club...the club of mommies without their babies. That is a club no one wants to be a part of, but once you are there, you are torn between not wanting to be alone and knowing that a new member means another woman has suffered the unimaginable. My heart will never forget that intense grief. You can't. It honestly feels as though your heart is dying. You physically can't breath.

I cannot believe most days how I've been blessed since that dark period...two kids, a boy and a girl...I have been given the perfect family. And I am so grateful for that. If you will, pray for this other girl. She will begin infertility treatments again soon. I hope her empty arms will soon be filled with a new baby. And in the meantime, I pray for peace...that kind that comes from God alone, that is beyond understanding. The kind that was in our delivery room that morning, as He came to take our babies home. We were ok, even though we weren't. Weird.

I wonder what W & K would be like now? I'm sure she'd be the boss...she always was. She was the womb-hog...he was always smooshed up in the top. He'd patiently wait for her to settle, then he'd re-siutate himself. I loved feeling the two of them working themselves out. I think he'd have been a momma's boy. Or maybe that's just my wishful thinking. I think of them often..and still, sometimes, I know I hear them laugh. I think God gives me those split second moments to know that they are ok and they are happy playing at the feet of their Lord.

Thanks for letting me get serious for a minute and reflect on things. Pray for Lori. I remember the dark days. My heart breaks for her.