Taa Daa: Ribbon Wreath

I got today's craft idea from Pinterest.  I made it according to Auburn colors and it will adorn the front door til I get around to finishing my Halloween decor idea also from Pinterest.  Stay tuned. :)

First...

 
Next ...

Then, Anna asked me to set her up with a craft, too, so she could work with me.  I pulled out some wax sticks I've had set aside for her for awhile and that suited her just fine til she realized it made her hands sticky.  That was a deal killer for her.  Sigh.

Finally, I set to work finishing up project without any further interruptions.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  If I happen upon an AU letter or two, I'll dress those up as well and sucker them right on the wreath, too.

From Today's Sick Day

Noah's had lots of time to think today as he rests at home with a fever. All morning he's been on the couch except for a few minutes on the floor with Anna's Duplos.  Then he went back to sleep in his room for a couple hours.  He's actually hungry now, so that is a good sign. And his fever is under 100 now, too.

I just got him situated back on the coach with some foods (pickles, pretzels, and cantaloupe) and The Berenstain Bears and he sighed and asked me how much longer before Daddy gets home.  Four more hours, I said.  "Oh," he said.  Then he went on to say, "Mommy, I wuv my daddy.  Him great at doing Wegos (legos) I can't do.  And video games.  And getting batteries for the weemotes (remotes).  Him great at everything." 

Then he said, "Mommy, can you come sit with me?"   It reminds me how we felt guilty for enjoying it a little bit when he was sick as a baby. He let us hold and hold and hold him during those times.

Off to go sit with (aka -hold) my baby now. 

Post-Cafeteria Rant

Heaven, help me to GRACIOUSLY address the issue of Noah's peanut allergy with his teacher and the principal again.  My lunch date at school with Noah DID NOT GO WELL today.  It wasn't so much that Noah clammed up on me (which he did) as it was the fact that he is apparently sandwiched between peanut-butter sandwiches regularly at lunch ... and as kids will do, their pb hands touched the contents of his lunchbox 6 times while I sat there in a 20 minute time frame.  I could just cry from the fear and frustration.  Or fury.

What part of "severely allergic" do the school officials not understand?!

They are so gonna make me go all 504 plan on them.  I don't wanna get pushy, but I will!  I have one more friendly reminder for them in me and then I am gonna get ugly.   That is, if heaven doesn't grant me a bit more grace than my emotions are affording me right now.

Pardon the rant.

SOUNDS like Fun

Noah discovered an interest in, as well as a little talent, playing baseball this summer with his daddy.  So I got the two of them a couple tickets to the last home game of the season for the Nashville Sounds last night.  It probably wasn't the wisest move for a momma to make on a school night.  But, boy, did he have a blast at his first ever real sporting event. He got to watch the big boys play real ball.  He got to hug and high-five the tiger mascot, Ozzy, which took no small amount of adrenaline and courage.  He got his mitt signed by one of the players.  He got to eat his body weight in popcorn and coke.  And he got to hang with his favorite person in the world all night. And, bonus, he got to stay up wa-a-a-ay past his bedtime.

It was all enough to make a young boy go looney. :)  Clearly.

Seriously

Seriously, was there ever an unsmiling little girl as mine?  This was the glamour shot made public on her class's webpage from the first day of school.  All the other little cuties grinned and smiled.  Mine flashed her best deadpan stare. 

Seriously?  It only gets worse from the school pics file.

Come on, Anna, get happy!

Not-so-Free Titan's Tickets

We were so excited when one of Josh's coworkers gave him a pair of tickets to the Titans game for yesterday. This was gonna be so fun ... and free to boot! 

Well, free if you don't count the cost to your mental well-being while you suffer in the wildly aggravating standstill traffic outside the stadium that makes you miss half the first quarter.  Free if don't count the overpriced $30 parking that is still half a mile's walk to the front gates.  Free if you don't count the $25 you drop on two burgers and cokes. Free if you don't count your innocence lost when you have to endure the drunken and relentlessly potty-mouthed old man sitting beside you.  Free probably because you are so high up you can't see any of the action anyway.  Free because the seats are so cramped and crowded.  And free, as long as you don't count the running babysitting meter at home that works its way up to $50 ... even though you left in the 3rd quarter and got home an hour early.  Free, except for the DQ and Starbucks stop you made on the way home just to calm your nerves.

Anyone else jittery and bummed after reading all that?  Cuz I am all over again!  Yikes!  Sorry 'bout that.  It was just such a surprisingly awful night.  So awful all we could do was laugh all the way home.

At least the weather was nice and there was a great breeze.  It helped to break up the stench of beer and jalapenos ... which worked well to disguise what I am sure was a wonderful stench from the vomit the poor grounds crew had to soak up just 25 feet away from us after half time.

Recipe: Italian Mac & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is totally a guilty pleasure of mine.  I could eat it and only it for days.  So it's no wonder I gobbled this mac and cheese variation at dinner and finished off Anna's as well.  Two thumbs up here.

Creamy Italian Mac and Cheese  (from Kraft Food and Family magazine)

1 pkg.(7.5 oz) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Prepare mac/cheese as directed on package; spoon into 1.5 qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Spoon cooking creme over macaroni; sprinkle with bread crumbs.
4. Bake 10 minutes.

Kimmie's trufax for this recipe:  I did not have the cooking creme on hand so I subbed in half a tub of whipped cream cheese that I melted in the microwave and I mixed some Italian seasonings into that.  I did not even use half of the 2 cups of bread crumbs.  It was more like half a cup and Josh STILL thought that was too much; not me, though. I was the one gobbling it, remember?  Also, I stirred it all together before I put it in the oven.

Served this dish with ham steak and garden fresh tomatoes. Yum!

ML: Once Upon a Time

Memory Lane ...

This month, Josh and I have finally known each other 10 years.  We met August 2nd, 2001, to be exact.  So it was a fun surprise last week to receive an email from a friend recalling that time 10 years ago and a bit before.

Once upon a time, I first met Elizabeth online when she introduced herself specifically to me in an email after she had reconnected with Josh not long after he started his blog.  It really meant a lot to me that she was aware and considerate enough to be sure I knew who she was and not have to worry that she was some chicky from his past come back to flirt with him. :) That was 3 years ago.  I knew she was my kind of girl right away and we have stayed in touch ever since.  We have a lot in common and she always makes me grin by how much I can relate to her.  As well, the following email from her last week made me grin again...

Once upon a time, I was friends with a girl at UF named Stephanie. She was a really nice girl who had had a really not nice childhood and wanted to find a really nice Christian guy. I didn't have many guy friends growing up... in fact Josh was one of about three or four for me in high school, but of those he was definitely the best. The nicest. The one you'd want your friend to date and marry.

So once upon a time, I was a bit disappointed to find out from my mom that Josh had met a girl named Kim. Not that I probably would have ever introduced him to Steph because I had lost touch with him, but still there was a chance I suppose.

I don't keep in touch with Steph very much anymore... maybe once a year or so?...and she's married with two kids now.  But earlier this evening I responded to an email from her and just now as I was doing dishes I was reminded of my matchmaking thoughts once-upon-a-time at UF. 

And you know what, I'm glad it never worked out. You're a much better fit for Josh. In fact, you're just right for each other. And it's been fun to see the way you've fit so nicely into his family. 

And I've really enjoyed getting to know you.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that if we had been friends at university, I would have been trying to think of a way to introduce you to Josh. :-)

It's funny to recall also, Elizabeth, that your mom and your sister came to our wedding.  I remember meeting them there but meeting them in a way you meet someone you don't expect you'll ever really know.  I still don't really know them, but it is neat to come to know about them more through my friendship with you.  So glad our paths crossed.  It's a good thing I met that Josh/Matthew boy 10 years ago ... how else would I have ever made such a genuine and thoughtful friend in you?  : D

Shoe Fettish

Anna got my attention today by saying, "Look, Mommy!  I juss wike Jesus!"  I was tickled to find she had wrapped her balloon string around her feet and it reminded her of Jesus' sandals.

Girls.  It's all about the shoes, isn't it?

Suffering

It's probably not normal how MUCH this is killing me outside Noah's classroom door. 



Do you see it? 

Things I'll Do

Someone asked me a couple weeks  ago what I would do with myself while both kids were at their respective schools on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'd been so focused on getting the kids actually started that I hadn't thought of what the day would look like once they did!  I didn't really have an answer ready, but since then I have been enjoying thinking of all the things I will do on my two days of 5 free hours to myself.

Things I'll do with Kimmie Time

Browse in Stores

Grocery Shop

Run Errands

Start Projects

Finish Projects

Deep Clean ... maybe.

Exercise w/o Interruption

Visit with Friends

FINALLY organize my recipe binder

Help in Noah's class

Meet Josh for lunch

Call my sister

Relax

...

Snippets of School Stuff

Even though she's really only been one day so far, Anna LOVES going to MDO.  She's told me so several times.  I think seeing Noah come and go to school every day has built up the practice in her mind.  She prances around the house with her little backpack on.  It's all so new and exciting to her.  You'd never guess she has 1.5 years of MDO under her belt already at another place.  She doesn't remember it, clearly, because she was so young then and she hasn't been back since last December.  

Today I start carpooling with a good friend in the neighborhood, Cindy.  She is gonna pick Anna up and deliver her to MDO along with her daughter, Claire.  Then, after I pick up Noah in the afternoon, I'll be picking up Claire and Anna from MDO.  Works out perfect - saves me an extra trip into Gallatin twice a week and it saves Cindy from having to wake up her baby boy from his nap in the afternoon to pick up Claire.  Noah's a little jealous, though, that we'll be seeing Claire without him around. While she's right in between Noah's and Anna's ages, she's always interacted more with Noah than Anna.  I'm hoping Anna will step up and start participating in playgroups more this year so she can build some friendships as well instead of just being someone else's little sister in the group. :)

This morning I finally plucked up the nerve to drop Noah off at school in the drop-off lane instead of walking him inside myself.  I grinned and thanked the Lord for the reassurance I got on his behalf when the principal himself was the one who opened Noah's door to get out and greeted him warmly and then said to me, "I LIKE this little guy!"  That was just what the momma of the littlest kindergartner needed to hear the first time she let him go into school solo.  It reassured me that he's not lost in the crowd or looked over.  And I grinned all the way home.

We have Noah's school's Open House tonight.  Josh and I are really looking forward to that.  I have so many questions! 

Noah is taking awhile to adjust to our new morning routine.  There's just not time to play like he is used to.  Mostly, he misses getting to spend time with Chewie.  BUT, now that we have eliminated video games from his after school activities, Noah will be more than able to make up for the lost time. :)

And oh my word - I have got to get used to making time to do homework with Noah.  That is such a new part of our day.  We've done academic activities before, of course, but now there is accountability added to it!  Feels so weird. Good, just weird.

Mother's Day Out Indeed

My girlie takes off for MDO today and, unlike Noah, I have not a single concern for her.  My only prayer is that she has a great time! 

As for me, I'm off to run a marathon of errands all by myself.  Not a single other person in tow.  Just me.  It will be a glorious day indeed. :)  Later!

Prayers for Kindergarten

Today has been Noah's first FULL day of kindergarten.

He feels so out of my reach right now while he's there.  So out of my control, my watch, my protection.  So I am talking myself down from a worrisome cliff by remembering whose watch Noah IS in.  I have appealed to the Lord a little more today on behalf of my baby and this new social and academic career he is beginning.

I pray for that hedge of protection around his eyes, ears, and heart.  I pray he is making the right kind of friends - friends who will not expose him to words, ideas, and attitudes that are not Christ-like or that would steal his innocence.  I pray he finds favor with his teacher and I pray the Lord forgives me for that selfish request. :)  I pray he is choosing obedience and kindness even if others are not.  I pray he is encouraged in the subjects he is learning and confident in himself to be able to do them all.

And, oh my word, I pray he does not have his first epi-pen incident this year.

Off to go pick up the boy now.  Which reminds me, I pray he is not so exhausted that he melts down like he did last week before I can get him up to his room to rest.

Can't Get Enough

It's a good thing

Josh loves us like he does

because we can't seem

to get enough of him.

We pounce

on him

right away

every day

and play

and play

and play.

Keeping it Real

So lovely.

Not so lovely.

FB Posts That Never Were

• I always chuckle to myself when I see my neighbor pull out of his driveway dressed in his full Elvis attire.      
• Kids. I swear, if you are not enjoying them, you are not doing it right.   
• I love crushed ice. 
• Watching Secretariat and marveling at what magnificent creatures horses really are! 
• It amuses me how Chewie hangs out with Josh when he is working in his workshop.  
• I get so much relief from purging clutter that I even enjoy emptying the recycle bin on my desktop.  Frequently!
• I am in LOVE with Noah and Anna's post-nap musk.
• My most practiced parenting tip is the one that says to make physical contact with your child right away in the morning and after longer absences.
• I admit defeat finally - I must start doing laundry in dark and light loads.
• Quote of the summer:  Josh - "This is where the naked happens" (speaking of our back porch littered with clothes after the kids changed into their bathing suits every day)
• My boy is such a happy heart.  He loves to, loves to, loves to laugh.  
• I love how Josh swoops in after work and takes the kids upstairs with him for a long time. 
• I love Pinterest. 
• I love Paypal.   
• I like (and miss) the act of writing...actual writing with your hands put to pen and paper, seeing handwriting.

Noah's Last Playdate

I didn't realize it this morning when we went, but today marked Noah's last playdate with my Sumner County SAHM Meetup Group.  After this, he's a full time grade school student.  Wow!

Today's playdate theme was a Prince/Princess Tea Party at a friend's house in our neighborhood.  Noah ended up being the only boy aside from a few babies, so we took the liberty of tweaking the Prince idea and had him arrive as a Valiant Knight.  Anna, as planned, arrived in her new princess gown.

Tea and treats.

Marshmallow Toss.

I have so enjoyed the group of 50 women I have met in this play group and now call friends.  It has been a fun year for Noah especially.  Now it's time for Anna to start making friends on her own; she has certainly grown up so much in the past year!  This next year in Meetup will take on a whole new feel as I'll come with just my one littlest baby.  So strange!  I can't imagine what this will all feel like, but I welcome the changes that that entails.

Kindergarten Day 2

Today is Noah's first phase-in day at school.  It's another half day but with more of the class there.  I was actually able to talk to the teacher for a few minutes when I dropped him off, so that in itself made me feel much better about things.  She welcomed my emailing her to set up a time to come in and talk with her about how this year will flesh out regarding Noah's peanut allergy.  And she let me know there is another student in the class with a severe allergy as well (tree nuts).  I was all, "Oh good!"  And then I clarified, Not good to have an allergy, but just good that that's one more reason they will be extra careful about food and ingredients this year.

Anyway, today there were no screaming children, so I didn't mind asking Mrs. Miller to take a picture with Noah.  Here's our first official "Back to School" picture for Noah's kindergarten year. What fun!

And, yes, I JUST noticed that the boy put his pants on backwards.  : o. Sigh. Kindergartners.  They are so cute, they can get away with stuff like this, I guess.  Something else precious and pitiful is how Noah says Mrs. Miller.  It comes out, as you might expect, as "Miss Miwwer."  Uh-dorable.

Summer 2011

When I remember this summer, I will remember it this way...

Princess Dress

She's dressed up in her tutu before and called herself a princess, but today she got her first ever REAL princess dress (and shoes) from the store.  After her nap, she wiggled into it as fast as she could and agreed to allow the little people to take her picture.

This is what she did when I said, "Ok!  Show me your dress!"

Then, when I asked her what princesses say, she started singing softly, "La la la la la."

She was in tears in no time because she kept stepping on her dress as she mounted the stairs on her way to her chambers. Then, she was in tears because she couldn't see herself close-up enough in her vanity.  She about killed herself trying actually.  When Josh held and soothed her after her near-fall, she started crying again because her gown was slipping off her shoulders. 

Poor thing. It's just not easy being a princess.

Raising the Bar

GREAT parenting quote I read recently: 

"I am not raising children.  I am raising adults."

Reeeeeeeally makes me want to get it right with my kids every time.  Gotta stop being lazy in terms of discipline and consistency with Noah and Anna.  Summer has taken a toll on me (and in turn, them) and enough is enough.

Quoth the Memaw

I just adore this picture of Anna from last week sometime.  What's not to love about little girls, piggie tails, pink bows, tank tops, baby soft skin, and quiet play? 

That's why I melted when my MIL responded to this picture on FB by captioning it, "You are my sunshine."  Perfectly said, I thought.  It made me sigh, too, because that is a song I have known since childhood and I have sung it to Anna since she was a tiny baby, but I don't know if you knew that, Carol.  Anyway, Anna is just that ... my sunshine.

She's also a stormy gray cloud and a fiery bolt of lightening, but lucky for her, I love thunderstorms.

Drama King

Noah sort of exaggerates when he is hurt.  I can't say I blame him.  Pain is something I don't deal well with either.  But Noah?  Oh, Noah really goes overboard. 

This sad mug shot is my boy AFTER today's dramatic episode. 

The BEFORE involved him scraping his toe under a door, spotting a little blood, and then screaming all of the following:

I need to go to the HOSPITAL!

I BROKE my TOE!!

It's going to FALL OFFFFFF!

Daddy! DADDY!  I want DADDYYYYYYYY!!!

It BURNS!! It's on FIRE!!

Ow!  Ow!  Ow! OW! OW! OW!!

Can you carry me?  I can't walk!!!

And then, of course, somewhere in there he was lunging at my pen and paper saying, "No!  DON'T WITE THAT DOWN!" 

First Day of K: After

The only reason I got any of this information out of the boy was because he was belted into the car and HAD to humor me on the drive home.  Then he beelined to the play room for his precious minutes with the Wii. After his first day of kindergarten, I found out:

1. His day was "gooood!"
2. Yes, he wants to go back.
3. He made new friends and they were all very nice.
4. He likes the fishtank in the class.  The fish's name is Goldie.
5. He likes the tower (loft) in the room. 
6. They didn't go the gym today.
7. But, yes, he DID use the boys' bathroom with the urinals and all.
8. And, oh yeah, he needs tennis shoes for next time.
9. He made a friend named Wuke (Luke).
10. He doesn't remember anyone else's names.
11. Luke likes Super Mario Bros. on his Wii just like Noah. 
12. (mommy grins because the Super Mario lunchbox she let him get helped him make a friend)
13. The teacher had him read letters like D E F G.  :)  He told the teacher he can read words and that his daddy makes him read books every night.
14. NO ONE at lunch ate peanut butter sandwiches.  Someone offered him food but he said no.  (mommygrin here)
15. He liked the lunch I packed and he ate it all.  He specifically liked the meat.  (ham)
16. He asked if he'll be 6 when he goes back. 

Too bad we have to wait a week before he gets to go back.  This week was for testing only.  Next week there will be two phase-in days, and then the following week starts the full day schedule.  Still wondering when will be a good time to chat with the teacher about how things will work with Noah's allergy and epi-pen.  And I'm hoping next week there will be more information/feedback from the teacher than just piling the kids back in the cars.  It is so foreign to not get more face time with the person in charge of my baby.  I feel like such a rookie.  I just don't know how this goes from the parent side of back-to-school.  Am I being worrisome to want to actually speak to her?  Hmmmm....

Anyway - Such a great first day of school for Noah.  For us all. :)

First Day of K: During

For the record, I am not so anxious about Noah starting kindergarten as I am anxious about trusting others to protect him from anything with peanuts in it.  It really is all about the life/death allergic reaction that lurks around every corner.  What will he do without my Mommy Superpowers to protect him?!

Anyway, I got the boy and his gear to school

and he was ushered into his new classroom

by his adorably sweet teacher, Mrs. Miller - (no picture ... yet) - because she had to hurry back over to a screaming classmate who was CLEARLY not ready to let his momma leave his side.  His momma finally did leave and she was all crying, too, which I understand - that's not the way any momma wants her baby's first day of school to go.  I'm just so glad my baby was all big boy about it and wasn't a bit flustered.  He is gonna do great today.  I have no worries for him on that front.  He'll rock it. 

It's only a half day.  It's really mostly for kindergarten testing.  But they are eating lunch in the cafeteria ... where mommy's worst fears come to life.  :{  I'll be there in no time to pick him up and ask him a million things.  Can't wait to hear Noah's take on his first day of school.  I bet you anything he won't have much to say ... he'll be in too big a hurry to play his video games.  Mark my words.

First Day of K: Before

Today is a big deal.  My baby is beginning kindergarten!!  I am swimming in a weird mix of emotions.  I've been up before Noah getting things ready so we can look like we have our act together by the time we get to his school at 8:00.  Kindergarten.  Oh, wow, I've looked forward to this day forever and I come to find it's not all unadulterated joy like I anticipated - though it is a joyful milestone to be sure.  I am surprised at how the simple fact that the moment has arrived has hit me over the weekend.  Do I feel some grief?!  Is that was this is?  Maybe just bittersweet something or other.  Oh, what a special day it is.

But for now it's only 6:39 and Noah comes down the stairs to tell me he kept his pull-up dry so he gets to play video games.  "After school I get to play video games, wight Mommy?" He makes sure I understand.  "Right," I say.

Then he says with earnest and alert eyes, "Mommy, I so excited I gonna go to kindergarten!!  You gonna say, "You wike kindergarten?" and I gonna say, "Yes, I wike kindergarten!"  And my heart smiles on him and his exuberance and his happiness about today.  I am so happy with him.  So happy my heart won't let me do it without tears. Seriously, watering up as I type - but not sad waterworks.  I don't know what this feeling is!

T minus 40 minutes til we get in the car ... with every last peanut allergy note/chart, epi-pen, checklist, many school supplies, lunch (slapped with 40 peanut allergy stickers.  Ok, just 2), camera, medical bracelet, extra epi-pen, and the boy.  Oh, the boy.  Oh boy!  What a big day.