Pictures courtesy of MasterPortrait. I think they turned out pretty good, considering... I had wanted a few more with the bunny, but I think Ms. Amy was afraid for his life :).
Just wanted to share.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Happy Easter!
Pictures courtesy of MasterPortrait. I think they turned out pretty good, considering... I had wanted a few more with the bunny, but I think Ms. Amy was afraid for his life :).
Sunday, March 29, 2009
We Were Soldiers
Evan decided he was a soldier today. He ran all through the house with his helmet and his gun, ducking behind furniture and firing at imaginary armies. He protected Chloe and I and promised to keep the enemy away. I asked him if I could take his picture, but he said he didn't have time for pictures because he was a soldier and tough soldiers do not take pictures. That is when I told him, that soldiers do take pictures. In fact, I have a picture of his daddy when he was a soldier. That peaked his interest. I guess that we had never really discussed with him that Matthew had, in fact, once been a soldier. At first he didn't believe me, he thought we were just kidding. But, when I brought the pictures out, his eyes filled with awe. He was impressed and I could tell that Matthew was happy and proud of Evan's reaction. Matthew is very proud of his service to his country (as he should be) and has said on more than one occasion that he would be proud if Evan decided to go into the military at some point. The mama bear in me hopes that doesn't happen. Sure, I would be proud. I have the utmost respect the men and women who serve our country and am grateful for the sacrifice they make, but I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice my son. In the end, that will, of course, not be my decision to make and I would certainly support him in whatever choice he made. I'm just so glad that he has a father who is such a wonderful role model for him and will raise him with they values he needs to be a productive citizen. And it was very special to witness the awe and respect that Evan had for his daddy, the soldier. I feel the same way.
My handsome soldiers:
Matthew and his dad, now known as Grumpy, at his graduation from Basic Training. I love this picture. Matthew's "stance" as he stands and talks to his dad is all soldier. I can only imagination how shocked his parents must have been to see this "man" in the place of the rowdy, undisciplined 18 year old that left them.
Doesn't his facial expression look like his daddy in his formal Air Force picture?
"At Attention"
And not to be outdone, Miss Chloe decided to do some practice with her nunchakus. She even had a routine going to the music on her drums. Maybe she will turn out to be the soldier in the family (now that would really be difficult on mommy).
We went to see Monsters Versus Aliens today at the movies. That inspired a whole new wave of "war" when we got home, but I had to share this little story:
Evan was sitting between Matthew and I (Chloe was sleeping in my lap) and the action was getting a little intense in one part of the movie. Evan reached over and put his hand on my shoulder and said very gently,
"Don't worry mommy, it will be ok. It's just a show."
Just so you know, the countdown is on. I have one 10 page paper due this Tuesday (which I'm working on now, no really, I am... in fact I have 7 pages done!) and then my BIG research project (which would be called a thesis except we don't have to defend it) is due next Tuesday. So, if I'm not blogging much between now and then, you'll know why.
By the way, Evan is currently playing the kazoo to the Wonder Pets theme song at 10:00 at night after he played the wooden thingie (I'm not musical, ok?) to all the music in Backyardigans because he is "not tired and can't sleep". It's very distracing, but adorable and I keep debating on whether to get the video camera out! He's pretty good!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Oh What a Day!
Today has been one of those days.... you know the kind where you almost wish you were working, so that you could relax?
I made a last minute appointment for today to get Easter pictures done because I knew they booked up fast. I took the appointment for today because I knew next Friday they are supposed to put our counter tops in and I just wasn't sure what else would be going on. Well, after I made that appointment on Wednesday, I realized Thursday that Evan desperately needed a haircut. I didn't really want to get his picture made with his shaggy head, so I tried to get him a haircut appointment. My cousin, Rosemary, who usually does it couldn't do it this week and I knew my neighbor, Vickie is always full on Thursday and Friday with the "little old ladies" who come every week. I tried to call that Kidz Fun Kutz in Knoxville because we had his hair cut there before and he liked it, but their number wasn't working. I don't know if they are out of business or what. So, I called J Lynn's where I get my hair done sometimes. I was kind of nervous about it because Evan is really sensitive about some things... hair cuts being one of them and I was afraid he would freak out. But I didn't have much choice. Of course the other part of today that I was dreading was getting his Easter clothes on him. You KNOW how that is with him.
So, I started preparing him last night. I told him how we were going to go see Miss Amy (praying it would be her) and get his picture made and how he would get to have his picture made with the bunny. I showed him the coupon with Madelyn's picture on it (that was so neat to get in the mail) and he liked that. He said he would wear his clothes for the picture. He was excited about it. Then, we discussed what else we would be doing today... after pictures we'd have lunch, had to go to Babies R Us to get Oliver a gift for Aunt Beth's shower tomorrow, then we were going to Daddy's school because Daddy's last period class had won a movie treat, so we were going to come for a visit. Evan was really looking forward to it, but as I laid our plans out it dawned on me that this was going to be a very hectic day for me. And I was right.
So, I got up at 6:45 and showered and got ready for the day. Evan got up during that process. Then I ironed his clothes. I HATE ironing and I especially hate ironing kids' clothes. They are so little it is impossible to get the wrinkles out and I'm always almost burning my fingers trying to stretch them out and hold them and move the iron around in that tiny little space. Chloe was still sleeping, so I got our bag packed for the day...
a shirt for after Evan's haircut to wear until we get pictures made,
a pair of "soft" pants for after the pictures,
some white socks for him (his blue and orange argyle socks don't look so swift with soft pants), his tennis shoes,
water bottle, comb, and gel (for last minute hair touch ups),
Chloe's shoes and hair bow for the pictures,
a bib for Chloe,
some extra diapers since we would be out all day,
food for her lunch,
a baby spoon,
a juice cup,
some cheerios,
an extra sippy cup in case Evan wants milk later,
Evan's Leapster,
crayons,
notepad,
some baby toys,
and an extra paci.
Then I loaded the bag, Evan's shirt and vest, and the stroller(just in case) into the car. I came back in and fixed Evan breakfast and had him to eat. Ichecked my e-mail and checked on Stellan and the other blogs took care of some quick business on the computer and then woke Chloe up (It was ten til 9 by now! When the girl decides to sleep all night, she really means sleep all night). I got her clothes out of the closet and took them down. I nursed her and put her in her high chair with some cheerios and then started ironing her dress and hat. I REALLY hate ironing baby dresses, they are impossibly tiny and you cannot get them situated on the ironing board in a way that allows you to iron them properly. This particular dress has a built in onesie type of thing instead of separate bloomers which makes it all the worse. And her hat, bonnet, whatever.. I don't know WHY I even washed it in the first place. It was so wrinkled and absolutely impossible to get ironed, uugh! When I finally gave up finished, I took her dress, bonnet, and cardigan out and put it in the van as well. Then, I fed her her cereal and dressed her in some regular clothes and her little lacy socks that she would be wearing for her pictures.
Then, I went to dress Evan. I made a fatal error here because I excitedly told him he had NEW khaki pants to wear. Probably had I not mentioned this, he would have worn them with no problem. But since they were NEW he decided they were painful. When he put his foot in he began jumping around trying to get them back off and stomping all over them and wrinkling them in the process. I had really considered not even putting them on him until we got to the studio, but completely dressing two kids in the lobby before the pictures did not seem like a good idea. I decided he needed to be at least partially dressed and I figured he would be sitting for most of his pictures anyway, so if they were a little wrinkled it would be ok. So, after much whining, crying, and threatening he finally put them on along with a long-sleeved t-shirt, his argyle socks and Easter shoes. I loaded Chloe in the car and then Evan, found the right movie for Evan to watch, put it in, grabbed a diet coke and a Fiber One bar for me, and off we went.
We got to J Lynn's right on time. Evan did pretty well with his haircut although he refused to let her use clippers on his neck (big shock), but it looked pretty cute anyway. Chloe began to start looking really tired and get fussy about half-way through though, which confused me since really she had only been up like an hour at this time. I figured she could nap in the car and would be happy by her pictures. We finished up in J Lynn's, headed back to the car, I changed Evan's shirt, buckled everyone in and off we went again.
Chloecried screamed the. entire. way. I tried to talk to her. I tried to sing to her (that probably made it worse). Evan tried to cheer her up. I tried to give her juice (while driving) and then Evan began crying that he was thirsty and wanted her juice (he doesn't even like juice). I tried to put her paci in her mouth (while driving, yes, I'm that driver.). Nothing helped. She screamed the. entire. way. ...for 30 minutes.
We got to MasterPortrait and I assessed the damage... her eyes, remarkably, were not swollen shut and were only a little red. So, we went in. Now was the moment of truth. I went to put Evan's button-down shirt and vest on him. He did protest and tried to bargain (he would wear the shirt, but unbuttoned... um, I don't think that's the look we want for Easter). He whined a little,ok, a lot, but he finally put it on without a full blown tantrum (whew). I'm sure the 3 other families in the waiting area were glad they were spared that. He did, however, twitch like a fish out of water, pulling at his collar for quite a while after putting the shirt on. Unfortunately, while I was occupied with trying to button Evan down, a little tot toddled over and plucked the paci right out of Chloe's mouth with her sitting right there on my lap! It would have actually been kind of funny, but the scream which came out of my daughter's mouth drowned out my laughter. The poor mom felt terrible. Chloe screamed and sobbed inconsolably for like 10 minutes. I was beginning to feel that this was not a good sign of how she was going to do for the pictures. And I still had to get her dressed.
They called us back. Chloe was not a happy camper. I sat her up there in her little dress, cardigan, and bonnet and she looked..... miserable. Everything Miss Amy tried to do to make her smile made her eyes well up with tears. Evan (who was supposed to be sitting nicely beside her) was trying to help cheer her and so then he would not be looking at the camera when Chloe finally relaxed her face enough to get a picture. Then, Evan decided sitting "criss-cross applesauce" hurt his legs. The stress level in the room was rising. I decided Chloe looked way too stuffy, so I took off the cardigan and the bonnet (that I had ironed that morning, darn it!). But she didn't cheer up very much. Miss Amy went to get the bunny and she was intrigued by the little bunny so she did get a little more pleasant, but still we didn't get a real smile all day. And Evan was a lot harder to deal with than usual. He is usually great for Miss Amy, but he was pulling at his clothes and slumping. Uugh. But we were able to get enough for our $8.95 album, so it was fine. It's probably good that they didn't turn out just completely precious because I had promised Matthew I would not get more than the album since we just had pictures made like two weeks ago! Besides Evan getting called down by one of the photographers while I was choosing the pictures for playing too rough with the toys (embarrassing) we managed to get out of there without further incidence. And into the pouring rain. Somehow it didn't seem like that big of a deal to carry Chloe, all the hanging clothes, the big ole' honkin' bag, and my purse when we went in and it was not raining, but going back out in the rain it was quite a challenge. And, so, we all got soaked on the way to the car.
Then, we get to the car and Evan says, "Are we going to Chick- Fil -A now?". I then, had break it to him that yes, we could eat at Chick -Fil -A, but the one we were going to had an outdoor playground and it was obviously too wet to play. I was secretly happy about this since fast food playgrounds really gross me out. He cried all the way to Chick -Fil -A. I decided to just go through the drive-through and let him eat in the car while he watched his dvd, and then I could nurse and feed Chloe. So, of course the drive-through line was wrapped around the building about 5 times. But, I was happy to wait in it rather than drag both kids out in the rain again to go inside. We finally got our food and got parked and I realized Chloe was asleep. Evan and I ate and I tried to decide what to do about Chloe. I figured she would wake up when I tried to get her out of the van anyway, so I went ahead and woke her up and fed her. I don't know how it was possible, but it actually started raining even harder while she was eating. So, we got soaked again on our way to Babies R Us.
I printed off Beth's registry and then I had to go to the bathroom. I have found this to be one of the hardest things about being out and about with both kids by myself (without the stroller)... what do I do with Chloe while I go? I've tried doing it one-handed and keeping her on my lap, which I can do if I absolutely have to, but it is hard to get buckled back up. I've even set her on the changing table and made Evan stand right in front of her with this hands on her the entire time, when the changing table is within reach of the toilet and I could get to her quickly if things went bad, but I admit that is pretty risky. Luckily, since it was raining so hard, I had lugged her carrier in with me. So, I unloaded Evan out of the buggy and lugged her carrier into the restroom. Someone was trying on clothes in the handicap stall (?) and there was not room to set her carrier in the regular stall with me. So, I set her right outside the door where I could see her under the door and made Evan stand right beside her. Some other people came in and I'm sure they thought I was a terrible mother, but oh well. I made Evan go as well and then we all washed our hands. Evan had to wash his twice because I handed him the paper towel instead of letting him get it himself, ahem, and we headed back out to the store. I put Evan back in the buggy, secured Chloe's carrier back on the buggy and started looking over the registry. Then, Evan says, "I have to poop!". Seriously. I drag him back out of the buggy, lug her carrier back into the restroom. Dig out a potty cover. Perch him up on the potty and wait. We all wash hands again (I remembered to let him get his paper towel this time), and we headed back into the store.
This is where it started to get ugly. Evan is not a very good shopper. I scanned the registry for a big item that was the price range of what I wanted to spend, but didn't see one. That meant I had to a) try to find several things, b) decide if I wanted these things to follow some sort of "theme", and c) try to keep a running total of what I had spent in my head while Evan whined non-stop. And pulled things off the shelves. And complained everytime I put something into the buggy with him. And pointed and talked loudly about other customers. He began whining and repeating over and over that he wanted out of the buggy. I thought it couldn't get much worse, so I let him out. I thought maybe he would be more entertained and maybe just maybe he would be quiet for one cotton-picking minute. I was wrong.
Finally, I had my items and I had to go to entire other end of the store to get a bag to put it all in (which cost nearly as much as the present, well, not really, but those things are ridiculous!). The bags were near some stuffed toys (convenient) and Evan wanted to pick one out for Oliver. I told him he could. After he chose one, he began running around wildly with it and being quite loud. I was looking for a bag and trying to decide if my stuff would actually fit inside it (I'm terrible with spacial things) and the next thing I knew he crashed into the wall that the bags were on and began shrieking and screaming loudly. I looked down and his mouth and chin were covered in blood and it was beginning to drip on the floor. He had apparently hit one of the hangy-thingies when he crashed and had obviously hurt something in the mouth area. What exactly was hurt and how badly, I couldn't tell at the moment. But he was screaming bloody murder.... and making a mess in the bag department. So, I picked him up and put him on my hip (he's a very large child) and pushed the buggy with one hand and headed back to the bathroom. This time I just ignored that silly NO MERCHANDISE PAST THIS POINT sign (I mean if the other girl can try on clothes in there...) and pushed the buggy one-handed right into the bathroom. I cleaned up my child and assessed the damage: busted lip... pretty puffy and split a little, but no teeth damage so he would live. We all washed our hands again (I almost forgot, but remembered just in time to let Evan get his own paper towel). Then we headed back out. I got the bag (still don't know if the stuff will fit) and picked out a card. Evan helped me out by grabbing about 10 duck shaped cards and throwing them in the buggy (thank you). And then I headed to the total back of the store to pick up two big boxes of diapers and a big box of wipes since I had coupons for them. And finally we were ready to check out. Suddenly so were about 15 other people, so we had a big line to wait in. And conveniently there was a big display of movies right next to the checkout line. After I said no to every movie on the rack, it was our turn. We got checked out (I believe I spent slightly more than I had planned, but who can do math under such circumstances) and out we went.
I noticed it was like 2:25 at this point. Matthew's school is out at 3:00. I called him and said I thought we would just go on home, since it was so late. Evan wailed from the backseat in disappointment. Matthew said, just go ahead and bring him since we had promised we would and I reluctantly agreed. About 2 miles from the school, I looked in the rear view mirror and he was sound asleep. But we made it there and I woke both kids up and took them in. We had a nice little visit. Evan got to wear a snake like a bracelet and Chloe cried at everyone who looked at her. When school was out, we headed back home.
By 5:00, Chloe was a sniveling mess, so I fed her, bathed her and put her to bed at 6 (I have a feeling she will wake slightly earlier than this morning). Evan was pitching a fit to play in the rain. Matthew took him fishing in the rain. I was grateful:).
But at least I can relax now. Ahhh, Friday night, both kids in bed (well, almost), nothing to do..... oh, except for that pesky research paper... but I'm not stressed about that, remember? I have a whole (gulp) week and a half before it is due....... Sigh!
I made a last minute appointment for today to get Easter pictures done because I knew they booked up fast. I took the appointment for today because I knew next Friday they are supposed to put our counter tops in and I just wasn't sure what else would be going on. Well, after I made that appointment on Wednesday, I realized Thursday that Evan desperately needed a haircut. I didn't really want to get his picture made with his shaggy head, so I tried to get him a haircut appointment. My cousin, Rosemary, who usually does it couldn't do it this week and I knew my neighbor, Vickie is always full on Thursday and Friday with the "little old ladies" who come every week. I tried to call that Kidz Fun Kutz in Knoxville because we had his hair cut there before and he liked it, but their number wasn't working. I don't know if they are out of business or what. So, I called J Lynn's where I get my hair done sometimes. I was kind of nervous about it because Evan is really sensitive about some things... hair cuts being one of them and I was afraid he would freak out. But I didn't have much choice. Of course the other part of today that I was dreading was getting his Easter clothes on him. You KNOW how that is with him.
So, I started preparing him last night. I told him how we were going to go see Miss Amy (praying it would be her) and get his picture made and how he would get to have his picture made with the bunny. I showed him the coupon with Madelyn's picture on it (that was so neat to get in the mail) and he liked that. He said he would wear his clothes for the picture. He was excited about it. Then, we discussed what else we would be doing today... after pictures we'd have lunch, had to go to Babies R Us to get Oliver a gift for Aunt Beth's shower tomorrow, then we were going to Daddy's school because Daddy's last period class had won a movie treat, so we were going to come for a visit. Evan was really looking forward to it, but as I laid our plans out it dawned on me that this was going to be a very hectic day for me. And I was right.
So, I got up at 6:45 and showered and got ready for the day. Evan got up during that process. Then I ironed his clothes. I HATE ironing and I especially hate ironing kids' clothes. They are so little it is impossible to get the wrinkles out and I'm always almost burning my fingers trying to stretch them out and hold them and move the iron around in that tiny little space. Chloe was still sleeping, so I got our bag packed for the day...
a shirt for after Evan's haircut to wear until we get pictures made,
a pair of "soft" pants for after the pictures,
some white socks for him (his blue and orange argyle socks don't look so swift with soft pants), his tennis shoes,
water bottle, comb, and gel (for last minute hair touch ups),
Chloe's shoes and hair bow for the pictures,
a bib for Chloe,
some extra diapers since we would be out all day,
food for her lunch,
a baby spoon,
a juice cup,
some cheerios,
an extra sippy cup in case Evan wants milk later,
Evan's Leapster,
crayons,
notepad,
some baby toys,
and an extra paci.
Then I loaded the bag, Evan's shirt and vest, and the stroller(just in case) into the car. I came back in and fixed Evan breakfast and had him to eat. I
Then, I went to dress Evan. I made a fatal error here because I excitedly told him he had NEW khaki pants to wear. Probably had I not mentioned this, he would have worn them with no problem. But since they were NEW he decided they were painful. When he put his foot in he began jumping around trying to get them back off and stomping all over them and wrinkling them in the process. I had really considered not even putting them on him until we got to the studio, but completely dressing two kids in the lobby before the pictures did not seem like a good idea. I decided he needed to be at least partially dressed and I figured he would be sitting for most of his pictures anyway, so if they were a little wrinkled it would be ok. So, after much whining, crying, and threatening he finally put them on along with a long-sleeved t-shirt, his argyle socks and Easter shoes. I loaded Chloe in the car and then Evan, found the right movie for Evan to watch, put it in, grabbed a diet coke and a Fiber One bar for me, and off we went.
We got to J Lynn's right on time. Evan did pretty well with his haircut although he refused to let her use clippers on his neck (big shock), but it looked pretty cute anyway. Chloe began to start looking really tired and get fussy about half-way through though, which confused me since really she had only been up like an hour at this time. I figured she could nap in the car and would be happy by her pictures. We finished up in J Lynn's, headed back to the car, I changed Evan's shirt, buckled everyone in and off we went again.
Chloe
We got to MasterPortrait and I assessed the damage... her eyes, remarkably, were not swollen shut and were only a little red. So, we went in. Now was the moment of truth. I went to put Evan's button-down shirt and vest on him. He did protest and tried to bargain (he would wear the shirt, but unbuttoned... um, I don't think that's the look we want for Easter). He whined a little,ok, a lot, but he finally put it on without a full blown tantrum (whew). I'm sure the 3 other families in the waiting area were glad they were spared that. He did, however, twitch like a fish out of water, pulling at his collar for quite a while after putting the shirt on. Unfortunately, while I was occupied with trying to button Evan down, a little tot toddled over and plucked the paci right out of Chloe's mouth with her sitting right there on my lap! It would have actually been kind of funny, but the scream which came out of my daughter's mouth drowned out my laughter. The poor mom felt terrible. Chloe screamed and sobbed inconsolably for like 10 minutes. I was beginning to feel that this was not a good sign of how she was going to do for the pictures. And I still had to get her dressed.
They called us back. Chloe was not a happy camper. I sat her up there in her little dress, cardigan, and bonnet and she looked..... miserable. Everything Miss Amy tried to do to make her smile made her eyes well up with tears. Evan (who was supposed to be sitting nicely beside her) was trying to help cheer her and so then he would not be looking at the camera when Chloe finally relaxed her face enough to get a picture. Then, Evan decided sitting "criss-cross applesauce" hurt his legs. The stress level in the room was rising. I decided Chloe looked way too stuffy, so I took off the cardigan and the bonnet (that I had ironed that morning, darn it!). But she didn't cheer up very much. Miss Amy went to get the bunny and she was intrigued by the little bunny so she did get a little more pleasant, but still we didn't get a real smile all day. And Evan was a lot harder to deal with than usual. He is usually great for Miss Amy, but he was pulling at his clothes and slumping. Uugh. But we were able to get enough for our $8.95 album, so it was fine. It's probably good that they didn't turn out just completely precious because I had promised Matthew I would not get more than the album since we just had pictures made like two weeks ago! Besides Evan getting called down by one of the photographers while I was choosing the pictures for playing too rough with the toys (embarrassing) we managed to get out of there without further incidence. And into the pouring rain. Somehow it didn't seem like that big of a deal to carry Chloe, all the hanging clothes, the big ole' honkin' bag, and my purse when we went in and it was not raining, but going back out in the rain it was quite a challenge. And, so, we all got soaked on the way to the car.
Then, we get to the car and Evan says, "Are we going to Chick- Fil -A now?". I then, had break it to him that yes, we could eat at Chick -Fil -A, but the one we were going to had an outdoor playground and it was obviously too wet to play. I was secretly happy about this since fast food playgrounds really gross me out. He cried all the way to Chick -Fil -A. I decided to just go through the drive-through and let him eat in the car while he watched his dvd, and then I could nurse and feed Chloe. So, of course the drive-through line was wrapped around the building about 5 times. But, I was happy to wait in it rather than drag both kids out in the rain again to go inside. We finally got our food and got parked and I realized Chloe was asleep. Evan and I ate and I tried to decide what to do about Chloe. I figured she would wake up when I tried to get her out of the van anyway, so I went ahead and woke her up and fed her. I don't know how it was possible, but it actually started raining even harder while she was eating. So, we got soaked again on our way to Babies R Us.
I printed off Beth's registry and then I had to go to the bathroom. I have found this to be one of the hardest things about being out and about with both kids by myself (without the stroller)... what do I do with Chloe while I go? I've tried doing it one-handed and keeping her on my lap, which I can do if I absolutely have to, but it is hard to get buckled back up. I've even set her on the changing table and made Evan stand right in front of her with this hands on her the entire time, when the changing table is within reach of the toilet and I could get to her quickly if things went bad, but I admit that is pretty risky. Luckily, since it was raining so hard, I had lugged her carrier in with me. So, I unloaded Evan out of the buggy and lugged her carrier into the restroom. Someone was trying on clothes in the handicap stall (?) and there was not room to set her carrier in the regular stall with me. So, I set her right outside the door where I could see her under the door and made Evan stand right beside her. Some other people came in and I'm sure they thought I was a terrible mother, but oh well. I made Evan go as well and then we all washed our hands. Evan had to wash his twice because I handed him the paper towel instead of letting him get it himself, ahem, and we headed back out to the store. I put Evan back in the buggy, secured Chloe's carrier back on the buggy and started looking over the registry. Then, Evan says, "I have to poop!". Seriously. I drag him back out of the buggy, lug her carrier back into the restroom. Dig out a potty cover. Perch him up on the potty and wait. We all wash hands again (I remembered to let him get his paper towel this time), and we headed back into the store.
This is where it started to get ugly. Evan is not a very good shopper. I scanned the registry for a big item that was the price range of what I wanted to spend, but didn't see one. That meant I had to a) try to find several things, b) decide if I wanted these things to follow some sort of "theme", and c) try to keep a running total of what I had spent in my head while Evan whined non-stop. And pulled things off the shelves. And complained everytime I put something into the buggy with him. And pointed and talked loudly about other customers. He began whining and repeating over and over that he wanted out of the buggy. I thought it couldn't get much worse, so I let him out. I thought maybe he would be more entertained and maybe just maybe he would be quiet for one cotton-picking minute. I was wrong.
Finally, I had my items and I had to go to entire other end of the store to get a bag to put it all in (which cost nearly as much as the present, well, not really, but those things are ridiculous!). The bags were near some stuffed toys (convenient) and Evan wanted to pick one out for Oliver. I told him he could. After he chose one, he began running around wildly with it and being quite loud. I was looking for a bag and trying to decide if my stuff would actually fit inside it (I'm terrible with spacial things) and the next thing I knew he crashed into the wall that the bags were on and began shrieking and screaming loudly. I looked down and his mouth and chin were covered in blood and it was beginning to drip on the floor. He had apparently hit one of the hangy-thingies when he crashed and had obviously hurt something in the mouth area. What exactly was hurt and how badly, I couldn't tell at the moment. But he was screaming bloody murder.... and making a mess in the bag department. So, I picked him up and put him on my hip (he's a very large child) and pushed the buggy with one hand and headed back to the bathroom. This time I just ignored that silly NO MERCHANDISE PAST THIS POINT sign (I mean if the other girl can try on clothes in there...) and pushed the buggy one-handed right into the bathroom. I cleaned up my child and assessed the damage: busted lip... pretty puffy and split a little, but no teeth damage so he would live. We all washed our hands again (I almost forgot, but remembered just in time to let Evan get his own paper towel). Then we headed back out. I got the bag (still don't know if the stuff will fit) and picked out a card. Evan helped me out by grabbing about 10 duck shaped cards and throwing them in the buggy (thank you). And then I headed to the total back of the store to pick up two big boxes of diapers and a big box of wipes since I had coupons for them. And finally we were ready to check out. Suddenly so were about 15 other people, so we had a big line to wait in. And conveniently there was a big display of movies right next to the checkout line. After I said no to every movie on the rack, it was our turn. We got checked out (I believe I spent slightly more than I had planned, but who can do math under such circumstances) and out we went.
I noticed it was like 2:25 at this point. Matthew's school is out at 3:00. I called him and said I thought we would just go on home, since it was so late. Evan wailed from the backseat in disappointment. Matthew said, just go ahead and bring him since we had promised we would and I reluctantly agreed. About 2 miles from the school, I looked in the rear view mirror and he was sound asleep. But we made it there and I woke both kids up and took them in. We had a nice little visit. Evan got to wear a snake like a bracelet and Chloe cried at everyone who looked at her. When school was out, we headed back home.
By 5:00, Chloe was a sniveling mess, so I fed her, bathed her and put her to bed at 6 (I have a feeling she will wake slightly earlier than this morning). Evan was pitching a fit to play in the rain. Matthew took him fishing in the rain. I was grateful:).
But at least I can relax now. Ahhh, Friday night, both kids in bed (well, almost), nothing to do..... oh, except for that pesky research paper... but I'm not stressed about that, remember? I have a whole (gulp) week and a half before it is due....... Sigh!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Fighting the Good Fight
As most of you probably know, Evan loves imaginative play that involves fighting "bad guys". He loves to pretend to be ninja turtles, Spiderman, Luke Skywalker, and other super heroes and fight off the bad guys with his "weapons". He and his dad also play these games together a lot. Their latest game has been Iron Man. They fashion their suits and then engage in battle... it's pretty funny. Here are some conversations from last night's battle...
M: You are no match for me, Iron Man, I will defeat you.
E: Oh no you won't! No one can defeat me! I am super-human! (knocks Matthew down and jumps on top of him).
M: groans and carries on as Evan works on defeating him....
Ok, I have to give you some background here. Matthew and his brothers apparently made up fake wrestling moves when they were children and have carried them with them into adulthood (some of them may be real, I have no idea, I've never watched wrestling). But anyway, when Evan got big enough to wrestle, Matthew began introducing the moves to him. They have interesting names such as:
The Russian Barracuda Sickle
The Stinger Splash
The Figure Four Leg Lock
and then there are some more common "torture moves". (I have even heard of some of these)
The Cowbite
The Stinger
Pink Belly
Chin Chop
So, back to the fight.
As Evan wrestled Matthew on the ground, I heard:
E: Now it is time for the DIAPER RASH!
I turned quickly to see Evan blowing on Matthew's belly! I have no idea where he came up with this.
The fight continued on and finally Matthew was defeated when Evan threw a Roll-Around- Ball at him and hit him in the chin. This resulted in muchwhining and crying um, suffering and pain on Matthew's part. Evan wanted to continue the fight, but Matthew told him he had to make a new helmet first. Evan said they could just try... Matthew said he couldn't do it. He told him:
Only a troop of angry Girl Scouts could defeat you!
Evan asked what girl scouts were and Matthew told him:
They are fearless, ruthless, cookie salesmen who travel together in bands empowering girls (in a menacing voice)
Evan responded, "Ooooh, I hope I never meet any of those."
I was just choking back laughter.
Then this morning, we were running late (as usual) and Evan decided at the very last minute as I was buckling him in the carseat (as usual) that he needed his light saber and Spiderman costume to take to Grandmother's. I asked him if he knew where they were and he answered, "somewhere" (helpful). So, I told him I did not have time to look for them and he would just have to pretend. I also told him that he should have found them and gotten them together while he was watching cartoons this morning. He told me that then he would have to look for them and that I should just find them for him. After a brief lecture on how it was not my responsibility to keep up with his toys and if he wanted to take something it was his responsibility to get them together (yadda, yadda, yadda), we moved on to the more pressing issue: How was he going to fight all the foot tech ninja without his weapon or his costume?
I told him he would just have to fight them with his bare hands like a tough guy.
He responded, "Oh, you mean like that game that's too violent for me to play?"
Um, yeah, I guess...
Where did my sweet baby boy go? He is actually very timid around REAL children, so don't worry, I don't think he would hurt any of your children if you ever meet this mighty warrior to play. LOL.
__________________________________________
The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
1 Samuel 2:4
No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. Psalm 33:16
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. Deuteronomy 20:4
___________________________________________
Speaking of fighting the good fight, there is a little baby boy out there who is fighting right now. Little Stellan, whose mommy was told he would not survive in utero, but then was born perfectly healthy and seemingly healed (a true, medically unexplainable, miracle) is sick again. His heart is doing the same thing it was doing in the womb. As his mommy said, we know this does not make his birth any less of a miracle. He is a miracle. God has a purpose for this and He planned this. It just may be hard to understand or accept. But she has very strong faith and is leaning on God. I know some of you may think I'm crazy for stalking these people I don't know, but her blog is really fun to read and Stellan's story is amazing. Anyway, if you get a chance, I know he could use your prayers.
M: You are no match for me, Iron Man, I will defeat you.
E: Oh no you won't! No one can defeat me! I am super-human! (knocks Matthew down and jumps on top of him).
M: groans and carries on as Evan works on defeating him....
Ok, I have to give you some background here. Matthew and his brothers apparently made up fake wrestling moves when they were children and have carried them with them into adulthood (some of them may be real, I have no idea, I've never watched wrestling). But anyway, when Evan got big enough to wrestle, Matthew began introducing the moves to him. They have interesting names such as:
The Russian Barracuda Sickle
The Stinger Splash
The Figure Four Leg Lock
and then there are some more common "torture moves". (I have even heard of some of these)
The Cowbite
The Stinger
Pink Belly
Chin Chop
So, back to the fight.
As Evan wrestled Matthew on the ground, I heard:
E: Now it is time for the DIAPER RASH!
I turned quickly to see Evan blowing on Matthew's belly! I have no idea where he came up with this.
The fight continued on and finally Matthew was defeated when Evan threw a Roll-Around- Ball at him and hit him in the chin. This resulted in much
Only a troop of angry Girl Scouts could defeat you!
Evan asked what girl scouts were and Matthew told him:
They are fearless, ruthless, cookie salesmen who travel together in bands empowering girls (in a menacing voice)
Evan responded, "Ooooh, I hope I never meet any of those."
I was just choking back laughter.
Then this morning, we were running late (as usual) and Evan decided at the very last minute as I was buckling him in the carseat (as usual) that he needed his light saber and Spiderman costume to take to Grandmother's. I asked him if he knew where they were and he answered, "somewhere" (helpful). So, I told him I did not have time to look for them and he would just have to pretend. I also told him that he should have found them and gotten them together while he was watching cartoons this morning. He told me that then he would have to look for them and that I should just find them for him. After a brief lecture on how it was not my responsibility to keep up with his toys and if he wanted to take something it was his responsibility to get them together (yadda, yadda, yadda), we moved on to the more pressing issue: How was he going to fight all the foot tech ninja without his weapon or his costume?
I told him he would just have to fight them with his bare hands like a tough guy.
He responded, "Oh, you mean like that game that's too violent for me to play?"
Um, yeah, I guess...
Where did my sweet baby boy go? He is actually very timid around REAL children, so don't worry, I don't think he would hurt any of your children if you ever meet this mighty warrior to play. LOL.
__________________________________________
The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
1 Samuel 2:4
No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. Psalm 33:16
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14
For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. Deuteronomy 20:4
___________________________________________
Speaking of fighting the good fight, there is a little baby boy out there who is fighting right now. Little Stellan, whose mommy was told he would not survive in utero, but then was born perfectly healthy and seemingly healed (a true, medically unexplainable, miracle) is sick again. His heart is doing the same thing it was doing in the womb. As his mommy said, we know this does not make his birth any less of a miracle. He is a miracle. God has a purpose for this and He planned this. It just may be hard to understand or accept. But she has very strong faith and is leaning on God. I know some of you may think I'm crazy for stalking these people I don't know, but her blog is really fun to read and Stellan's story is amazing. Anyway, if you get a chance, I know he could use your prayers.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Aww.. Sugar, Sugar!
"Oh, honey..... aww sugar, sugar.....you are my candy girl...."
"...When I kissed your lips, I knew how sweet a kiss could be (knew how sweet a kiss could be)!"
Sing with me....
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tops for the Week (Photo Overload)
We had a ball playing in the gorgeous sunshine today! And then we had our first taste of spring/summer with hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner tonight. As Evan said, when he saw his plate, YUMMY!
Of course we always have fun, just playing around the house. Especially in a cute pair of jeans. At least one of my children will wear jeans. Notice there are no pictures of Evan in jeans. 
Evan and Daddy picked out some flowers for my planter at Lowe's. Daddy "ruined the surprise" when he showed me the flowers while they were still in the car. But it was still a nice surprise.
Of course we always have fun, just playing around the house. Especially in a cute pair of jeans. At least one of my children will wear jeans. Notice there are no pictures of Evan in jeans. 
Evan and Daddy picked out some flowers for my planter at Lowe's. Daddy "ruined the surprise" when he showed me the flowers while they were still in the car. But it was still a nice surprise.
Chloe in the bath, always a favorite time of day for both her and me. Cleaning up all the water afterward, is not my favorite time of day, but it is worth it.
"Pickled feet and fingers" (This is what we call it when you stay in the water too long and get all wrinkly)
Yikes! I might have gotten a little carried away lightening the eyes on this one. I promise she's not an alien.. Take me to your leader...
Just hanging out.
"Pickled feet and fingers" (This is what we call it when you stay in the water too long and get all wrinkly)
Yikes! I might have gotten a little carried away lightening the eyes on this one. I promise she's not an alien.. Take me to your leader...
We had lots of fun playing outside on our playground this week. Evan and Chloe enjoyed their new swing that Daddy built. This one is closer to the ground (good for Evan) and attached the playground and therefore in the mulch with the other equipment (good for Daddy since he doesn't have to mow around an extra thing now).
Just hanging out.
Funny story about these shorts...
Matthew was off on Spring Break this week and the guys had alot of work to do around the house. Monday, Evan helped his Daddy and Uncle Brian put out mulch. He worked very hard and when he was finished, he told me he was "just exhausted!".
Evan takes a break to play with Cooper, our neighbor's dog. (This is the dog that Matthew waged war against for barking in our yard all night, for those of you who have heard the story. He no longer barks and we are good friends now (and with Cooper's owners also.)
Determination.
My silly boy.
Just one of the guys.
Top Two Evan stories from the week:
Matthew was off on Spring Break this week and the guys had alot of work to do around the house. Monday, Evan helped his Daddy and Uncle Brian put out mulch. He worked very hard and when he was finished, he told me he was "just exhausted!".Evan takes a break to play with Cooper, our neighbor's dog. (This is the dog that Matthew waged war against for barking in our yard all night, for those of you who have heard the story. He no longer barks and we are good friends now (and with Cooper's owners also.)
Determination.
My silly boy.
Just one of the guys.
Top Two Evan stories from the week:
The SHORTS
So on Saturday Matthew is going to take Evan to Lowes and Home Depot with him. He brings him down a pair of shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt to wear. The shorts are just plain, cotton khaki shorts with elastic waist. The most comfortable kind he owns. He threw a fit over them. OWWW! OWWW! They hurt! Finally, after much upset, he settled on some khaki pants since all of his soft pants were wet in the washing machine. Fast forward to after the shopping trip. Evan is outside with Matthew and he gets his pants wet with the water hose. He comes inside to change. He grabs the shorts (the exact same shorts as that morning) off the couch where they were still laying, abandoned in frustration, and says, "Look, I found some comfortable shorts to wear!" Puts them on and says, "Ahh! Nice and cozy." I thought Matthew's head might explode.
The Splinter
Evan got three nasty splinters in his hand this week while playing on his playground. We had tried to get them out, but had not had much luck. Tonight Matthew sat Evan on the counter and tried to remove them with a needle. Evan was being very brave, but I guess Matthew poked a little too hard because suddenly Evan exclaimed in a shocked voice, "OW! DA-AD, you SHOT me!" (I guess he was thinking like a shot at the Drs. office.) After that he wasn't too keen on anymore splinter removal, so Matthew told me to just put some neosporin and band-aids on and we'd look at them again in a few days. As Evan was drifting off to sleep, he said, "My 'pyinters don't hurt anymore. The neo-borin' did the trick!"
And as you can probably tell, I had lots of fun taking and editing pictures this week. In fact, my battery's dead and my memory card's full so I've got to do some camera maintenance before I can take anymore. And how did I have time to edit all these pictures? Well, I stayed up way too late for the last three nights, but I was able to because my daughter has gone to sleep on her own in her own bed at 7:30 and slept all night! Woo hoo! (Knocking on lots and lots of wood!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)