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Monday, February 26, 2007

The Weekend Update

Looks like I have three days to share information from. Let's start with Friday. I did go to the doctor on Friday and am now taking an antibiotic for my sinus infection. It's getting a little better, but my ears are still stuffed up and ringing a little.
Saturday we got up early and took Ian to the Awana games practice at our church. He had fun and it was good for him, too. He thought that he could sit out any game he didn't feel like playing, but he found out that he couldn't. I think he's been doing that on Awana nights. Maybe now he won't. Saturday night we called the Airedale rescue. Lucy has started biting at herself again and we were at our limit of what we could do. So we made the call and wished we'd called sooner. They're there to help. So hopefully, they can help us get Lucy healthier and we get to keep her.
Sunday we had a birthday party for Colin's grandma and I got to practice with my camera...a lot!

Friday, February 23, 2007

What's that ringing?

Well, despite my best efforts not to go to the doctor, I'm going to the doctor. Probably won't do any good because I'm not seeing my doctor, but it's worth a try. My head is so stuffed up that my ears started ringing yesterday and today the ringing is worse. I'm hoping for it to go away as soon as possible. Ringing ears and Ian do not mix. He makes noise constantly and it's a little high pitched...ooo, not pleasant.
So at 4:10 I have an appointment...the last one available today. The only good thing about that is it's late enough in the day that I know I won't have to drive home. Colin will do the driving after he gets off work. Hooray!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

The New Camera

It has arrived. The new camera. I've waited and waited for it to arrive and now that it has, I'll wait some more. I broke my rule of only having cameras with AA batteries and this one has a rechargeable battery. You know what you do with a new rechargeable battery? You charge it for hours and hours. So I wait.
This new camera has so many options it makes me a little dizzy. The manual is so big it rivals Jane Eyre for thickness. It's so big that they sent one manual in English and another manual for each of the other languages that the instructions come in.
I am excited about all the cool pictures I can take once I figure this camera out. I promise to post some once that battery finishes charging.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Who Said There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch??

Today I am still stuffed up. My nose is stuffed up and even my ears are stuffed up, and popping, too. Life, however goes on and so must I. Ian had a dental appointment this morning at 11 so I had to get up at a decent time, not a 'I don't feel well, I'll sleep til whenever time'. At one point I was going to let the dog out, I changed my mind when I saw that it was hailing so much that it looked like it was snowing. It stopped a little later so Lucy was able to go out and take care of business.
Since Lucy still leaks off and on (it's better, just not 100%) she was placed in the garage with all her doggie delights and we were on our way to the dentist appointment that Ian didn't want to go to. We got there and he had his teeth polished, flossed and fluoride treated. Then he got to get a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. The dentist looked at all his teeth and declared Ian was good to go and that Ian could get a toy from the prize box. Ian decided that going to the dentist wasn't so bad after all, as long as he didn't have to get any fillings.
Since the appointment was late morning we decided to go get lunch after we were finished so we headed to Ian' favorite place; McDonald's. We got in line and had been waiting for a few minutes before I noticed the signs taped to the cash registers stating that the debit reader machine wasn't working. Normally I would have just left since I don't have cash on me often. This time I had $5 so I figured I'd get Ian's food to go and find something for me somewhere else. I decided to ask Ian if he still wanted food from McD's or if he wanted to get something from somewhere else with me. Well, he was talking to the lady in line behind us. She was obviously an employee of Target as she was wearing their work shirt and her name tag said Target and her name Sharon. I asked Ian the question and before he could answer Sharon offered to buy our lunch. I tried to politely refuse ,but she said "No, no, it'll be my treat. Get whatever you want." I tried to take out my five dollar bill but she told me to put it away. So she bought our lunch.
While we were eating lunch we saw Ian's preschool teacher with her grandsons. So we ate lunch with them and had a great conversation.

Monday, February 19, 2007

The Blanket

Friday at MOPS our craft was making a very pink fleece blanket. Ian thought it should be his because it was warm and fuzzy. He didn't care that it was girlier (I know it isn't really a word, but it fits) than Barbie. I had other plans for it though so I promised I would find some other fabric to make him his own blanket.
Saturday we had some errands to run so while we were doing that we went to Joann's fabric. Colin wanted to frame a poster and they have frames so it was a combined errand. I was heading toward the fleece fabric when I saw the line for getting fabric cut. It was not a pretty sight. Probably 20 people waiting in line. Do you realize how well lines and 5 yr. olds mix? Not very well, but Ian wanted a blanket so we headed for the fleece. On the way there, I saw that the already cut and packaged together blanket "kits" were on sale. I laugh at the idea of calling this a kit. It's two pieces of fleece cut to the same size and vague directions. Ian found one that had monkeys all over it and decided that it reminded him of Curious George so we bought that one.
I put it all together last night after Ian went to bed and when I was finished, I draped over my sleeping Ian. This morning he was snuggled up with his stuffed Curious George and his new blanket watching Curious George on PBS.
I told Colin last night that we have a blanket boy. Some children get attached to one blanket and lug it everywhere...I think Ian collects blankets. We have almost all of his baby blankets (except for a few receiving blankets that I got rid of before Ian really discovered his love of blankets). Any time I mention putting a baby blanket on a yard sale or giving one to Goodwill, he says 'but I love that blanket'. He sleeps with oodles of blankets on top of him. He just loves blankets. At least I know he's warm enough!

Friday, February 16, 2007

A MOPS Friday

It was another MOPS Friday (that's Mother's Of Preschoolers for those of you who don't not, not a mop convention). This time we had oodles of time to talk, gab and chat. We worked on a craft for the majority of the time, a fleece blanket. Mine is almost done, just some knots left to tie.
After MOPS Ian and I ran errands. First we went to Target where I found a new purse that looks summery and I found the new comforter for our bed! Sweet success!! This had recently been a hot topic around our house. No arguments, but frustration had occurred. Colin definitely likes to have input on decorating the house. He doesn't decorate anything, mind you, he just likes to veto things he doesn't like or deems too girly. I had a particular color scheme in mind but so far had only found things with a few flowers on them (not a lot, I promise, only a few embroidered flowers) or shiny fabric...yes, shiny fabric was ruled too girly or just too shiny. Then today at Target I decided to look in the bedding section. I saw a few possibilities...in the wrong size and then there it was...the bedding that just fit the bill. Stripe with some polka dot. Brown and taupe and an aqua color and cream. Stripes = masculine. Polka Dots = feminine. Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner. I called Colin and got the approval...sight unseen by him and now I'm washing it, so it's a done deal. Hooray!!!
Then we went to Wendy's for lunch. As I pulled in to the parking spot I saw a guy with a bike and what looked like a very big backpack. A homeless guy? I wasn't 100% positive, but I thought so. Ian saw him and said 'look a hiker.' I told him he wasn't exactly a hiker. We stood in line by him in the restaurant. Did you ever feel like you should help someone, but you didn't quite know how to go about it or if they even really needed help? I wasn't sure, so I let it go. Later, I figured out how I could have helped him without any embarrassment about not knowing whether he needed help or not. I could have just said "I'd like to pay for your lunch as my random act of kindness for the day." Of course, I didn't think of this until it was much too late to help. Next time, I'll know what to do.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

T-ball

We signed Ian up for T-ball tonight. I think it starts around April 15th. It might require some creative scheduling. Hopefully, none of the games or practices will be on Wednesday nights. Our Wednesday nights are booked until the middle of May.
Ian isn't so sure about T-ball. He told us that he didn't want to play T-ball. I told him that he didn't know what it was and it would be good for him to try.
T-ball out here is through Little League, so that should be neat. Now we're selling candy bars to raise money for Little League here in town. Ian has already sold $10 worth and he just got them at 7 pm. Mommy and Daddy each bought one candy bar and our very sweet neighbors bought eight from him. How cool is that?
As for not wanting to play T-ball...this evening after he had sold the candy bars, Ian told me 'I wish T-ball would hurry up and start so I can see what it's like.'
Anybody want to buy a candy bar from a cute kid?

Extra Tumbling

Ian went early to tumbling today to make up part of a day that he had missed. He was very energetic and could not stand still in line. Here's a couple of highlights from today.
Ian was stretching with the class and they started doing bridges. He did a few bridges, (which he's improved at doing) and decided he wanted to show his teacher. He got her attention and did his bridge and was so proud of himself. He told her "I can do it all by myself." Then he looked straight at me in the little audience area and announced "that doesn't mean I can do them at home! We don't have a mat."
Later they were working on the straddle roll..that's where you sit with your legs spread out, put your arms between your legs and lift your body up and roll forward. Ian told his teacher he was having trouble because 'his legs were just too heavy'.
He was at tumbling for an hour and a half and he was still going a hundred miles a minute!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!! What a fun day. I woke up with another upper respiratory something or other, but I was determined not to let it spoil my day. Colin surprised me with a balloon and candy this morning. Ian surprised me later on by trying to beat my balloon to death in the hallway. Had to put a stop to that right away.
Today was a work day so we headed into town and I had Ian address his Valentine's at his cousin's house. That was his handwriting assignment for the day..he did a great job!
After work we met Colin for a very romantic dinner at Burger King. It's ok, I already had my romantic dinner last weekend. After dinner we were off to church for Awana and Bible study. It was wear as much red as you can for Ian so he wore the following: a red turtleneck, a red t-shirt, a red plaid button down shirt, a red bandanna as a belt, jammies pants that were red, his pooh slippers that have red all over them and my "cat in the hat" hat. He didn't win, but he had fun. Too bad I forgot my camera. I had no chocolate chip cookies left after the Valentine's party and only a few decorated "sugar cookies". I gave the leftovers away. We don't need them.
Colin ran errands while Ian and I were doing our activities. He surprised me by having a friend of ours "deliver" a basket of tulips to me..with mushy card included. What a clever husband!! I can now tell you why delivered flowers get more brownie points than flowers just purchased and handed to you. 1. It makes you feel very special..especially if it's delivered somewhere semi-public. 2. It gives you that 'wow, it's for me?' or 'I've been selected' special feeling. 3. You know it took a little extra time and effort 4. I don't have to cut the stems and dig out a vase. 5. It's just cool.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Cookie Day take 2

I tried to do this earlier..I had it all written and then something went wrong with blogger and I lost my post. Ugh! So here we go again. I am making cookies today. I volunteered to bring "several dozen" cookies for Ian's Awana Valentine party. Several dozen is just ambiguous enough to let me bring as many as I wish as long as it's more than a dozen. I guess I'm making two kinds. Ian wants sugar cookies to decorate and I want something easy...chocolate chip. I'm starting in a few minutes.
Ian is getting ready to do his handwriting. He did his math earlier and then I sent him to some play time. He started doing math with his Fisher Price Little People. I was on the computer and he asked me math questions. "Hey mom, is two plus two four?" Yes. "Is three plus two five?" Yes. I had to peek and see what he was doing. I saw his little people lined up in a group of three and a group two. Clever boy!
Sunday after church we had lunch with Colin's parents. We went to JJ North's. It's a buffet and if you watch what you're doing, it's possible to eat healthy there. Of course, they have some really yummy stuff that isn't healthy at all, but it is possible. We had finished our meal and I asked Ian if he would like to go get some dessert. Of course, he wanted dessert! So we went over and picked out our dessert. On our way back to our table, a server came out to check on what was running low on the buffet. So she hollered to the back 'I need chicken nuggets and okra.' She said it several times and every time she said it I kind of grinned to myself because it sounded like she needed Oprah not okra. I guess I wasn't the only one who had this thought because the last time she said she needed okra a guy in the kitchen hollered back, 'and Dr. Phil!'. Hee hee. That tickled my funny bone

Monday, February 12, 2007

It's Not Here Yet

The new camera did not arrive today. That's the one thing about ordering a camera vs. going to the store and buying it-no instant gratification. I'm hoping it will come tomorrow when I'm home all day.
We are debating what to do with the dog. She's still leaking a bit. Colin is getting frustrated with that. The problem is the whole family loves her. We have her on herbal stuff for her heart and she seems a bit peppier and the leaking is better, just not gone. We could take her to the Airedale rescue and she would live in one of their volunteers homes, but we're all really attached to her...that's a very big step. We would never see her again. I think we'll try a crate and lots of prayers and see if that helps.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

A Night at the Museum

We are celebrating Valentine's day early. Ian is staying with his grandparents and we get to be just a couple for the weekend. Last night we went to dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant and today we went to the movies and watched A Night At The Museum. What a fun movie and no bad language. We loved it! I think it's clean enough and calm enough for Ian to watch it. I think we'll buy it when it comes out on DVD.
Colin got a new CPU today, so he's occupied with his new toy at the moment. My new toy will arrive next week. I can't wait to take some cool pictures. I'm already seeing pictures I want to take with my zoom!
I called and talked to Ian tonight. He was doing very well and had a great time playing with his cousin at the construction site of Colin's parent's new house. I think they played with little cars and Grandma helped them make some ramps for their cars. I have been enjoying the peace and quiet, but I do miss all the hugs and snuggles. We'll pick him up at church tomorrow.
In case you can't tell or haven't heard...I'm over my cold and I didn't end up with sinusitis like I normally do and I didn't even have to go in to the doctor office. That is thanks to the power of prayer and vitamin c. Hooray!!!

Friday, February 9, 2007

Camera Crazy

Here I am, excited about the new camera we ordered...and now here's Ian, excited to be able to use the old one. I let him take some pictures with the camera last night and I fear he's been bitten by the camera bug. He's taking pictures of everything. He took pictures of his pirate ship, the dog, me, his daddy and any toy he could think of. He took a great picture of Lucy's dog toy...the mailman. I'll try to post that one..it's hilarious. This morning all he wants to do is take pictures. I told him he could do that after school. He wasn't too excited by that answer, but I'm sure he'll survive!

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Getting Up to Date

Well, I didn't blog yesterday, so it's time to get up to date. Yesterday I went to the state capitol building to an awards ceremony. Colin was receiving an award for saving the state money. He used his wickedly smart brain to do some cool math and computer stuff to save the state around $53,000 a year. A couple other people helped him with some of the thought process (and he made sure to give them credit) so it was a team award. Pretty cool. He was already awarded some money for that,too. Way to go Colin!
After that was work and then Awana/Bible study...both went very well.
Today Colin was feeling very ungroovy so he stayed home...I think he has a touch of the same bug Ian and I have been fighting. He recovers much quicker than I do and was feeling better in the afternoon, so he got to go with us to Ian's tumbling class. Ian had a great time and I didn't have to help..there was a teenager assisting. Ian did some great backward rolls today! Way to go Ian!
I am getting a new digital camera for Valentine's day. I am very excited. The digital camera I'm using now is a dinosaur. The shutter speed is so slow, you could paint a picture faster! The new camera has ZOOM. I mean it has ZZZOOOMMMMMMM!!!! 12x optical zoom. I am already thinking of all the yummy pictures I can take. Cute birdies in my yard, flowers...maybe a froggy(I won't touch it, but I'd "shoot" it!) Well I think I've done my updating. Tomorrow Ian is spending the night (and Sat. night, too) at his grandma and grandpa's house. That means I will experience quiet. Well, some quiet. My husband will be here and whether he wants to admit it or not, he makes almost exactly the same noises as Ian. Here's to a little peace and quiet. May grandma and grandpa survive the invasion of noise for a little while.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Fewer Teeth To Brush

Ian has had a loose front tooth for a little while. The top left middle tooth..you know one of the "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" teeth. It recently had started getting lower and lower in his mouth. Today it looked very low, so I asked to wiggle it for him. He wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he let me. Daddy is the one that helps pull teeth, so I told him Daddy would probably want to take a look at that tooth tonight.
Then came lunch. Ian ate baby carrots using his side teeth and applesauce was no problem. Then he took a bite of his slice of pizza. He gave me a funny look and pulled all the pizza out of his mouth and announced that his tooth had fallen out! So far he's lost a tooth in an apple, Daddy helped with 2 and now a slice of pizza.
After he rinsed out his mouth he came back to lunch and told me "now I have fewer teeth to brush..for a while".

Monday, February 5, 2007

Santa Claus

If you're surprised to see this topic in February...I was surprised that my son and his friend were still debating this topic in February. We were in my van and they started talking about Santa. Probably Ian's cousin said something about a toy he had being a gift from Santa. Here's what the conversation sounded like:
***side note: our son knows the truth about Santa. We told him when he was old enough to understand the concept of Santa that Mommy and Daddy pretend to be Santa. Until this year, he was content to keep this information to himself. But his cousin firmly believes in Santa..it's brought up some interesting conversation between the two boys. Now, on to today's conversation.
Ian: It's not from Santa. It's really from your mom and dad. Santa isn't real.
Cousin: Yes, he is. I know he's real because I got presents under the tree marked from Santa. Did you get presents marked from Santa?
Ian: No, because it's your mom and dad.
Cousin: Maybe you didn't get any presents marked from Santa because you weren't very good last year.
Seeing that this was going to lead to an even bigger discussion I interject the fact that at our house, Santa does not wrap the presents from him, therefore, they are not marked.
Cousin: Ian, Santa is real. He's a spirit and you can't see.
Ian: You don't see him because he's your mom and dad and they save some presents and put them under the tree to surprise you.
Honestly, they could argue about this topic until they both passed out! I finally had to tell them to stop talking about Santa. The cousin asked me whether Santa was real or not, but I referred him to his parents for discussion on the topic. I'm not going to be the one to let Santa out of the bag! At least the groundhog is real, he's a safe topic.

Monday

Well I made it through the weekend and am back to work even though I still feel kind of crummy. I do feel less crummy than I did I Friday (I think). I am trying to act like I'm not sick, yet still take it kind of easy. I'm taking vitamin c, zinc, Tylenol head cold medicine and ibuprofen (it helps with the swelling in my sinuses). I am really hoping to avoid another trip to the doctor. I seem to go there so often I feel like I should a frequent "flyer" reward program with them...I'd probably earn enough miles to go to Hawaii in no time at all.
Ian decided to tell a joke today. 5 yr. olds and jokes just don't really work. I still remember my brother, Bob telling a joke around the age of 5...something about flying pigs. It made absolutely no sense, but he laughed like he was at a comedy club. Here's the joke Ian told today:
What did the farmer say to the barn??? (To give the answer he made his voice deeper..as deep as a 5 yr. old can get his voice) Answer: I'm gonna store my animals in you.
Then he laughed and laughed. Not a funny joke, although I must say the deep voice...very funny!
I didn't watch the Super Bowl yesterday...I watched HGTV instead. Colin was rooting for the Colts before the game began, but then he switched to the Bears at kickoff. I have no idea why he did that. He seemed to have enjoyed the game. I enjoyed the home improvement shows.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

How To Get Well

I haven't written in here for a while, I've been fighting a cold. Ian has been fighting a little head cold, too. We have very different approaches to how to get well. Here are our approaches to getting well:
Mommy's Approach:
Take extra vitamin C, drink plenty of fluids, take head cold remedy, make sure not to forget allergy medicine (just in case it's allergies), get extra rest, blow nose often. Repeat as needed.
Ian's Approach: wake Mommy in the middle of the night to complain about cough, get cough syrup, sleep a few more hours, get up and act as if you are not sick...run around the house for hours up and down the hall until Mommy begs you to stop, ignore runny nose..just let it go..suck it up if necessary or wipe it if Mommy tells you to, snack often, don't get extra rest. Ask for cough syrup at bedtime. Repeat at whim.
Guess who is looking better and who isn't? I'm planning to ignore my cold, too. Maybe it will get bored and go away!

Thursday, February 1, 2007

No Tumbling Today

Tumbling is going today, but we're not. Ian also has an ooky nose and the thought of him rolling around on tumbling mats with a runny nose...not cool. So we're staying home. Hopefully, we'll stop the spread of this runny stuff.
Yesterday, after I took the boys to McDonald's, we arrived back at his cousin's house to see flowers had been delivered while we were gone. For one brief shining moment I entertained the thought that maybe my husband had ordered flowers to be delivered to me. No, they weren't for me. They were for the cousin's mom and dad.
Isn't it cool when someone delivers flowers to you?? I've only had that happen a couple of times in my life. Once, for a birthday present from my Aunt Gail...red roses..very cool surprise. Then when I was sick with cancer I got some flowers and plants delivered to the hospital and my house...nice, but not as cool as a surprise gift..and not as fun because, well, I was sick. I've ordered flowers to be delivered to my mom on Mother's Day before...that was cool to surprise her. Now, don't get me wrong, I have received many flowers from my husband, just they were the kind you pick up at the store and bring home (which is MUCH more economical than ordering flowers delivered by the florist), but I still think it's cool to have flowers delivered to you and if it happens not because it's a holiday, but just because someone was thinking about you...even better! So if you have flowers delivered to your house all the time (not from yourself) you are very blessed!

Fighting Something

Well, I'm fighting something again. I haven't quite decided if it's a cold bug or allergies. Not that I really care, I just want it to go away. The last two mornings I've woken up with a ooky nose and a voice that would make Darth Vader sound feminine.
So I have purchased the allergy medicine that I ran out of right before this started and am taking extra vitamin c in the hopes that this will go away quickly.
Yesterday was a busy day. Work and Bible study for me, Awana for Ian. We ran some errands before work and after AWANA. I think we were gone over 12 hours yesterday.
I took Ian and his cousin to McDonald's yesterday to have lunch and play on the Playland. Please watch your kids like a hawk when you are places like that. I tend to do that already, but yesterday sure reinforced that for me. There were lots of kids playing when we got there, some big kids, some younger kids. Many left shortly after we got there since it was getting close to 1:00. There were some girls and another little boy...probably 3 1/2 or 4 yrs. old. Another mom came in a little bit later with her 4 yr. son and 2 1/2 yr. old daughter. Ian and his buddy were playing so I was watching all the kids play. I saw that the two younger boys buddied up and thought that was cute. They ran around awhile and then they sat together in a kind of clear "bubble" thing up high in front of me. They were smiling and laughing. The younger looking boy was kind of grabbing at the other 4 yr. old. I thought I saw something that shouldn't happen, looked and again and thought 'yep, better stop that'. The younger boy kept pulling at the 4 yr. old's pants, mostly at the back, but some at the front. I wasn't the only one who could see this, but no one else was saying anything so I told the 4 yr. old's mom that she probably wanted to get her son away from the other boy. She started over to the bubble, by this time the poor boy's little bum was completely exposed, she started hollering for her son to get away and for the other boy to stop. The other boy completely smashed his face into the 4 yr. old's bum. The other lady (the one who had brought the younger boy) had to crawl up in there and get him away from the 4 yr. old. The 4 yr. old's mom thanked me over and over. It was pretty disturbing. I'm super cautious when older kids are in there, but I guess you just never know, this time it was a little kid. I will definitely be keeping an even closer watch if we're at one of those Playlands.