Fudgie

Ian and I try to read almost every night before bed. I would like to say that it is because I am such a model parent and blah blah, but really it is for several reasons. One reason, though not the most important, is that I get to reread the kiddy stories that I've carted around for years and years. Another reason is that it gives Ian a chance to settle down after romping all over the house horsing around with Daddy. It's good for the sweat to dry off before bedtime. I also love it when something tickles him and he just grabs his middle and laughs his head off. There's not much better than that. And it's hard to predict what will set him off, other than body parts or body functions. He is 5, after all.
My HC of course, thinks I just like to hear my own voice. But nobody listens to him when he gets in those moods. ;)
We have read Stuart Little (he liked the first half, but lost interest in the last couple chapters) and several Bobbsey Twins books (now he has a renewed longing to go to the circus...and I think I caught him saying "Swell!" once). We've also read all of the Junie B Jones Kindergarten books. We're going to wait a bit to start First Grade. But for some reason, I decided to try him on Judy Blume. So we started "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Fudgie is now his favorite topic of conversation. At the chapter about Fudgie's 3rd birthday party, he laughed so hard he rolled off the bed and into my lap (I was sitting next to the bed in a kiddy chair). He still mentions it from time to time, the funny parts. Tonight we are reading the last two chapters. We'll see how that goes, but I think "Superfudge" is in our future. I can't wait until he gets older and we can start Chronicles of Narnia. But in the meantime, any suggestions or favorites? Try to keep in mind that we are PBS kids and don't even like the Disney movies with death and sadness (Lion King? Bambi? Fox and Hound?) That's curbed a few that I've thought of. Thanks!

Into the Fall

Things have been different at our house with the death of our computer. The desk is used for papers and bills, free time is used playing inside and out and all my daily websurfing is being replaced by other things, like reading on the treadmill. A good thing, believe me. I find myself composing blogposts in my head at odd times. Like the third night in a row of no sleep when everyone had the flu a couple of weeks ago. What misery!
Now we just have lingering obnoxious coughs. Erin says "Blesh" after every one of them. I guess she thinks they are sneezes?
Ian got his cast off yesterday. In September, he fell off the monkey bars at the big playground (a rare treat for his kindergarten class) and broke his elbow. Thankfully, it did not need surgery and seemed to have healed nicely after 4 weeks in a water cast (we love water casts!!! No itching at all and nice long baths without having to keep anything dry...). Ian's face was comical yesterday as the nurse came at him with the saw to cut off his cast, but he got through it. Now he just has a puny little arm and has to be reminded that he can use it. The first thing he did after getting the cast off was to wiggle a bit and say "Hey! I can touch my ear!"
He is enjoying being able to turn over easily in his sleep and being able to wear long sleeved shirts again, since it was 34 last night here and a bit chilly.
Erin is just buzzing right along, asserting herself at every opportunity, yet still managing to be charmingly adorable at the same time. She is wrapped around Daddy's finger so tight he bounces. This year she was Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween and everyone made much of her cuteness. Ian was a quiet ghost and didn't get it that everyone kept calling him Casper.
My HC is still having fun at work, though the driving all over the place gets old, naturally. The real estate agent wants us to lower our asking price again, but we're not going to. She is not happy with our decision, but we'd rather stay here with our currently manageable payments than end up with nothing left over to purchase again and have to rent the exorbitant prices that are now so normal. Even in our little town, a 2 bedroom rat hole is renting for 5 or even $600 a month. No Thanks! So that's frustrating, but at least we LIKE our house! It's just in the wrong town!
Also trying to save up for Christmas, which is increasingly hard, as anyone can attest. The holiday season always seems to turn into a giant Excess Party, where money and meaningless gifts are flung about in abandon. For the rest of us, who struggle anyway, we wish that others would realize what a big deal it is for us to buy our 20 Christmas cards and finagle the postage to send them. Last year there were some hurt feelings from a few that didn't get a Christmas card from us. I didn't have the energy to explain that we only got 20 and had to ration.
It is so tempting to just gloss over financial difficulties, but so much of normal worldly life is about glossing over and faking prosperity. It's also hard to hear others whine about their difficulties and how Christmas is 'so hard' when they only have $x amount to spend on their kids this year because money is tight and blah blah blah. It's hard to feel sympathetic when you know they make $1,000 a month more than you and eat out every day for lunch.
And now the self-pity part of my post is through. We are grateful for what we have. It could be so much worse. It's just a bit frustrating to see the piddly amount in the savings account, since we've been saving for 8 months.
And there's a fair share of guilt since it was my turn to go to the dentist this time and took a big chunk out of the kitty. I would feel no such guilt if it was my HC that had to go to the dentist. And yes, I really needed to go to the dentist and now all my teeth are fixed, etc. But still! Argh!
In happier news, it looks like we will be having company for Christmas and we are all very excited. Maybe this time there won't be an ice storm and the power won't be out for a week. ;)
Other happy news: we are done mowing the grass until next spring! Yay! Now as soon as we get a freeze, all the flies will die. That is what I'm truly waiting for. Hope everyone is doing well. I miss interacting with everyone. I just wish I could post pictures. That is truly the worst!

New Schedules

Well, we have officially gotten into the swing of school and the new job. Erin is increasingly hard to keep busy, since she is constantly saying stuff like "Daddy door. Ian door." Which means that they've gone somewhere without her (through the door). The nerve of those guys! I've been on a housecleaning kick because it makes me feel like we'll sell the house quicker if everything is clean. The real estate agent came to take new pictures of the house since it's been on the market since Feb of 08. And those pictures show dead grey grass. Unfortunately, we've done a lot of work on the house since those first pictures, but she likes the old pictures of the unpainted kitchen cabinets and drab walls better than my paint jobs, so those pictures are still on the description. I'm sure if anyone does come to tour the house, they will wonder if they're at the right one.
Ian still says that kindergarten is long. No nap time, so I guess they work instead. The new teachers are....serious. It's a big change from pre-K because they were young and bubbly and enthusiastic about everything. In K, you're lucky if anyone cracks a smile. Not too crazy about that, but there's nothing I can do. They've also told me that Ian is immature, but he did just turn 5. It's hard for me not to get a little riled at that, but a lot of the class is 6 or turning 6 soon, so I guess that would make a difference. I comfort myself with the fact that Ian is smoking the rest of the class's butts in reading. He is also finding it hard to make friends. Several reasons being: Daddy was a cop in town and so has arrested a lot of parents and relatives; Ian can smoke everyone's butt at reading; he has food allergies, so he brings his breakfast and lunch every day and has faced ridicule because of it. So there's no friends there, really, but it just makes us want to move! New start, new teachers, new classmates! It would be really nice. But until then, we will deal with teachers that really need an attitude adjustment and look annoyed and tired all the time.
My HC is loving his new job, even though it takes a lot of hours and we are both bone tired every night. Movie nights are now only on the weekends. We don't even watch tv. He is also becoming quite the filing guru. I am very proud of him. We are still excited about visiting the dentist when our insurance starts.
The kids are recovering from the first school-borne illness. Ian got a cold and a stuffy nose. He still has the stuffy nose, but feels fine. Erin got it and it turned into a raging ear infection. The meds prescribed gave her raging diarrhea and rash, so she was taken off of it. Now we have to go back to the doc's on monday. I really dread these dr visits. I hate sitting there for 2 hours just to be told to keep drinking fluids and taking tylenol. Waste of time!!
In the meantime, we are doing ear cleaning with prescription drops because I don't believe anyone has ever seen the inside of Erin's ears. All 3 of the doctors and specialists that have tried just say "There's too much wax in there to see." After I got annoyed and asked a nurse how to fix this problem, I got a scrip, instructions and plenty of help. Gee, why didn't anyone think of this before?! Honestly. Is it small towns or what?! Ridiculous!


Lest I get all het up again, I will brag about my brilliant HC. The people next door moved and left a bunch of junk, including 2 broken headboards to twin beds. My HC took them apart and used the lumber to make me a coffee table! I love it. I get to stain and varnish it and I'm so excited. We are completely table-less in our living room and now we have something to put our glasses on instead of the floor! And we have something for the kids to snack at and color at (not on, Erin!) and it's a gorgeous wood. I have none of this ability and am amazed that my HC would be motivated and able to do it. The staining and glossing are done and we are so impressed. It's a bit darker than I expected, but that way it won't show Erin's scribbles too badly. ;)
Now I think I've caught everyone up to now, having skipped a week or two. Can't believe that next week is September!!
And congrats to my friend Rachel for delivering a gorgeous baby Elias last Thursday! Mommy and baby are doing great and should be home by now. Thanks for all the prayers! The fun has just begun, Rachel, but I know that you're enjoying every bit of it.

Job, School and Grandparents!

To be short, since I'm sitting in the library and my hoodlums are being hoodlums, my HC started his new job, which has so many initials, I'll just keep him as my HC. This was his first week and he's been busy, but he really likes it. I think he likes eating lunch out even more, since he can eat whatever he wants without the guilt of our munchkins and their food allergies. He had pizza. Twice. sniff sniff. I think I've forgotten the taste of cheese. sigh.
So that is going wonderfully. Still no bites on the house, which makes my HC's commute rather miserable. And school is starting next week. We were hoping to have been moved before school started, but you do what you've got to do. Ian is excited about his new teacher, since we know her from church (it's his Sunday school teacher) and he's got some friends in his class, so that's even better.
And Gramma and Papaw are coming to visit! That's the best! They'll be here for his Meet the Teacher and for his first few days of school, so we are all excited about that. And there is the promise of Red Lobster. Mmmm...
And did I mention that my birthday is Sunday? August is turning out to be a pretty spanking good month. Now if we can just hold out until payday. Transitioning to one payday a month stinks, but we'll get used to it. :)
And my bestest college friend, Rachel is due for her first baby in the next couple of weeks. So August is good for more than just me. So if you're eating a pizza or a really good mouthful of cheese, think of me and enjoy a little more. And if you see a little bundle of joy at church or the grocery store, think of little Elias and how eager we all are to see him when he manages to come out into the world.

Happy Birthday Ian!

Today is Ian's birthday. He is 5. My HC and I are still reeling from the fact that he can no longer be considered a baby, a toddler, or a preschooler. He is now officially a little boy. Sigh. Tomorrow is Erin's birthday. She will be 2. She is definitely not a baby anymore. Sigh. Our home computer is still dead, so I am at the library. No pictures, obviously, since the library computer doesn't download or anything, but I figured I could at least update our lives. My HC is excited about his new job. He'll be starting it at the beginning of August. He will be receiving all new equipment and a pretty jazzy take-home car. We are very thankful and psyched about how everything is going. He's going to Wagoner next week to try on his uniforms, collect some of his equipment (hopefully the take-home car?) and meet some more people. He'll still be working at the Ranger office on the weekends until things get a little more settled in the job transition department, but he is happy with it, so I guess I am too.
In the meantime, we have a lot to do getting Erin's joint birthday present (from Gramma and Papaw and Great Granna and Great Papaw and from us). It's one of those play kitchens with the dishes and stuff. We got it from Toys R Us yesterday and my HC and I will be assembling it tonight. Uh...one of those spouse-bonding things, since I am an instructions fanatic and my HC is a slap-it-where-you-think-it-goes type assembler. In August, Gramma and Papaw will come to visit and we are very excited about that. It's something else to count down to, now that the birthdays are upon us. :)
Now I need to scoot because the kids have trashed the library's blocks and puzzles and I have pickles to can and a cake to bake. And it's almost lunchtime, at least from the rate Erin is screeching "Nak!" (snack)
So thanks to everyone who has checked and not found anything new for a while. We feel just as out of touch without our computer. And how in the world is anyone supposed to know the weather?! (that was sarcastic)
So Happy Birthday to my munchkin/urchin/punks. How did time go by so fast?

Hot and Sluggish

July has been punctuated with periods of extreme heat and mountains of garden vegetables. I think the neighbors are starting to hide when they see me trek down the road with shopping bags full of my vegetable offerings. There's only so much that my little freezer can hold and I ran out of canning jars. Sigh.
We are having a heat advisory until Tuesday. The heat index will be up to 110 until then and it is Nasty out. We have been trying to get outside earlier, but still end up with sweaty red cheeks after 20 minutes. And that is including staying in the shade with a popsicle.
Mimi and Grampa (my grandparents) came to visit with their friends, Bill and Shirley. They got here last Wednesday and they continued their trip after touring the Oklahoma Aquarium with us last Friday.
We had great fun. I have some pics, but I need my HC to fiddle with the camera and download them for me, since our computer had some kind of brain aneurysm and is malfunctioning every 16 minutes or so.
Can't believe that the kids birthdays are in 10 days! Ian revises his birthday list often, but only to rearrange the order that he wants his Hot Wheels ramps to go in. He got one from Mimi and Grampa for his early birthday present and he's been putting them together every day and getting them just right.
Praise God for Netflix too, because when you are forced inside to sit in front of the AC and move as little as possible, it is best to do it while watching a movie. And since my Pride and Prejudice allowance has been used up until at least October, there is precious little for my HC and I to agree upon. Well, we did start Lord of the Rings again, but then we got our Netflix delivered and that got put on the back burner.
Wish I could post some new pics. These are a couple years old; electronics and I are not getting along this month!
But I will end by saying that I am hoping that we have some very, very good news to share tomorrow.

Tails of Four Skunks

As told to me by my HC.

I was driving along, going from one campsite to another and saw two little baby raccoons in the road. I got out to make sure they were okay to to make sure they got across all right. I got close enough to see that they were healthy little babies. I leaned over them and got hissed at. They started to get a murderous gleam in their eyes and eyeballing me like I would make a good snack, so I backed off some and watched them get across the road.





I went on a little farther and saw a Mama skunk and four little baby skunks crossing the road. They were so tiny, they could have fit in my hand. I stopped the truck and stayed in it (did you really think I was going to get out?) and watched them. The Mama skunk went off somewhere and it was just the baby skunks sitting there. I sat there watching. They were so cute. Then they all put their noses together and stuck their tails all up straight in the air. They looked like the points on a compass. Evidently, they were willing to spray EVERYthing in all directions. I guess they didn't like my truck. I backed up a little and stopped again. Then they all ran towards me, and immediately stuck their 4 little noses together, stuck their tails up and waited. I backed up again and they chased after me and assumed the position. I don't know where the Mama skunk was during all this, probably right outside my truck door with HER tail up.
I've never been chased by baby skunks before; I've never even heard of them doing that. And I don't know that I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.
But it worked; I picked another road.

*I would like to add that my HC didn't take any pictures, he was too busy backing up in his truck. I got these off Google Image for illustration. ;)