Costly

I'm just curious...does it seem like it is getting outrageously expensive just to live? I keep wondering how I am managing to spend so much money when it doesn't seem like I am buying anything extravagant. Right now:

• Gas is $3.09 a gallon
• Milk is $3.99 a gallon
• A 2 lb chunk of cheese is $7.64 (it hasn't always been that much, has it?)
• A ticket to the movies is $7.00 (I only know this because my SIL and I saw Enchanted on Thanksgiving--my first movie in the theater in almost a year).

What is it like where you live? And yes, I will go ahead and give the preemptive prize to my sister, Heather, who lives in Hawaii. I know none of us mainlanders can compete with you...

Six Months? For Real?

My baby is half a year old? Dang, that was quick. Time seems to slow to half the normal speed when you're pregnant, but instantly speed up about the time your baby starts sleeping for five hours in a row at night.

Kyla thinks she is ready to crawl. I am not so sure I am ready. She has been on all fours rocking for a few weeks, but has only managed to wiggle herself backwards away from her toys. Maybe that's why she is so sad.

She can only sit up for a few seconds at a time before tipping over, giving us an excellent view of her still very bald head. She also loves to suck on EVERYTHING (more so than my other babies, I think), and Bexley is on the receiving end of this sloppy kiss.

Oh, and here's one funny story from Allie today. She was screaming into her microphone this morning as I was combing her hair, and I asked her why she was screaming and not singing pretty. She said, 'That's what girls do, when they get big." Too much Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne at our house?

Giving Thanks

Disclaimer: For some reason, I can't move my pictures around, so they are not in the order I wish they were in. Sorry about that. Feel free to skip this post if that bugs you.

I know this is a bit late, but here it is:

Things I am Thankful For this Thanksgiving

1. Damon's exceptionally large bladder. I don't think I have ever realized how great it was until Allie started using the toilet. While we were at SeaWorld, I took her to the bathroom four times (Damon went once). And she had to go 10 minutes after we got on the road back home. I so wish I could fast forward the potty training phase with her. Until then, I will give thanks for Damon's ability to hold it. And hold it and hold it.

2. Lots of good food, most of which I didn't have to cook. Jeff's parents and only sister, Laurie, visited us for Thanksgiving. This was the first "real" Thanksgiving dinner we have had in the past six years (by real, I mean a home cooked meal shared with the majority of one of our families). It was so nice. Here's Russ sampling the amazing ham.

3. Rainbow Jell-o. This was one of my main contributions to the dinner, and I think it turned out quite nice. My mom is the master rainbow jell-o maker, and here are here directions if you are interested in trying it yourself:

• Start with Black Cherry because it is the least pretty (I didn't use this one, and I also forgot orance. I still have some work to do to get it right). Dissolve one small package of jell-o in one cup hot water. Divide the jell-o into two bowls. Add 1/3 c. sour cream to one and 3T water to the other. Start with the "creamy" Black Cherry layer on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Let chill approximately 35-40 minutes in the fridge while the "clear" Black Cherry sits on the counter. When creamy layer has set up enough, pour clear layer on.


• Repeat for all 14 layers in any order you like, but if you want to be correct, go red, orange, yellow, green, blue and then purple.


• It takes a good portion of the day, but it's not hard to make. You can see that it was a big hit, even with Laurie, Greg and Noel.

4. Grandparents. My kids were so excited to see their grandma and grandpa, and it was fun to introduce Ky Ky to them.

5. Camping weather in November. We had a great time camping at the Osceoloa National Forest, about an hour from here, despite the many LARGE spiders we shared a campsite with. I am especially thankful for the kind "helpers" (Damon's term) that cut our wood, split it for us, and got our fire going. Apparently an Eagle Scout from the west does not necessarily know the tricks of firemaking in the soggy south. The kids are already asking when we can go back, and Allie is hoping we can have cookies for breakfast again (we had Pop Tarts). I was worried we would be too cold (it was supposed to get down to 30 degrees), but we were fine, even Kyla.

Family Photo Help

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#4


Which one is your choice for our Christmas card? I'm having a hard time deciding.

Crack up

Well, it's been a few days, and I haven't been blogging much in my old age (28 is getting dangerously close to 30...). I don't have any pictures of my birthday activities, but it was really fun, so thank you to those of you who called, sent a card, stopped by for a visit or even ate ice cream in my honor (that was good one, Sarah. I'll make sure I eat ice cream for your b-day, too). Jeff took me to the mall and watched the kids at the playground while I tried on jeans (one pair from the GAP an one pair from Aeropostale, so it was successful!), then took us all out for a late dinner. Damon told me he wanted to get me some earrings, a bracelet and a necklace, but he didn't have enough money. It was a nice thought. Allie claimed she got me ice cream (she was with me at the grocery store earlier that morning when I bought the ice cream, so I guess that counts). It was a fun day and now we can get down to all the good eating of Thanksgiving!

Here are a couple of pics for this morning. Don't you just love clean little girls straight from the tub?

Especially this girl, who I still just can't get enough of.

Allie also took a few minutes out of her day to go outside where it's "freezing" (57 degrees, according to Yahoo) to draw with chalk. She was worried about the crack in the driveway. I was focused on another crack.

Jeff's parents and sister are in town for Thanksgiving and we are heading to Sea World tomorrow. We can't seem to get enough of that place. It should be a fun week!

Craziness

I have always been so grateful that Jeff chose denistry as a profession instead of medicine, for very selfish reasons. I admire so much the "med wives" for practically being a single mom so much of the time during school and residency (and maybe even after that). Dental school and ortho school are hard, and have demanded a lot of Jeff's time, but the hours he has put in don't even begin to compare with the hours he would've put in had he chosen to be a doctor of medicine (instead of a doctor of dental surgery).

This past week I got to experience what it must be like to be married to a medical doctor, as the kids have seen Jeff for a total of about five hours in the last week. He was working late, playing flag football, and then took a 4-day trip to Arizona to sing in a charity concert with 259. I knew this was coming, and so was prepared for my stint as a single mother, but our bishop threw one more ball in the air for me to juggle by asking me to speak on the Sunday Jeff would be gone. I accepted (don't you feel bad for declining anything the bishop asks of you?), and spent some of my free moments during the week trying to get my talk together so that I wouldn't have to resort to cramming it into Sunday morning (church at 11).

Well, it just wasn't coming together. Saturday night, while the kids were sleeping, I started to feel panicked that I wasn't ready and faced the conclusion that a portion of my Sunday morning was going to have to be used in putting it together. And that's what I did. Kyla (bless her sweet little heart) was taking a morning nap and I closed myself in my bedroom at the computer to finish up, praying that Damon and Allie would be able to take care of themselves. And they did. But this is how they did it:

They filled the tub to the brim (the water was still on in this picture, and you can't see the inch of water on the ground that had flowed over the top), trying to sail their boats they had made at a birthday party the day before. Actually, they were only sailing Allie's, because I had told them that the water would ruin them and they wouldn't be able to play with them once they got wet, a fact Damon "forgot" to share with Allie.

The moment I walked into the bathroom to find this scene, I realized that my talk was about as good as it was going to get, and I quickly shifted my frame of mind to actually taking care of my kids. Unfortunately for Allie, her last clean pair of underwear were on the floor that was covered with water and I was left with a couple of choices: 1. have her go commando. In a dress. Definitely out. 2. Wear a pair of Damon's boxers. 3. Wear her swimsuit bottoms under her dress. We opted for choice #3 (if you're wondering why I didn't put her in some of Damon's old briefs, the answer to that would be that they were all dirty, too, as Allie had been wearing them days before).

So, we got ready for church with only minor complications (namely, Allie spilled the pan of ingredients I was putting into the bread maker on the floor--and all over my shoes--) and we headed to church. The bishop felt bad when he saw me walking in by myself, but I assured him that everything was fine and I would just sit in the congregation with the kids until it was my turn to speak (I was the last speaker, after the rest hymn). Allie blessed us all by sitting with Greg and Noel a few rows ahead of us, so I only had to deal with Damon and Kyla during the meeting. But when Kyla filled her diaper during the talk before the rest hymn, I knew I had to change her--and fast--so that I could make it back in time for my talk. I buzzed to the mother's lounge and wiped her the best that I could with the wipes I had in the bag, although they were so dried out I'm not sure they still qualified as "wet wipes" any longer. Praying in my heart, I finished (meaning, I removed the majority of the poop from her bum,, only leaving a little in her rolls), as the rest hymn started and I hurried back to the chapel, where our bishop's sweet wife met me in the foyer and demanded that I give her Kyla. No complaints there. Damon went to sit with Russ and Julie and I gathered my mostly-finished talk just as the hymn was ending. Phew, take a breath. I had 20 minutes to speak. Heaven help me.

I made it through. One of the comments I received (I shared the events of my whirlwind morning as the opening to my talk) was, "I can see that you need Jeff." Understatement of the week. Yes, how we missed our daddy.

Thankfully, now I am no longer playing the single mommy role (although a church meeting last night kept Jeff from seeing the kids before they went to bed) and the craziness has lessened dramatically. Jeff had a great time visiting his friends in AZ and I so wish I could've been there to hear the boys sing. I really do miss all the 259ers and wish we saw more of them (and their wives, of course). I asked him to bring me some cds home, but they didn't have any more Christmas ones. If anyone would like a 259 Christmas cd, let me know and I would be happy to burn one for you. Leave me a comment or send me an email (espyk@yahoo.com) and give me your address. I would love to send you a cd. Especially any of you "med wives" who are without your husbands far too much.

We would NOT be friends

There are three things in my house that I would not be friends with if they were alive (I'm sure there are more, but there are three that are on my mind today).

1. My vacuum cleaner. Ever since Damon accidentally sucked up the fringed edge of a blanket, Hoover Savvy has been extremely tempramental. I can't just plug her in and turn her on; no, everything has got to be just right before she will roar to life and start doing her job. She makes me crazy, my diva vacuum, and I couldn't be friends with her.

2. My garage door. He flat out refuses to work a good majority of the time, even though nothing is preventing him from functioning. I get ready to leave the house, start pulling out of the driveway, and push the button, crossing my fingers that this time he will perform (please don't read too much into that statement...). One of three things will happen: he will close the way he is supposed to; he will start to close, change his mind and open again; or he will refuse to even make a move. The latter two incidences require that I hop out of the car and do his job for him, manually lowering the door, before exiting through the front door of the house. Yes, most definitely, my garage door is a man, and he and I would not be friends.

3. My kitchen floor. She and I would not be friends, although we would pretend to be. Because we have to coexist, there's not point getting mad at her, although I feel angry whenever I look at her. I work hard to take care of her, trying to keep her clean and beautiful. But no matter what I do, it's never enough. She is constantly mocking me, reminding me that I'm not good enough to hang with her. She requires constant maintenance and, frankly, I don't have the time or energy to cater to her every need; and every square of cereal adhered to her with a milky paste is proof that I will never live up to her impossibly high standards. Every now and then, I prepare myself for a brawl, and I really give it to her, wiping the smirk off her face. But as soon as the next meal is finished, she is a disaster again, and I don't have the energy or the willpower to begin again. And so we go back to being superficial again, as I sweep the surface to make everything appear neat and tidy, all the while knowing that she is still mocking me...

Daily laugh

Jeff called me from Arizona today to tell me about this funny video he saw on You Tube. I thought I'd share.

Catch Up

I have found that I often ask questions that beg for answers and then never give any validation. Sorry for that. Here is a quick recap of the questions I have asked previously, along with my generous awarding of points.

First--No one responded to the question "Whose favorite color is light tan?" I'm going to give you a second shot at it, because I don't think it's that hard.

Second--Congrats to Heather and Tara for getting all the questions about Jeff right, but a great big WOW to Tricia and Dave for getting all but the last one (it was a Key Lime Pie). So, nice job. 10 points apiece.

Third--Damon's homework said, "How to brush my teeth. First, you get a toothbrush and toothpaste. Then put toothpaste on. Next put it in your mouth. Then put the lid on. Last put them away." I guess the part about actually brushing the teeth and gums isn't quite as important. Ten points to Kim for getting it all.

Fourth--Yes, George eats the eclair from the trash on Seinfeld. Ten points apiece to Lara and Patti for knowing that, with a 100 point bonus for Patti's quote. Great work ladies!

Aha!

I know there are a lot of viruses going around with the sudden onset of fall we have experienced in Jacksonville, and I think I may have rooted out the source of the bugs we are all fighting. So far it has been very mild--Kyla has a runny nose, Allie has a little cough, and Damon's nose is "fluffy" (he denied that it was "stuffy").

Yesterday, Damon was performing the after school ritual of emptying his lunchbag and eating what was left (along with an apple, which he seems to be collecting daily). He had an empty Capri Sun pouch in there as well, and he pulled it out, trying to make me fall for the it's-really-empty-but-I-blew-air-in-it-to-make-you-think-it's-full stunt (I played along, not having the heart to tell him that I INVENTED that trick in elementary school--didn't we all?). I asked him where he had gotten the drink, thinking it may come from the same child who graciously shares her apples with him. Nope. He replied, "I found it in the trash and I took it."

Remember that he has been blowing into the straw repeatedly, and even managed to get me to put my lips on it (you know, so I could pretend to fall for his prank). My lips suddenly started to tingle as I thought about the many of diseases that could be spread by "sharing" this straw with a random Ft. Caroline Elementary student. Fortunately, I don't know of any specific diseases I should be wary of (Jeff, on the other hand, would probably know them all), and I simply crossed my fingers and hoped that our immune systems would be able to handle them all. Now I suppose I need to sit down with my son and share with him the reasons why we don't take things out of the trash (even if it is an eclair, still in its wrapper, with only a single bite taken out--anyone know that reference?).

Damon's Homework

Damon is working on "Functional Writing" in kindergarten, where they are encouraged to be bossy. Five points to anyone who can read what this says (I didn't help him with any of it, so how he knew how to spell toothpaste is beyond me). I thought it was cute.

Name Game

I came across this and thought it was pretty fun. Try it out.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)-Lacey Sienna
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)-Oreo Oreo
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three (or four) letters of your last name)-K-Trap
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)-Blue Penguin
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)-Karen Beaver (dirty...)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)-TraKr (that is pretty cool).
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)-The Green Sprite (not bad) 8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)-Bama Donald
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)-Lucky Snickers (again, a little dirty...)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )-Melinda Reber
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)-Whitmer Washington
12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)-Summer Rose
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)-Apple Shorty
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)-Chex Pine
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)- The Watching TV Sun Tour, or for the less lazy, The Playing Basketball Sun Tour

Halloweenie

Our Halloween started with a ward "Trunk or Treat" party last Friday. It was a great activity with chili, a haunted house, lots of desserts, a "parade of costumes" across the stage, and trunk or treating in the parking lot. My friend, Lindsay, took this picture of us. This is as much as I could get Jeff to wear for a costume. Kyla is wearing her glow in the dark bones. They rock.

Monday we carved pumpkins. One of mine and Jeff's first dates was a pumpkin carving extravaganza. It's become sort of a tradition with us. I helped Damon carve his own pumpkin, but he decided he didn't want it displayed outside because he heard that sometimes kids steal pumpkins and smash them on the street. What kind of mom tells her kids that...

Jeff carved a really cool werewolf. It did get displayed, along with my witch/pumpkin design, which gets no love because it wasn't nearly as cool as Jeff's.

As for Halloween night, there are a few things I'd like to remember about the night:

• Allie, eating candy as fast as she could get it into her mouth, running from house to house yelling "trick or treat" as loudly as she could.
• The excitement of all the kids (Fergusons, Laws and ours).
• The perfect night--not too warm, not too chilly.
• 
• The awesome stash they all brought home. Someone was giving out mini bags of peanut butter M&M's. I should've taken Kyla to the door with me and we may have gotten a few more bags.

There are a few things I wish to forget. These include:

• Listening to the whining and complaining at dinner time (from Damon) about how he didn't like the delicious cabbage soup I had prepared. It went on and on and on...
• Allie peeing in her tights/undies less than 15 minutes after she had put them on.
• Allie accidentally rubbing the green paint off her face a few minutes after applying it.
• Allie not keeping her hat on for a single house.
• Jeff having to take Allie back home during the trick or treating process so she could use the bathroom.
• The mosquitoes that were eating us alive.
• The number of calories consumed by our two candy loving children over the past three days. Sadly, the fun has ended and the candy is all gone (a lot of it went into the trash, truthfully. Allie made sure the suckers were all gone--sometimes with one in each hand--and Damon took care of most of the big candies).
• 
• Allie getting into the green paint again today and painting her body with it. Yes, she couldn't get enough of being Elphaba.

Halloween was great. It's also great that it's over. KyKy loved watching the kids eat their candy. And I just loved putting her in this pumpkin outfit. Can she wear it on Thanksgiving and be the pumpkin pie?

p.s. Sorry about the crazy bullets. I am too lazy to try to fix it all.