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Author: Kristy
That’s so not what I was trying to do…I’ll get back to ya!
School girl!
Author: Kristy
It is official…I have a school-aged child! yikes! Drue went to her first day at Good Shepherd Preschool on Monday the 18th. DD was brave. She was excited to take her Tinkerbell backpack filled with supplies. She got all dressed up and decided how she wanted Mommy to do her hair. She hesitated when I dropped her off, I could see in her eyes she was nervous, but she did just fine as I left. Lane and I went to Deer Park. He said it was “boring without DD because she is nice and she is fun”…wonder what that meant about me?!? He really misses his “sissy” as he’s been calling her lately. Drue was gone 9:00 until 11:30. Then we ate lunch at Mom and Dad’s, like we do everyday, (except Tuesdays, that’s when we go out to eat with Shawn and Pa!) Drue talked about school but then started to express her concerns and worries. “I just don’t know what to play or who to play with…I just don’t know how to do preschool!!” She communicates so well. She talked to me about everything and hopefully, she knows she always can. She cries when we even talk about school, she says her tummy hurts and she just wishes I could stay there…”then I’d be ok” like come on Mom…that’s all it would take! She also told me after Weds. class…”I just wish I could have stayed a kid longer…I wish you could still be my mom.” I explained, she is still a kid and I’ll ALWAYS be her mom…no gettin’ rid of me! Hopefully, she’ll meet a friend or two and will be more excited to go. It sure makes my heart hurt to know what she’s going through. She’s talking to me about it so at least that is a good thing. She gets to take snacks to school tomorrow and chose to take her favorite, banana bread and orange juice. So…I made 3 loaves of bread, asked Ryan if he could please take out the 3rd loaf, and just put it on the cooling rack..emphasizing LEAVE IT IN THE PAN…the kids and I went on a little walk around our neighborhood and as we turn around, I see Daddy…hmmm. He looked at me and said, “well, you can hit me now or you can hit me later…but I tried to dump the bread on the rack and it exploded.” This is 8:30…I had no more bananas. I handled myself quite well, I have to admit. Daddy just got to give baths and I ran to get more bananas. So, that’s what I’m doing now. Waiting for the timer to go off.
I’ll post more about what we’ve been up to this summer…time flew. It’s been 2 months since I’ve posted and there is lots to share…or at least document for this momma to always have…you can read it or not! :) I’ll get on that! I’m also going to post some pics now…so easy with the new computer!!
Ever slept in an airport??
Author: Kristy
Yeahhhhhh. My mom and I ventured the airs with Drue and Lane the first part of June. My cousin, Lindsay graduated from high school. It was my first time back since living with my aunt Aimee and Uncle Mike 8 years ago. It is still hot! We had a really nice time and the kids were so great. We went to Des Moines after supper on the 5th to stay in a hotel since our flight left early the next morning. That way we could also leave the car at the hotel for free. We were just getting settled and it started it rain. Shortly after I heard the tornado sirens go off. I called the front desk, she assured me they’d set off alarms if we needed to go downstairs, but mom and I were both nervous about possibly having to run out in the middle of the night so we both slept with our clothes on and trying to stay aware of our surroundings. The next morning, we were at the airport about 4:30am. The kids were troopers and very excited to fly. Lane purchased 2 golf balls to occupy him and DD got a little purse for her gum. Our flight was delayed because of the rain storms in DM and a MN. We were to take off at 6:30 but were set back to 8:30. Around 8:15 Mom and I got curious about why there were so few people at our gate. We re-checked our gate number and realized we had been changed and ran to the next gate, simply walking on the plane. That was a close one! And boy did we laugh! Once on the plane, Lane yelled, “Fly…up in the sky!” over and over. Take off was fine. The kids kind of oooed and awed when they felt their bellies float up. Lane was concerned before leaving that the plane might spin around in circles and do tricks. I assured him we wouldn’t but as the plane banked to turn, Lane looked out the window and said, “see Mom!! I told you we would flip over!” Goofy boy! Drue gets car sick often and I was hoping she wouldn’t have any troubles on the flight. She made it until the last 10 minutes, then complained of a tummy ache and got really pale and cried. Once we were off the plane in Denver she was fine and we were able to get something to eat. The flight to Denver was uneventful, DD got sick at the end again, so I decided to get her Dramamine for the trip home. In Dallas, we were just going to take our Embassy Suites van to the hotel. It just so happened that since we were delayed, Grandpa and Grandma Larson’s flight got in just moments before ours did. So we got to see them and Mike before we left. At the hotel, we took a quick jump in the pool then got ready to go to Mike and Aimee’s for steaks. Saturday morning was Linds’ graduation. She graduated with 497 other kids…needless to say, her ceremony was quite different than mine with 51! We ate at the country club near their home then went to the hotel to relax, Lane colored the entire time! I forgot to mention that when we arrived in our suite, there was a big gift basket that Aimee had made for us full of snacks, colors, a big coloring book, a Speed Racer book, magazines for me and mom, juice boxes, waters…all sorts of snacks…even cotton candy! That evening we went to Lindsay’s reception at her home, we had catered Mexican…yum! Even a margarita machine! Even nicer…Randy and Cindy and Scott were just a few doors down at the hotel so they drove and Mom and I could enjoy those Mexican beverages! :) While we were on the back patio, I stepped on a mound of fire ants. They didn’t bite me until I noticed them and they felt me trying to get them the heck off of me! Then, like their name suggests, FIRE! It really burned, but I was lucky and got some medicine on them quick and it never bothered me after that night. Sunday we went to church, the sermon really touched our family. The message hit home for us right now. Dig was a card. He laughed and giggled like someone was tickling him. He’s done that at home, also. He must be sleepy and punchy! After church we went to Dick’s Last Resort for lunch. As we were walking to the place, Grandma Ilene saw 3 big owls in the yard and thought they were so cute…it was “Hooters!” We had a good laugh. At Big Dick’s I had catfish, yum! It was a funny restaurant…the waiter yelled at you, kind of rude, etc…I got into it and yelled, “Hey…we need more ketchup over here!” My Grandpa thought that was my kind of joint! :) The kids were a little set back at first, then realized it was all ‘pretend’ yelling. Then, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium just a few blocks away. The kids loved the turtles, alligator, the octopus, manatees and the shark tunnel. They were traumatized by 2 people dressed in native American garb. Other than that, they LOVED it! Great Grandma and Grandpa bought them each a stuffed sea turtle and shark cups. We went back Mike and Aimee’s for a broil of shrimp , sausage, corn on the cob& potatoes. Lindsay’s boyfriend, Jordan’s parents joined us also. I drove Linds’ Jeep and Monday morning met Mike and Grandpa and Grandma for a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. What a beautiful zoo! Nothing felt caged in. I especially liked the monkeys and gorilla, the kids loved the elephant and the baby giraffe. It was a beautiful day to go and was a highlight for the kids! We then had Mike drop us off at the airport and prepared for our trip home…we weren’t prepared for what was ahead of us! Our flight out of Dallas was delayed because we had heavy (welcomed) rain. Once on the plane we had mechanical problems and sat for over an hour before the GPS was fixed. By the time we took off, we knew we’d miss our flight from Denver. Mom tried to take care of it, since we had mechanical problems, the air company gave us each vouchers towards other flights and a little food money,and switched our flight to the earliest they could…6am the next morning, by now it was after midnight… they offered to put us in a hotel, but since we’d have to drive 40 minutes and then be back at the airport around 4:30, we thought it was silly. The kids were already asleep and Mom and I thought it would be one less time moving them, we just slept in the airport. The floors are hard! I felt smooshed and crunched after sleeping a few hours. The kids didn’t even know any differently. The only thing is that we had to switch flights one more time because they took us through from Denver to Chicago then on to Des Moines. So, we left a day before Grandma and Grandpa and got home after they did! We pulled in to our driveway about 4:30 pm. Tired, but full of great memories. Definitely a good story for the kids’ babybooks and their first time in an airplane! The entire trip the kids were so good. Not crabby or grumpy or naughty and considering how some of the trip went…that’s pretty amazing!
After getting home, I asked Lane what his favorite part of flying was, he said, “ALL of it!” DD’s reply…”NONE of it!” But the medicine did help and she wasn’t sick during the trip home at all…which was good considering the challenges we had!
I had so many compliments about how great of kids they were during meals, graduation, church, flights…We already knew it, but I was reminded that we sure have wonderful, intelligent, loving, well behaved little monkeys…emphasis on monkeys! 
Tutu Cute!
Author: Kristy
Saturday night was DD’s first dance recital. She has been taking ballet and tap since the end of November and loves it! She was so excited for recital, but we weren’t sure if she’d perform on stage or not. I honestly thougt she’d just stand up there and act nervous…I was wrong! She was so cute. I knew after rehearsal that she’d do great. The minute she walked on stage, her face lit up and she smiled big…and did her dance! She came running off stage and said, “MOM! I love being on stage!!!” She’s bound for Hollywood and Uncle Steve right after kindergarten… Recital was entertaining, the typical, little girls, looking around, rubbing faces, singing the song, etc… the most important thing is that she had a blast. She wore a cute pink, leotard with big pink tutu for ballet to the song, “I Love Being a Girl!” and Miss Amber’s brother painted Simba’s head on a black leotard for her tap song, “Hakuna Matata.” Then all the girls were in the finale, a light show to the song, “R-o-c-k in the U-S-A.” Drue got 3 bunches of flowers and was so proud of her performance. She loves watching the video. We’ll post pictures soon! After the recital we invited our families over for rootbeer floats and brownies and ice-cream. Drue and Lane enjoyed playing with their 3 cousins. It was a long day and DD was exhausted, but the first thing she asked when she woke up Sunday was, “Mom, when will it be next year so I can have another recital?” I have to admit, I was emotional watching her dance. I’m sure it’s the same feeling Ry will have when he sees the kids in their first sporting realted activity. After being in and teaching dance for 14 years, I was just so excited to see Drue up there and enjoying herself. I remember how fun it was to be on stage with your friends, wearing neat costumes, fancy hair and lots of make-up! Lane Ryan was so good during the recital. I was told he didn’t move a muscle…he was so interested in the show! He was at most of DD’s dance classes, so he probably knows the dance as well as the girls! Like I said, I’ll post some pictures of our little ballerina soon!
We’re going to busy this week, getting ready for our trip to TX. I grew up with Mom always making sure the house was clean before you leave for vacation so it’s nice when you get home…the only difference is, Ry will be here…wonder what it’ll look like when we return!? Nah, he’s pretty good. I would think there will be a pile of dirty socks by the couch and maybe some dirty dishes but that’s about it. He’s got a list of things he says he wants to accomplish while we’re away, hopefully, it’s nice out for him.
I’ll post again after our trip to let you all know how the kids’ first airplane ride goes…wish us luck! We leave from Des Moines and change planes in Denver both coming and going. Hopefully, the kids are excited enough going, and tired enough coming, that the flights go smoothly…a little gum and some Crayola markers will help, too!
Terrific Twos and Frustrating Fours
Author: Kristy
So…you know the saying, “terrible twos?” With both of the kids I’ve found that to be incorrect. Drue was so fun at two and definitely not terrible. Those were more like the “Trying Twos.” Three was when she showed a little more of the terrible side…she’s not terrible by any means, but boy is she bossy! Most days I have to remind her that I’m the mom and some day she’ll get the chance to boss her own kids around, but right now…it’s MY turn! Gosh! She’s really trying to test me. I’ve created a little monster girl, with the help of some other people who shall remain nameless…She gets very angry at me when things don’t go her way, she points her finger at me and corrects me if she thinks I’ve done or said something wrong…for example, yesterday she wanted to watch one of her “shows.” We were in the basement picking up the toyroom and when I went upstairs, she followed me…she has to, she’s afraid to be alone down there…or anywhere for that matter. So while we were walking up the stairs, she missed the opening theme song of her show. That ticked her off BIG time! I explained that she didn’t have to follow me, etc…then she proceeded to yell at me and growl like a wolf then hit me. That didn’t go over well. So I carried her to her room and told her not to come out until she’s ready to say sorry and give me a hug. A couple minutes later, she found me in the kitchen, not to say sorry but to tell me again why she’s mad and crying. Back to her room. She came out once for a Kleenex but no apology. Back to the room. Then she came out looking like I might get the sorry I was hoping for, her face looked calm and she grinned as if she was feeling guilty. I was wrong…she came out to say, “Mom, actually, YOU should tell ME you’re sorry for making me miss my favorite part.” NOPE. Back to the room. After a total of a half hour, she returned. Told me she was sorry and gave me a hug. Then the rest of the day she acted like nothing happened and we were best friends again… ughghhhh! I’m proud of myself for sticking through though…I’m not very good at disciplining…bring on the Super Nanny! Fours have been testing, for sure. I’m positve FIVE will be fabulous! I have a feeling Ry and I will have our hands full with this one! Her dad sees a lot of him in her…I knew it! :) She can be so sweet and loving. I melt when she, out of the blue says, “Mom, I ‘ove you.” My heart breaks thinking of her going to school next year. I love her so much and prayed to God for her for so long. I prayed for a little girl with curly hair, freckles and her daddy’s blue eyes. I got her and am so blessed to be her mom…but God help me be the Mom I need to be for her!
Lane, on the other hand, is always a sweet, loving boy. He is so terribly polite. That’s the only thing I can find to use the word terrible…He’s my lover and oh how I love to hear him say, “Momma, I ove you” and give me “kissers on the lippers!” YUM! He is shy, sometimes nervous, but all boy! He loves balls! That’s really all he plays with. He loves playing baseball with Dad. Last Friday, Ryan was home for about 10 minutes before being called back to work for a little bit. Lane Ryan was so sad, he cried as Ry’s truck pulled out, “I want Daddy to stay home…” I told him I’d play ball in the back yard with him and he agreed, but knew it wouldn’t be as fun…when I threw the ball he said, “yeah, but Dad throws it higher!” He sure looks up to his Daddy. He loves sports and so does Ry, so Ryan never tells him no when he asks to play ball, no matter what time of day…Ry said, “I can’t say no…I’ve dreamed of this!”
Funny thing just happened…DD is sitting on the arm of the chair beside me and she just knocked heads with me…she fell asleep! She had a busy day…her cousins Delia and Elliot were here from 9-2:30 while their mommy was out of town. What fun we had! It was so fun watching the four kids play. I actually got a lot done because they were entertaining themselves.
Ry is still at work and just called to say it’s going to be close to 11 before he’s home. They are pouring concrete for a big site and had some troubles with mud this morning causing some delays.
Drue had a great preschool round up and when it was time to go she said, “I don’t want to go!” I thought she meant she didn’t want to go to preschool…she meant she didn’t want to go home! At least that will make it easier on me…(maybe)
Another funny thing just happened, Lane is looking at the library books and just said, “Kristy (sounds kind of like Courtney without the N) number 852…That IS our library number! It’s no where on the book, obviously. Smarty pants! Now don’t any of you rebels go check out books under my name!
Mother’s Day we had lunch at Mom’s. Grandma Mary, Danielsons and Larsons were there. Mom helped the kids make me stepping stones. How cute! I’ll treasure them always. Ry took the kids and let them each pick out a yard animal for me. DD picked out a turtle to put by the flower bed. As Lane was giving me his gift he said, “I got you 2 deers stuck together.” They are two baby deer, laying be eachother. I love that they each picked out what they wanted me to have. I’ll always remember how cute that morning was.
Ryan has had 3 slow pitch games. The kids love to get to play with Campbell, Aubrey and Madi. I like watching my cute husband relive his younger days. Mother’s Day he slid into third and scratched up his bum. So, I spent the next week putting neosporin and bandages on it. The kids were freaked out. But hey…he was safe! This week he hit a home run, but the rule is after 4 homeruns every game, the next ones are just walks, so his was the 5th and he only got to go to 1st…bummer.
The kids and I are getting excited to take a little vacation with my mom. Since Ryan is busy with work and the boys are in the fields, Mom and I are taking the kids to Texas for my cousin Lindsay’s graduation. We’ll fly, which will be a first for the kids. They are very excited. Lane doesn’t want the plane to do any tricks, like spin in circles (ME EITHER!) he says he saw it on the Bee Movie. We’re leaving Friday the 6th and will be home late the 9th. We’re also planning to hit the Fort Worth Zoo. I’m excited to see Mike and Aimee’s house. They’ve moved since I lived there. They were the ones who welcomed me into their home after my divorce and I needed a place to gather my thoughts and chill out…I should say heat up…it was so stinking hot!! I can’t believe Linds was just ending third grade when I moved! She’s all grown and off to college now…ughh. I can’t believe how old I must be…surely I don’t look it…or act it…or do I?
I better get Dig to bed. He’s watching a Dora movie and just said, “Momma, I want to rock.” I LOVE that! I love that he needs me still, or at least that he lets me think he does! I’m so thankful God has chosen me to be Drue’s and Lane’s mom…that’s the most beautiful gift I’ve been given!
What???? It’s only been 4 months!?
Author: Kristy
So…I’ve been a little lax on the blogging lately, eh? After a little harassment from friends, I’ve finally made time to update you on our little monkeys… I keep an ongoing list of things I want to blog about on the refrigerator…I’ll try and make it brief, but you know me! Here goes… I’ll make little notes about things that are on my list and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a little better at keeping you up to date.
The first thing on my list is “DD said, “look how many burgers I had!” She meant boogers. I was a little disgusted when my beautiful girly girl brought me a Kleenex with ‘burgers’ all over it, but she was sure proud of the quantity harvest!
Ryan went pheasant hunting, he brought back several birds, 9 I think. So we have lots of meat in the freezer. However, I’m not sure I even eat pheasant. I’m a white meat girl. But, I figured we better use some of it and it would make Ry feel like a ‘real provider’ for his family (obviously, he is, but the food is usually up to me!) I tried to psych the kids out and told them we were making “Rachel Ray chicken nuggets.” It worked. I got a breading recipe off the internet and the kids gobbled them up. We’ve had them since and now they know it’s pheasant. Doesn’t phase ‘em!
DD started Dance in November. She loves it. She takes tap and ballet. I’m so proud and it’s so stinking cute seeing her in her black leotard and pink tights. Her recital is May 31. I don’t know how it will go…she told her dad not to watch her when she was practicing at home! She also told me that her costume looks itchy…(it does!) We go to Steamboat every Wednesday afternoon for her lessons.
Our cat Thomas has lived at my mom’s every since we’ve moved to town. He lived there with me before Ry and I were married so he was very comfortable there. He loves the pasture in the back yard and doesn’t even stay in the house. He comes in for snacks and when the kids are home, but that’s really it. Anyway…this winter he figured out the shortcut to our house, before he’d follow mom the ‘long’ way on the road, but one afternoon he saw us in the backyard and you could see his little brain go, “huh? you mean I could cut across the yard?” So frequently, I’d hear him meowing at the front door. He’d come in to play and get some snacks from the kids. It was so funny it was like he was knocking on the door to see if anyone could come play!
I have written down that one night Lane came and told me that…”I ‘ove (love) balls really, really bad!” He does! That boy is definitely a sports guy!
Oh…funny! The kids and I were at the mall and decided to go see if Santa was there…We were on the top level, he was on the bottom. We walked to the railing and waved at him. He gave a big, friendly wave and DD decided she wanted to go down and see him. Dig didn’t. Drue walked right up. Sat on his lap, started talking. I thought we better buy a picture of her first time being that close to the jolly old man. She’d been too petrified before. So, we did our thing, told him what they wanted etc…walk away. Get to the escalator…Drue asked if she could go sing him a song…Of course! So we walked back and she stood there infront of Santa and sang him “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!” Can you believe it! He was a good sport. He sang along…which may have given him away…he screwed up some of the words and DD was concerned about that. I covered for him though! What a brave girl!
The kids love to make “Icky things.” While I’m working in the kitchen I let them make whatever they want. They play “Rachael Ray.” They get to use eggs, water and spices. They come up with some pretty stinky stuff, but it keeps them busy and experimenting.
Another funny sentence from Dig… after looking in the potty chair after going poopy…”Mom, I didn’t make a ‘nake (snake) but dat’s ok.” He sounded a little disappointed that he didn’t make a snake, like he let me down or something…It was so funny.
Now this story, I thought was so sweet. The kids and I were at Pamida. I don’t remember what we were getting, but I remember I was paying with cash, which I usually never do. So, when the kids spied the candy bars and asked for one, I said, “no, not today, mommy doesn’t know if I have enough money.” The kids were not being naughty or noisy, just wanted a candybar, which, anyother day wouldn’t have even been a questing. After saying this 3 or 4 times the lady in front of us in line turned around and gave each of them 50 cents. I tried to quickly, guilt-fully explain that I just had cash and I didn’t know for sure, but if I had money left I’d buy them a candybar myself, etc…She just said, “no. You’re kids are being very good and it’s the least I can do for them waiting in line for me!” Well, I couldn’t get her to take her money back. So the kids and I thanked her and she left. The kids each picked a candybar out and I told them that I wished I knew who she was and that we should pray and thank God for her and her thoughtfullness. I kept saying, “I wish I knew her name!” Drue said, “Mom, it’s ok, Jesus knows her name.” Ahhhhhh. Yes he does! What a sweet girl and a very sweet lady.
We went to see Santa and his reindeer in Eldora and then left for Boone to ride the “Santa Express” We rode a train and picked up Santa, he gave each of the kids a magic bell and we had cocoa and cookies. The kids had a really good time, but next time we’ll know to dress warmer and take blankets. They wore their jammies, but the train was chilly!
With all the political ads on tv, one day Drue Kathleen asked me out of the blue, “Mom, what does ” prove this message mean?” Even 4 year olds know when enough is enough!!!
I am usually a very ‘anal’ mom. I don’t let the kids have nuts, or anything else, the news or dr. says not to. But, I broke down and let the kids have cashews. They devour them! I give them only halves and only one at a time. They must be sitting and have a drink near….(see what I mean!?) But after Dig spied my stash of nuts in the cupboard he said, “Momma…I love nuts, but I don’t kiss ‘em!” I love him….and he gets wet with my kisses!
One night Ry was fixing supper, don’t remember what, but I think I was on my way to Pilates and he was helping out…Drue grabbed my hand and whispered to me…”mom look…DAD’s making supper!” SHOCKED! They also both laughed hysterically when the saw Ry washing dishes a few days later…that’s actually become a usual site around here, believe it or not! What a helper he is!
At Christmas time Ryan and I have always hung a mistle toe out. This year the kids got into to it also! I’d catch DD under the mistle toe and she’d point up, then we’d all rush and kiss her. Lane would lean up against the wall and say, “mom, ‘ook where me is!” Then expect a bunch of kissers on the lippers! Lane called it a “Whistle toe!”
On December 20, we had a new neice! Her name is Cali Lynn. She’s so cute! We haven’t seen her forever and she only lives in Wellsburg. But we sure are excited she’s here!
Oh…The garage door exploded one day! I pushed the button, and was going to get in the Expedition when I heard a pop and crashing…a spring broke or something, I don’t really know but I know the door wouldn’t open. Ry was at work and I called my dad to tell him I didn’t know how to get the car out of the garage…he said, “did you try just pushing it up?” Uhhhh. No. I didn’t. He came and fixed it but it scared me to death. Metal pieces were flying at me, so now I push the button, shut the door and wait for the door to open before we go out in the garage.
My silly, cute, strong husband called me one day and asked, “where’s my ring?” Hmmm. “what do you mean? What ring?” “my wedding ring, did you take it off me?” oh boy. Now why he thought I would do that? I don’t know. He said he looked down and noticed he didn’t have it on. That he must have broken it at work and it’s gone. I was sad, but not mad. He has worn it since the day we were married. His knuckles are so huge, I knew it didn’t just fall off, so I figured it was broken and gone forever. I thought we’d wait 3 months before buying a replacement, keeping our eyes open just incase. Ry was so funny when he came home the day he realized it was gone. He had prepared his speech the entire drive home. The funniest thing he said was, “Kris, this doesn’t change anything.” I laughed so hard!! I replied, “Oh good! You mean we’re STILL married!!” Like he really thought I’d think our relationship was probably over now that there was no ring! After a month, we kind of forgot about it. In the mean time, I had rearranged furniture. No sign of it. One night the kids were playing on the floor and Ry was in the recliner, with his feet up. Drue lunged and said “MOM!” She held out her hand and there was her Daddy’s ring!! Phew! Her mommy and daddy were married again!! :) She was so proud and we made such a big deal of her finding it! She was the hero!
Drue turned 4 on Feb. 2. We had a party with all of her grandparents, all but 2 greats, and all of her aunts and uncles,but Uncle Steve. We missed him. She had a “Little House on the Prairie” cake. It was amazing.
That’s the end of my list…Tonight the kids came running into the kitchen while I was doing dishes. Lane had his soccer socks, Adidas soccer shoes, and his LA soccer shorts on (backwards) Dig dressed himself with a hawkeye shirt and baseball cap. Drue and him were playing soccer and he kept yelling, “No DD! It’s the boys’ team!” Meaning, leave me a lone! The fun came to a screeching hault when Dig leaned down to pick up the ball and bonked his head on the table.
I got to go to Illinois to meet up with my dear friends from high school, Erin, Amber and Stephanie. We went to the Hearts at Home conference for Moms. We stayed at Erin’s and had such a great time catching up. I sure miss those 3! I have been going to Pilates since February. We end in May. Hopefully, the new fitness center will be open by then. Ry and I hope to buy a membership and work out occasionally. We purchased a new dining room table in February. It’s nice to know we have more space for friends and family to visit. We hope to have new carpet before my TTT meeting in October. I host it so we’ll have a busy summer getting things crossed off our list of things to do. Ryan finished the brick on the house, we’re just waiting for some odd pieces to come in, we had trouble matching the colors. We bought 10 gallons of paint this past weekend, we’ll probably need more. We’re going to start painting the house as soon as the weather gets a little nicer. The house will be ‘Cypress” green, kind of like an ivy? We ordered a new front door and purchased new lights for the garage and by the door. So, we’ll have a busy summer. Ryan also starts softball this coming Sunday. He’s been to a month or so of practices and his games run May through July. The kids are excited to cheer for Daddy. Mom’s excited to see the athletic side of him…I’ve heard he was quite the athlete…now he can show off, I’m betting he’ll look pretty cute!
Oh…Lane Ryan had his tonsils and adenoids out April 3. He was a trooper. They were dangerously large and had to be removed. The dr. said if they weren’t he’d chance disfiguring his jaw and his teeth would come in wrong. Not to mention the possiblity of just stopping breathing. The codeine was terrible. He took it like a champ. The nurse said that in her 12 years she’s never seen a child just drink it like he did. They usually have to hold the kid down and squirt it down their throats. He lost weight and looked pretty skinny. He didn’t eat until we got home the following evening. His voice is different, not so nasally. He sleeps so much better, no snoring. We’re so thankful it is over though. It was not fun. The IV bothered him. He never picked at it but he wouldn’t look at it. He’d cover it with his blankie. He received balloons from Uncle Steve,Aunt Traci and Uncle Nick. A movie from Mimi and RahRah (Ry’s parents) and the Chipmunk movie from Nanny and Pa and a firetruck. We got him a Thomas the Train bike and brought it in his hospital room for him to see. Those gifts really cheered him up. But he was not happy. Ryan and I stayed the night with him, but he sure felt much better once we got him home. He ate a bowl of ‘goldfish’ soup and drank some juice and pop. It was a long 2 weeks of recovery, but he’s back to his crazy, huggy self again! Thank the Lord.
Drue has preschool round-up Thursday. She’s nervous. It’s only for one hour, the parents stay and do paperwork, talk etc…while the kids play, meet the teachers, etc…She’s already talking about what she’ll wear…What a girl! Lane also has his one month check up on Friday, he doesn’t want to go to the hospital he says, but he will open his mouth so the “‘dr. can see dat my tonsils are out!” We also need to get him new jeans, he’s growing like a weed! As I speak, Lane has every tub of play-doh on the coffee table. I see 8 tubs…he loves it! DD is in the recliner watching the movie from Mimi and RahRah, Jungle Book…Dad’s asleep on the couch…I better go rock my babes! They don’t stay small very long. I’m already having difficulty carrying DD, she is getting SOOOO tall! I’ll definitely be the shortest girl in this house!
Thanks for reading, thanks for harassing me about blogging…I want to do it, I just don’t make time! I’ll try better from now on, but keep me on my toes!
Pictures
Author: Kristy
Hello! Finally….with the help of my brothers, I loaded some more pictures…check them out in the photo gallery at the top of the page…
I’ll blog later…not much time now. We’ve had a busy and fun Christmas season. Uncle Steve is home, too! Today we went sledding at one of Dad’s fields…we used a new wheelbarrow bucket to sit in, the boys padded the edges and Shawn pulled us around behind the 4-Wheeler…what fun! Super fast! I’ll have to get pictures from the boys, I forgot our camera. I’ll update you all later, I have a list a mile long on things I need to write about, on the fridge at home! :) Enjoy some of our pictures….more to come thanks to the new computer and wireless…so much faster!
Not Ouchie!!
Author: Kristy
I wrote this post several days ago…our wireless connection pooped out on me and I thought I lost it…here it is! PHEW!
Wednesday, November 7th, after Library Storytime, the kids and I went to Joanie’s for Lane’s first haircut! I had been talking about it all week as to prepare him for what would be happening. I think we’ll start calling it a hair “trim” instead of hair ‘cut’…cut sounds like it will hurt…Dig wasn’t excited to do it but knew that Joanie always has treats for him and his sister…good treats, like big bags of Skittles, fruit snacks, M&Ms or suckers and she always has a cartoon on for them to watch…that part he was looking forward to, not the actual haircut. He sat up on the booster seat, let Joanie wrap the ice cream sundae themed cape over his shoulders and started on his sucker…Then he sat as still as he could and just stared at me, saying with his eyes, “mom…I want down, don’t let her cut me, etc…” Joanie said she’s never had a little person sit so still for the first cut before. He was a real trooper. He had a lot of baby fuzz hair to cut, part way through he had his sucker in his mouth and looked at me, his big blue eyes were red and his bottom lip stuck out…I tried to make him feel better and reassured him we were about done. The next time I looked, one single, giant alligator tear ran down his chubby cheek. Poor guy. His heart was probably pounding like crazy. Lane did such a great job. Joanie even used the little electric razor for his ’side burns.’ He looks so cute…this morning he had a ‘Knuckle Teve’ hair do for church…the front was sprayed up…very California! His new do makes him look like a toddler, for sure! He looks like such a big boy!
Cash also had his first professional bath this week. He is spending a little more time indoors since ‘his girl’ demands he comes in to play for a while. Drue loves his ears…always has! She used to grab them and growl, “I’m your momma, I’m your momma!” What a girl.
We had coffee at our house this week. I made Drue’s favorite banana bread. We made 2 batches so she could have a bunch! She loves it! This coming Wed. after library, DD and Dig were asked to go to friend Drake’s house. You may remember Drake from previous posts, we went to see him when Uncle Steve was home, he’s a horse boy and DD really likes him. He and his mom go to Library time and we will be going to their house aftwards to play for a little bit.
Ryan’s been hunting…I don’t know if I’ve mentioned he got a decent sized, 9 point buck a few weeks ago. We’ll have the antlers mounted later to put in our family room…he’s hunting right now, but since it’s 60 degrees out, he doubts much will be going on in the timber.
Yesterday was our 6 year anniversary. It was freezing. The day we were married it was 70 degrees out. Ryan took me out for drinks, dinner and dancing… actually, we were at a friend’s wedding. Hard to believe it has been 6 years but we’re both so thankful to be where we are in life…happily married, (most days! ) 2 beautiful, smart and healthy kids, a nice home and a crazy dog.
DD just hollered from the bathroom…she needs me to help her wipe…I said, “try to do it yourself” she replied, “I don’t like to do it, I’m afraid I’ll get poop on me!” I better go…I promised her when she gets done she can type her name…
HERE GOES…
I GONNA BE 4 PITY SOON! DD
TTTYHHHHT5555555555555555555TUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
DOTS
…she’s looking at some Halloween candy!
*****Today is Wed. Nov. 21
I’m posting again…adding to the previous draft I found…
You won’t believe this, Ryan didn’t either…but I beat him up today! That came out wrong…I didn’t punch and hit him…I was awake before he was! That has only happened a handful of times the entire 6 years we’ve been married! Not counting the hundreds of times I woke up to breastfeed the kids the past 3 consecutive years! This time he thought something was wrong with me. I just couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 4:10am and did dishes, balanced the checkbook, cleaned out my purse and picked up toys from the living room. It’s amazing what you can do before there are 4 other feet walking around. It’s 7:30am now and I’m sure there will be some breakfast eaters meeting me in the kitchen with in the hour. Then we’re off to Library. Yesterday, we met Pam and the girls at McDonalds. It was raining and we thought it would be a good energy releaser for the kids.
We’re looking forward to the holidays! We moved the furniture in the living room to get ready for the tree. Ryan and I also moved the loveseat from the basement and put it infront of the fireplace in the kitchen. So that means the table is in the ‘dining’ area. It took a little getting used to but we both really like it now. Someday we’ll get some chairs for the fireplace area to make it a little easier to change around, but the loveseat will do for now. I still haven’t painted/textured the kitchen…paints waiting for me in the basement, but I’m not too excited to do it!
Tomorrow we’ll be going to my parents’ (Nanny & Pa’s) house for Thanksgiving dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Larson (Toys MiMi and Papa John), Cindy and Randy (Poopy Butt and Randy), maybe Scott and Jamie ? and Grandma Mary (Gamma Mair) will be there, along with Uncle Shawn and KK. Then before supper we’ll head over to Ryan’s parents’ (MiMi & RahRah’s) where we’ll see Aunt Trudi, Uncle Matt & Aunt Karla along with Cade and Lillian and Unlce Nick and Aunt Traci…this could very well be the last time we see Nick and Traci before they become parents! We are soooo excited to meet our new niece or nephew! It will be fun having him (or her) close!! Then I suppose, sometime after Thanksgiving…NOT Black Friday…we should start Christmas shopping…ughhgh. We’ll actually get most of it done online but Ryan and I enjoy going one Saturday evening together, then we go out to eat somewhere. I am able to use the…”Santa’s watching” excuse now…however, it kind of freaks the kids out, they always look to the windows quick, like he might be standing out there keeping an eye on them…maybe he is!
I’m going to go put some laundry in…my goodness…what will I do all day if my chores are done before I would have even been awake!?!!?
And the winners are…Raggedy Ann & Andy!
Author: Kristy
They’ve done it again…the kids won the costume contest in their age division again this year! They were so adorable and Dig even left his little red wig/hat on. They received so many compliments on their costumes. The carnival was a big hit…Lane won the first cake walk and picked out a dozen chocolate cupcakes with gummy worms on top…Drue won a ‘big’ prize at the bean bag toss and we came home with 3 goldfish from the ping pong ball toss, plus the usual bag of goodies. So far the fish (we call them boo-boos in this house) are still alive. Drue has 2 gold goldfish named ‘Flower’ and ‘Goldy’ Lane named his white fish ‘fussy’ aka…’Twinkle, Twinkle, Little ‘tar.’
This was the first year we’ve gone around Trick -or- Treating. I wasn’t so sure the kids would like it, and I knew for sure, I’d be the one saying, “Trick-or-Treat!” But, I was wrong! They both loved it! We first went to the nursing home to visit Grandpa Harold. The residents all had boxes of candy and you could see them light up when the little ones entered the room. It’s a great place to go, we’ll definitely have to remember that if the weather is ever poopy, it’s all inside and the candy is overflowing! When we left, Lane said, “Again! Again!” We stayed in Vinton Heights for the rest of the evening…those of you from Eldora know…it’s one of, if not the best place to go on Halloween…I saw a cute idea on Martha Stewart, I had Ryan drill holes in an artificial pumpkin and we stuck a bunch of suckers in them and left it by our front door since we’d be out getting candy ourselves. The kids had such a good time. Lane was literally dragging me to the next house. At every door the kids would chime, “Tick-or-teat!” and say their ‘thank-yous!” It was so cute watching them. Only a few times did Lane get scared of a ‘monster’ walking up the road. He was determined to get more candy, so he kept on truckin’! Once again, we have a ton of candy in the cupboard. I’ll have to post pictures…I’m using Ry’s laptop and don’t want to download pics without checking with him, (he’s asleep) Our computer’s screwy again. I think it’s time to make a change and upgrade our service as well.
Ryan had an enjoyable weekend…He left Sunday morning at 5 am for South Dakota. He and a friend from work were asked to go hunting as a promotional gift from a medical provider for Christensen’s. In other words, a guy who sells the company pig medicine paid for them to go hunting and stay in a lodge for the weekend, all expense paid, in hopes he will continue to get their business…There were 17 men total and they shot 140 pheasants. He had a great time and now we have 9 birds in our freezer…don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to eat them!
Today we really worked around here! The kids and I raked leaves…if you don’t remember…we have7 trees in our front yard! We even cut one down right after we moved here. We have leaves everywhere and our neighbors are anal about the yards so I felt obligated to get some of the leaves picked up so the city can come sweep them out of the street. I raked the front yard to the street the entire length of our yard, then bagged up 4 gigantic yard bags full. The back yard’s not so bad, 2 leafy trees and 3 evergreens. I’ll tackle that another day. It took 4 hours of raking today, with the occasional interruption to be a mom…The kids worked hard too. They held the bags for me and both raked for quite awhile also. After I had Lane down for a nap, DD and I returned outside and DD raked some to the road, then looked at me and said, “This was funner at first!” I agree…4 hours later I was already sore, had 3 blisters, sore feet and and achy back and chest…So I’m not used to hard labor!
Mom found an old cupboard for me at an auction last weekend. We have it in our dining area and I’m excited to decorate with it. I’ve also picked out the new kitchen paint, just haven’t had the energy to start yet…the walls will be ’quince cream’ it’s yellow…and the soffit is ‘caraway spice.’ a dark brown/orange.
I tried all morning to get through to the Boone Train. They have a ‘Santa Express’ similar to the “Polar Express,” which is a favorite movie or ours….we have seen it hundreds of times and have it memorized! Anyway, I had a busy singal ALL day, I finally got through at 9pm. The website was down, but I just finished ordering our tickets! I’m so excited to tell the kids that we get to go! They are supposed to wear jammies, we’ll hear the Polar Express story, have cocoa and cookies and see Santa at the stop then travel back to the train station. DD is so wanting to go…Lane??? We’ll have to do it again if it goes well so Lane can go when he’s a year older and will maybe be able to remember it also.
I guess I should bathe and get to bed. I’m ready to hit the leaves!…..I mean HAY! :) We have coffee/playgroup in the morning…we had to cancel at our house last Friday because DD had the starts of strep throat, a fever and aches, thank goodness for amoxicillan!
No bunnies in my ears!
Author: Kristy
So, I haven’t done a very good job at keeping people informed on the lives of our children! I’m telling you…moving will do that to you. I shouldn’t even use the “we just moved” excuse…it was 5 months ago today we got possession of our new home. And, surprise, surprise…I’m going to repaint my kitchen…I’ve been getting advice from friends, haven’t narrowed it down yet, but I want something very warm and cozy feeling. My friends Cam and Pam and I went on the Grundy Center Tour of Homes Sunday and it was so fun! We got some great ideas and saw several beautiful homes! We’ve already set some shopping dates so we can give eachother a little help when buying accessories. Definitely a fun girls outing!
Tomorrow evening is going to be very exciting! We’re going to the Civic Center in Des Moines to see “Go Diego Go! Live” Both kids have been jumping up and down saying, “Go Diego Go! Go Diego Go!” and “click! Take a Pic!” I think it will be a lot of fun watching the kids’ reactions…I’m not sure what they are thinking…Is the jaguar real? That’s not what he looks like on tv, etc…
So…I WANT to catch up on a few things, so here they are…RANDOMLY!
* I forgot to mention Labor Day…which really has little significance now…but it was a fun weekend. We went to Dayton Sunday and Monday of Labor Day. My unlce Mike, aunt Aimee and cousin Lindsay were home. We went to the parade and enjoyed Grandma’s great food. We also got to see Grandma and Grandpa’s new home. They moved just the week before. Actually, a lot of moving has happened in our family, we moved, Larsons, Grandma Mary, Grandpa Harold, Mike and Aimee moved from the house I lived in with them, Jim and Antoinette moved, Shawn will be soon…lots of busy people lately! That weekend we also managed to squeeze in the Steamboat Rock parade and dinner & fireworks at Jim and Jane Kramers. At the Dayton Rodeo carnival, the kids talked Pa into getting them each a hermit crab. Dig’s was painted like a football, DD’s a ladybug…she named him…FROG! ? Dig’s made it about 4 days, DD’s just died this week…I think he’s dead anyway? He’s in the garage so maybe he’s ‘hibernating?’ Probably not.
*The kids got sick right before Lane’s birthday. Runny noses and coughs. Lane is still suffering from it. To get him to stay still, the doctor says, “let me see if there are any bunnies in your ears.” So that’s his funny thing now. He came home and told my mom, “Digga, no bunnies in ears!” She looked at me, like…what did he say? I hope not! My dad thinks that should be our new saying when someone asks how you are, either, “well, I don’t have bunnies in my ears,” or “I’ve got bunnies in my ears!”
*Weird thing…For 3 weeks in September I could not, for the life of me find 3 pairs of Drue’s shorts…I knew specifically which ones were missing, laundry was caught up, they weren’t at mom’s, no where! Well after much searching I found them in the cubby hole of the antique school desk my Mom gave me…”Oh, now I a-member!” DD said. Strangely enough, now we’re missing her Nike outfit…hmmmmmm. How does stuff like that disappear? I’ve had weird things like kitchen utensils…you know the big pokey fork, gone…my Pampered Chef Shears…gone…I thought I’d find that stuff when we moved, nope. I accused my friend Cam, who is PC consultant of taking them so I’d have to buy another pair…which I did!
*Dig’s Dr. at his 2 yr. appt. said, at his age she’d like him to have a vocabulary of 50 words and be making 2 word sentences…I told him what he said a couple weeks ago while watching the Hawkeyes on TV…”Football guys ‘unny (funny)…push ‘usher’ (other) guy down…get no points!” She was amazed and then he repeated it for her. What a card! She said she’s definitely not worried about his speach! He’s getting to be such a grown up boy.
* Dig’s party was wonderful. Except for the fact that, that morning, when my mom came to give me one of her crock pots, she told us that Dad’s dog, Jake had been hit by a truck during the night. Jake was a member of the family and is terribly missed. He was such a good work dog. He loved chasing cattle and riding in the truck with Dad and Shawn. Both boys took it hard, actually, we haven’t really talked about it much. The kids really loved him and he didn’t mind ‘picking up’ after them at meal time either!
*Back to Dig’s party…He wanted Barney on his cake…so that’s what he got. He received many nice gifts, clothes, a Tonka truck, a Hawkeye nightlight, a Hawkeye ball, a baseball T, a complete David Beckham L.A. soccer uniform, socks, shin guards, Adidas shoes, and soccer ball from “Knuckle Teev.” The best part was having family over. I made gumbo burgers, party potatoes, a carmel apple salad, and oven baked beans. Then we had cake and cinnamon ice-cream. I think, of the 5 birthday parties we’ve hosted for the kids, this was the nicest and most relaxed. It was just a really fun evening.
*After Dig’s party, Mom and Dad left for Victoria, British Columbia. And…of course, the kids were sick again. Well, Lane was never better…I’ve decided now that alot of his is from teeth. He’s getting all 4 eye-teeth…the most painful of all. The last 3 nights have been rough. I’ve ended up sleeping with him in his bed so I can just pat his back and give him a drink to try and ease the hurt. He’s on Motrin and some anbesol, also we’re using a cotton swab to dab some of his “magic mouthwash” on the areas to numb it a little. But he has a low grade fever and you can tell he’s hurting. The worst part is knowing I can’t help very much. He’ll wake up in the night and say, “Rock, Mommy.” So we rock until he falls back asleep, then try it again. Poor little guy.
*Drue is doing well…she’s very into “being a big kid.” She scolds Dig and I tell her, “I’m the mom, I ‘ll take care of it,” she replies crying, “I just want to be the mom.” Today she was pretending she was 4. Which is just 4 months away, but oh my….4 year olds act much older than 3 1/2 year olds! She loves picking out her own outfits and I think they’re adorable, even if they clash horrifically! She really enjoys Sunday school and Library Storytime. Can’t believe she’ll be in preschool next year!
Well…actually, as far as ‘exciting’ news…we have none and rarely do…but you’re kind of caught up. I need to post pics. but our computer is so slow, I dread it. I need to check into different options as far as internet connections…ick…not my area…but unfortunately, not Ry’s either!
Better head to the bath…