99 Putting Off the Inevitable

Every time I start to clean I come up with more and more reasons to not clean, in a cleaning type way. It seemed like the perfect time to move my Grandmother's dressing table from inside the door to the other side of the bed. It is kind of like cleaning since it has just been gathering dust and piles of books and magazines. It really is one of my favorite things and I hate that it has been so overlooked and unused. The mirror in it has seen at least five generations of my family. You can't help but be beautiful when you look in it. That might be because it has become quite aged. The mirror aspect is diminishing. There are streaks and spots to look around. But we like to think it is because it reflects the beauty of the past onto our faces today. I always feel close to my Grandma when I look into this mirror. It is synonymous with her house, with her room. I remember sitting in her room gazing at myself. I remember her, sitting in the burgundy velvet chair in the corner. All of it rolls together into the best moments spent with her. How can you miss someone when they are always so close? Of course I would love to be able to wrap my arms around her (I would have to bend over quite a bit by now) but she is always there. I have never felt like she is gone. She has been watching over me for twenty years now, and I know she is not planning on stopping.
In the process of moving the bedside table and the dressing table I have created an even bigger mess. I would take a picture, but the rest of the room is horrendous!! Oh well ...

98 Drowning

Apparently blogging at 4 am was not my best choice. It came off more snarky than just whiney like I intended it. Yeah, I was a bit put out. Mainly I was trying to get the point across that 6 year olds are NUTS! It does not matter what you tell them, they hear what they want. And if they don't hear it, then they will keep you talking until they do. The sleepover, not a huge deal ... waking Connor up when they have been told OVER AND OVER not to wake him, much worse. The snatchy/grabby/bad mood bear, not my favorite thing, but we all know that they have their days. Katie definitely has her moments. I am just glad it is not usually around large groups of people!
Also, it has just hit me that Connor will be A YEAR OLD in just under two weeks now. I have to clean my WHOLE house, not just Katie's room. Okay, so you say I should have my house clean anyway. But it is not! It is not dirty, just messy. It is swept, and mopped and vacuumed, but it is covered in a thick layer of toys. I was trying to tackle Katie's room because it has needed it the longest. When we cleared out her "toy room" to make Connor's nursery most of that stuff just got shoved into Katie's room. It was way past the point I could expect her to even try to clean it up. It was so bad!! At her birthday party a few of the kids went upstairs and I heard one little boy say "It's like a toy store exploded in here!" And it was, and it will not be when I get through with it. There has to be a point where I draw the line, and it has been drawn ... only it got erased when I had to let Katie back into her room for the sleepover. She had been sleeping in the guest/craft room, but that is just a twin size bed surrounded by stacks and piles of craft and scrapbooking stuff that needs to find a permanent home. I could not let someone else's child sleep in that room. Katie knows not to mess with it, but you get two 6 year olds together and they will talk each other into so much they know they should not be doing.
Last night I finally took apart Connor's bassinett. It had been in our bedroom just holding a pile of clothes for about 8 months. I am hoping that as I eliminate the extra surfaces and receptacles that the clutter will have to be put away in the proper places. It is just so easy to throw the clothes that need to be ironed in a pile and leave them. I hate ironing, and finding the time to iron more than Chip's shirts for work is impossible. Finding time to do much of anything is nearly impossible. Oh, you say maybe I should be cleaning instead of blogging. Can't! Chip and Connor have fallen asleep in the living room again. Since it is a "great room" that means I can't clean the kitchen or the dining area. Might as well count out the bedroom because that would be right beside it. I could go upstairs, but I have done as much as I can until we get the closet organizer that Chip wants to get.
Pretty much I am DROWNING under toys and laundry and clutter. Instead of gasping for breath I am just lashing out at anything around me that is not just right. I feel powerless to change it. I am a stay at home Mom, but since Chip works at night I never really have time to do anything ALONE! He goes to work right after Katie gets home, so I always have someone to entertain (or sneak around while he sleeps). And of course there is Connor. He is my little hip baby. He will cry and cry until I pick him up and take him with me. I can't bob and dip and weave with a 25 pound baby on my hip. I can't mop one handed, or fold laundry.
I'M DROWNING!
I'M DROWNING!
I'M DROWNING!

97 Sleepovers and Concerts

I was going to blog last night, but it would have turned into a rant. I was, let's say perturbed. I have been trying to get Katie's room FINALLY straightened up, but Chip is wanting to redo her closet, but wants to wait until his days off to get that going, so we are at a standstill. And while I am cleaning and paring down I want to paint her room, which she wants to be her "Hannah" room. I just want it to be pretty and something she can enjoy when she decides she does not like Hannah anymore, oh yes that day will come. Anyway, her bed was completely covered with stuff that would be staying in the room or had not made it out the door, so when she and her friend wanted to spend the night I told them no because there was no place for them to sleep. Apparently her friend had it set in her head that she was sleeping over because she showed up at my door at dusk with her backpack. Even Katie was a bit shocked. MY DAUGHTER HAD ACTUALLY LISTENED TO ME!!! So, I was shocked. I did not want to deal with little girl tears, so I let her stay. It was not too bad, I shifted the stuff to the floor and made the bed. They got in bed just after nine, so that was good. Three hours later when I heard a thunk and Katie crying because she fell out of bed, not so good, especially since I had just crawled into my own bed. So, I got Katie calmed down and back asleep, then Connor woke up and would not go back down for 2 more hours! He does not often wake up in the middle of the night, but I expected him to sleep until around 10 so I was not too worried about it. THEN I was awoken at 7:50am by the sounds of little girl voices on the BABY MONITOR! They had woken themselves up, left me asleep, then decided it was a good idea to wake Connor up. By the time I got upstairs, Katie was IN his crib and her friend was climbing in, too. Okay, so nbow I think it is pretty funny ... but at the time I was livid! Hopefully they will actually remember the reason they will not be having a sleepover for the next month! And yes, her friend's Mom reads this blog, but I already told her all of this, so it is old news. I just am still a bit miffed and needed to get it out. Shake my fist at the sky and scream. I bring it on myself. Next time we will just have to battle some tears when I send her friends home.
Okay, so it was still a bit of a rant ...
We had talked about taking the girls to Memphis Rock'n'Romp which is a family friendly concert. Basically they get a few kid friendly bands together and set up in a HUGE backyard. I had seen pictures from the last one on a blog I love and it looked like kids and adults were having a blast. Later I learned that they help put the event together. Totally out of my comfort zone to take Katie to something like that, especially when I would be surrounded by strangers, but it looked like that much fun. So, we had tentatively planned to take the girls, but when they started getting snarky with each other we decided they'd had enough together time. Normally at this point I would have just decided to chuck the plans out the window and stay in my nice familiar house. BUT KATIE CRUMPLED! She had been looking forward to going "to a concert"! I can take her tears because they are usually fake, but when she has her heart set on something and it is taken away she falls apart. I am not really giving in, I am just following through on our plans - right!?!? And, as luck would have it the event was taking place just around the corner from another one of her little friends. We never get up to see them, so I sent them a text about it (yeah, still not big on calling). Monica was SICK, so I offered to take October with us and give her some rest time. Katie was over the moon! She was going to see a concert AND October! I think we just beat out that petting zoo! So, we pick her up and get to the Rock'n'Romp. Everything is going smoothly. The backyard is huge, with an awesome swingset to play on. The first band is playing. I thought 'Tober would especially love the music and dancing because her parents are part of the Memphis music scene. The girls were so excited to play together. Then it happened, October started being a little brat. She is pretty shy, so we will chalk it up to being around new kids. She was snatching balls from other kids, trying to make kids give up the swing so she could get on it, and just generally being a poo. Then she started walking away from Katie, telling her she wanted to be "alone." I tried, oh how I tried to get her to shape up, but she would just keep doing the same stuff. I got tired of walking after her telling her that she could not just take a ball out of someone's hands. I was sick of telling her to SHARE THE TOYS THAT ARE NOT EVEN HERS! So, I called Monica and told her I would be bringing her home if things did not change soon. At this point, October was sitting against a tree pouting because I had dared to call her Mom. Then when I told her I would have to take her home, she crumpled (and I obviously can't stand that). I told her we could just start over, wipe the slate clean, and if they could go play nicely and have fun then we could stay. And they did ... until about 15 minutes before it was supposed to be over. Katie came up to tell me that October had poured sand down a little boys shirt. She was a little hellion. I wanted to hand a sign around her neck that said "Not Mine, Borrowed for the Day". I was embarrassed! I was waiting for another parent to come up to me about it. I have a picture of a little girl talking to her Dad and pointing at the play area, and I am a little worried that she was telling him about something October did to her.
Someone needs to remind me to stop punishing myself. I need to take the kids that share my DNA and just leave the others with their own mothers!!
Rock'n'Romp was great though. I stepped even further past my comfort zone and actually introduced myself to the writer's of the blog I have been keeping up with, and they introduced me to all the other Memphis blog writer's I read. Connor had fun crawling around with another little boy, I think his name was Samuel. They shared a ball and a lot of mulch. Katie had a good time, even though SHE was fed up with October's behavior, and even though October would not go dance with her. Next time I will just have to force another family to come along. At least her sleepover buddy would have danced and played!!
Here are some pics from Memphis Rock'n'Romp. I would have taken more if I wasn't on manners patrol.

96 Talking Turkey

Today the Happy Times Farm Traveling Petting Zoo came to Katie's school! Oh, the excitement! Farm animals that you can touch. What gets kids more excited than touching dirty, smelly animals? Pretty much nothing. Oh, well there is always being allowed to ride them.
I signed up to help out, and my piece of paper said small animals. Lucky for me there were several parents hanging around the small animals, so I was able to patrol the grounds and get a lot of pictures. My friend Toya was in charge of the turkeys, and later she handed them off to me. I thought we would just stand around and let the kids try to pet them if they came close enough, but OH NO, we were allowed to pick them up.
Most were young turkeys, but there was one BIG tom, aptly named Thomas.
We were not about to pick him up, and I am pretty sure he was quite happy with that arrangement, though almost every kid that came by wanted us to pick up "that big one right there!" We were apparently in the Thanksgiving pen because we also were in charge of a nice big goose with the original name of Goosey Lucy. Also, not picking him/her up!! Most kids were happy to simply pet the turkey, maybe touch his wattle. A few wanted feathers (no, too gross). They asked about their wattles and their combs and the big ones beard. Then there was one little girl that was obsessed with whether or not the turkeys could talk. And if they can talk, then why aren't they talking? So I said, they have nothing to say. BUT WHY? This little girl would not leave me alone about the poor turkeys talking. She pointed at each one, can that one talk? can that one talk? can THAT one talk? AND THEN ONE DECIDED TO TALK What did he say????? ARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!! I know, they are at that age, but geez!! Most kids lay off an idea after a few minutes, but this girl wanted to KNOW what those turkeys were saying. And if they could have, I am sure she would have been perfectly happy for them to have talked to her. Those poor birds were EXHAUSTED!! A couple of them just walked to the middle of the pen to lay down. Their eyes were open, but they were tuckered! They would just sit there glancing about nervously, making sure I was not going to pick them up and force them to get petted.
There was a train ride, another big hit.

I did get to go down with Katie's class while they were having their pony rides. That girl does love a good pony ride. She still brings up the time we went to the MidSouth Fair with Riley and they rode the ponies. She would have been happy to go round and round all day.

Katie's horse was named Babydoll :)

One of the best things about volunteering to help out at school ... Katie is so excited to see me! She sounds so proud when she introduces me. How much longer that will last?? Not sure, but I am hoping to hold on for a few more years. One of these days Mama following her around will not be the highlight of her day, but I am going to hold those days off as long as possible!!

95 Just a pic from the Ole Days!

After sharing the pic of Riley and Katie on the big tree by the Student Union in the last post I decided I needed to dig up the other pics of them on the tree. These were taken October 28, 2006. Where have the years gone?????


Oh my ... just realized that Katie is wearing the same skirt!! Her narrow little booty has not changed too much.

94 Just Grovin'

Once a year we try to get as many of the old Ole Miss crowd together for a football game. This year we decided on the Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt game. Yes, I know the game was MISERABLE, but The Grove was wonderful!! It rained and got muddy, but we had our friends together in one place and that made everything better. Every year Chip and I leave saying "we have got to get together more often", but it just never seems to happen. Life gets in the way. School and work and just plain laziness. So this year, lets make that change. Who would not want to spend more time with the people they feel relaxed and comfortable with. We spent some great years getting to know each other, and we have scattered a bit and don't get to see each other enough, but the moment we see each other again it is just like old times. We laugh, we talk, we hug. Now we get to see our children play together!! So actually, it is even better than the good ol' days! We love you all and hope to see you soon!!

93 Just another day in the ER ...

okay, so I am playing catch-up again.
Thursday (which was also picture day),
when I picked Katie up from school she was chasing after her friend Mia and did a header down the hill path. The same path I shake my head at every day, and think if I had the time (and money) I would try to do something about. This path that I walked up and down pregnant. It is rocky and full of divots. The net stuff they put down to slow the erosion is coming out and is ragged. I tell Katie nearly everyday "DON'T RUN!!!!", but then she is not known for listening. Anyways, she fell and stands up holding her arm, so I automatically assume she landed on her arm (did I mention I am carting Connor around on my hip). I picked her up and brought her back up the hill and we sat down and I checked her out. Arm was fine, and she said she was just scared. We went and picked up Sonic, came home and Mia came down. Katie started complaining that her head hurt. And she complained more and more. I tried to give her Tylenol, but ever since she broke her arm that has been a fight, but we finally managed to get them down. She was acting weird, but her pupils looked fine and she said she could see fine, so I let her rest. She fell asleep a few times, but woke up just fine. Well, if you don't count the screaming and crying "I want my Mama!" And that would continue even when I was holding her in my lap. My good friend Charity came over to look her over since she is a nurse, but like I said, she seemed fine. Then she started to complain that her tummy hurt ... and then she puked. She was also saying that it hurt to bend forward. I texted Charity the new developments, and she thought we should take her on in to the ER. So, off to the ER we go. We got there at 9pm, and a mere 3 hours later we had finally seen a doctor and taken a CT scan. (thank goodness we had been placed on the "fast track") They take those head injuries pretty lightly apparently. Katie was starving, Connor was restless, we were all exhausted.
Thankfully the CT came back normal, no cracks and no bleeding. They finally let Katie have some crackers and she kept those down so we got to go home. It was 2 am ... no school for Katie again. She still says her head hurts, but she is doing better. I have told her that we will not be going anywhere near that hill again ... EVER!! Never Ever!! I don't know what it is that makes that child so accident prone. If she is not hurting herself then someone else is helping her get hurt. You would think that she would have slowed down after the broken arm, become more cautious, but NO, she is as crazy as ever. Now if those shackles I ordered would just come in...

92 It finally happened ....

Hell has officially FROZEN over. I have had enough and I am not taking it anymore. I finally got tired of stepping over and walking around and repiling all the stuff in Katie's room. I was trying to wait until I had time to do it at one fell swoop, but let's face it! I have an 11 month old and a hubby that sleeps all day. Even that brief reprieve while Katie is at school is not enough since I have to wait until I get the munchkin man down for a nap. Factor in that he is LEARNING TO WALK!! (our step max is at 4, but they are getting less wobbly) and you now know he does not want to nap. He wants to monopolize every single moment of my time that is not already devoted to sipping coffee. Okay, so he is pretty happy amusing himself for a while, but I just can't stand not to mess with him and pick him up for kisses at least every ten minutes. So, waiting for naptime was my only hope. I was just about to start chunking stuff out the window when I realized that I really need to document how BAD her room really is. Mom, I apologize for how embarrassed you are going to be that I am showing how messy Katie's room really was.



And yes, I take most of the responsibility for how bad her room really became. It was pretty full to start with, and then when it was time to do the nursery we had to clear out Katie's toy room, and it had to go somewhere. I had planned on taking my time, but since our bundle of joy was delivered early we needed to get his room ready. We had procrastinated way too long, and as uaul I ended up just going ahead and getting it done, which means everything got shifted into Katie's room with the plan to put it away later. Well, it is definitely later. I did get some of her outgrown LARGE toys out of the room. She had a Cinderella vanity and wardrobe that went to the garage, and her kitchen. The train table was put into the attic to await Connor. Now comes the real fun ... I get to sift through all the tiny little toys that are left. All the makeup and the Polly Pockets. All the stickers and art stuff. Barbie's and Pony's and stuffed animals. Baby dolls and their clothes. HAPPY MEAL TOYS!! Oh, the pile of junk is neverending. Katie has been kicked out of her room until it is completed though. She will enjoy sleeping in the "blue room" or with mommy and daddy. Maybe while I have it cleaned I should go ahead and repaint it. She wants a dark pink color. Apparently "Golden Margarita" is just too sunny and cheerful for her.


I have this weird dream that once I clean her room and give it back to her she will be capable of keeping it clean herself. I am sure that you all enjoyed a good laugh when you read that.... you're welcome!
I also tried to trim her unruly mop tonight. She refused to get a bath first, so I was using the spray bottle method... we will see how it looks in the morning :)

91

Katie has been begging for us to take her to the Zoo after we pick her up from school one day, so this past Friday I told her that I would take her if it was not raining. Luckily Ike was not making his appearance up our way yet (and we still have not seen much from him, thank goodness) so I packed up the car and picked Katie up from school. She had originally asked to bring Mia, but Mia has cheerleading on Friday so I knew she would not be able to go. So, Katie decided it would be Mommy-Daughter Date day, and Connor too of course. But her little boyfriend Jacob heard me say ZOO and he wanted to go, and I am always up for another adult on these trips ... but Katie said she did not want him to come. Poor little guy, broke his heart. He was crying!! He was so manly about it though, when Katie tried to talk to him he turned his back on her so she could not see his tears. I am not sure whether I can call him her boyfriend anymore. He would probably prefer a girlfriend that wants to spend time with him. Don't feel too bad, his Mom cheered him up by taking him bowling (and from what I heard he trounced his Mom and his Dad). Katie did not feel bad about it at the time, she had her heart set on it being us and she did not want that to change, but that night when I was tucking her in she asked if Jacob was still upset. She was worried that he was still crying. She did feel bad about it then ... after she had her fun. We had a long talk about hurting people's feelings, you know, the one we have to have about once a week. I should be happy that she is still young enough to WANT to spend time with me, instead of a cute boy, but I just wish she could do it without breaking that little guy's heart!
The Zoo turned out to be pretty boring. They were setting up for the Zoo Rendezvous, so there were tables everywhere and some of the exhibits were closed for cleaning. It was also pretty deserted. And, one of Katie's main reasons to go to the zoo is for an icee/flavored shaved ice thing. And they were not open!! She had even brought her own 3 dollars to buy it. You know she loves it if she is willing to spend her own money on it. Other than that it was a pretty good zoo trip.

Katie wanted to see the Penguins first, so we went to Penguin Rock, or whatever they want to call it. At first we thought there were no penguins, but we peeked around the back and they were all hiding. Then we headed to Once Upon a Farm, but she did not even want to walk through the whole area because she wanted to get her icee. It was horribly hot, so I was looking forward to having an icee myself! So, we took the quickest route to the other side of the park. Well, if you don't count the detour into the gift shop at the China exhibit - she picked out two pencils here, one for her and one for Mia. And then the icee cart was closed ... so we trudged over to the Northwest Passage to see the Polar Bears and the Sealions. Katie always loves to get in the "bubble" and this time there was no one else around so I put Connor in with her. Then it was back out through the African Animals. There was a new BABY GIRAFFE born on August 29th. He was so sweet! Then through the monkeys where we got to see our new Gorillas up close for the first time. And on to Katie's other favorite zoo time activity, the gift shop. It amazes me how hard it is for her to pick out the little trinket she wants. She has to look through the whole store and weigh her options. Connor was A LOT EASIER! Well, I guess he would be since he can't talk, but he loved what I picked out for him. A new ball and a straw-cup.
Katie picked out a bubble necklace shaped like a butterfly ... and LIPGLOSS shaped like a monkey head. The zoo was still open for 30 more minutes so we swung through Cat Country and she got to play on the playground for a few minutes. (her arm and hand are not perfect, but the last time we came to the zoo she could not climb this! She got to the top but did not have the strength in her right hand to climb onto the platform, but no problem this time!!)
And of course, both kids fell asleep on the way home. I on the other hand was kept awake by the lovely Memphis traffic, and trying to keep up with gas prices. I saw everything from 3.99 to 3.42. Some places were changing their prices as we drove by. The places with a decent price were PACKED!! Cars were in the street trying to get in. I was lucky with my car over half a tank, so I did not have to fight the lines. My neighbors did try to get gas. One of them got to the pump and all that was left was premium. The other got to the pump and nothing was left. I will just stay close to home so I don't have to worry too much about it.
Other than that we have just spent a lot of time splashing around in the pool. I have some great pics of Chip throwing Katie in the air, but he would hate me if I posted them. Connor went underwater for the first time!! And second and third. He did okay, but he did manage to drink some pool water. I think it was mainly because that is what he really wanted to do. Before Chip even tried to put him under, Connor was dipping his face into the water trying to drink.
Still hard to believe that Connor is 11 months old!! I have to start figuring out what to do for his FIRST BIRTHDAY! How can it have already been a year! I was looking through pictures from when he was born, and it is impossible to remember him being that small. I can't even think how he could have been that TINY! I hold my big chunk all the time and I can't imagine him weighing less. He still has no teeth. He is trying to walk. He will let go of the couch and take a step, but he never gets much past the one step. He babbles all the time, and he loves to pull Katie's hair (and annoy her in every way possible). He is still loving cars and anything with wheels. He is learning how to throw a ball. And, his eyes are turning brown, but his hair is still red! He tries to climb on everything he can climb on, and if he can't climb on it he will try to crawl in it. He is a perfect little tank!
And I totally missed another very important date in our family history. August 27th was the one year anniversary of Katie being SHOT FREE!! As hard as it is to remember Connor being tiny, it is not hard to remember giving Katie shots. It is fresh in my mind the dread we felt everyday as we prepared her insulin shots. I can remember exactly how it felt to sit there with the needle poised, praying not to hit a capillary and make her bleed. She was so brave, and rarely did she complain of it hurting, but that did not make it any easier for us. We felt the pain everytime we gave her that shot. Her re-diagnosis as being monogenic instead of regular Type 1 has completely changed our lives. And all for the better. She has so much more freedom now than she would have been allowed if she was still on insulin. I can't imagine letting her spend the night at someone elses house the way her sugar used to plummet. I can't imagine how many calls we would have received from the school about her sugar fluctuations. This was truly a miracle in her little life, and in ours. Now, if they could just find the outright cure ...

90 DRUMROLL PLEASE .....

This morning, right after Katie rolled out of bed I handed her a Build-A-Bear bear carrrier full of names ...

OK, so it had a very small pile of names, in one corner ...

She dug around for a minute, wondering why she could not look at the names ;)

And then she picked our winner ....

Now, Anonymous JB - remember, this is Leslie's card!! Do not try to steal it from her to go to BABW by yourself. Next time I come home I promise we can all take a trip to Babyland General!!

89 Hurry Up

If you want to get in on the drawing for the Build A Bear giftcard you have until Katie gets home from school today. Of course, since no one else reads my blog ... this is probably it. It is pretty boring, so I can't really blame you ... but hey!! I am giving away a giftcard, so that is pretty cool .... right?!?!?!?

88 It is EASY to be green!

At least when you are talking about pool water. With the rain we have been getting from what was left of Gustav we had not been out to the pool in a few days. Katie wanted to get in, so I headed out to pop some chlorine tabs in and that is when I encountered our new pond. What a lovely addition to our immaculate home, a slime filled pool. Sure Katie, jump right in! The water is FINE!

Since we discovered our own eco-system in the backyard we have drained the pool, and scrubbed the pool, and dried the pool, and now it is filling back up. Of course Katie cannot be expected to wait until it is deep enough to swim in!! Silly idea!



Connor was introduced to two new types of food in the last week ... chocolate donuts and beef jerky. Sure, not the best food for a 10 month old, but you should have seen the look on his face when I was eating in front of him!! Too pitiful, I had to share. He seems to have pulled through just fine.



Katie has decided to become an absolute brat in the last few days. She has always been spoiled, but other than that she has been fairly well behaved ... we have reached the end of that road. The moment she does not get her way, it is ON! She was invited to High School Musical the Ice Tour with her friend Jaclyn ( I would put some of Toya's pics up but my cd drives have decided to die on me). She came home with a little diary (she is all about the diary lately- I think her count is up to 6). She had already managed to "lose" the keys (turns out she was just too lazy to look in the bag) but since all of those locks are the same she went upstairs to get some of her other keys. The ones she found were on a keychain with 2 or 3 LED flashlights and a cat thing. She wanted me to take the keys off, you know the ones that are the perfect size to go in a baby's mouth and never come out. I told her not just no, but hell no! She can't keep anything off the floor and I cannot take the chance. She threw A FIT!!!! She was humphing and snorting and "mean mommy"ing. So I sent her upstairs until she could be nice. She actually pouted herself to sleep later.
That would be before she told me to "Shut Up!" Her little attitude has just gone completely downhill. She got home from school today and Mia came over. Connor was down for a nap. They were told this several times, and they were reminded at least three times to be quiet. They STILL woke him up. I have had enough!! I sent Mia home and grounded Katie for the rest of the day. Oh what a MEAN MEAN MOMMY I am!! I could probably count the times they have not woken Connor up on one hand. I am done! They get one more chance and then they will be required to either stop playing or to play at Mia's house when it is nap time. Anyways, she cried and pouted and buried her head behind the couch. She of course got over that, the pictures in the wade pool were taken after that.
And on a completely different note, Katie's school has started a new curriculum this year called Shurley English. My FIRST GRADER is being taught nouns, verbs, and adverbs. They have to code words for pronunciation. THEY ARE TEACHING THE CURRENT FOURTH GRADERS THE SAME THING!!! We were told that if they could not read by the end of the year then they will be held back. Katie is doing well. Lucky for us, her horrible attitude is not presented to her teachers. Or, lucky for them I should say!! Did you know that first graders are given homework even on Friday nights?!?! They can't even take the weekend off!! Where did childhood go???
Katie's hand and arm are still on the mend. She was coloring and I noticed that she was voluntarily using her right hand again!! It has been 2 and a half weeks since her last visit with the orthapedic and we have still not heard about her nerve conduction test. At this point I am going to refuse to do it without further evaluation. She has made HUGE improvements in that time. Even with her improvements I did pull her out of cheerleading. It will be a while before she can do all the things the other girls are doing, and I know my girl! If she gets frustrated or feels left out then that will color her view on not just cheerleading but all team sports FOREVER! I can't let that happen. If she wants to go back when she is all healed up then we will go right back, the class is for 6-10 year olds so we have time :)
And, on another note ... I take way too many pictures! But this one is adorable!! Love the drool!! Love the little chin!! Love everything about that little man!
As if that is not enough news ... my nephew turned 10 today!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!!!

I did try to call, but could not get you. If I was not falling down tired I would scan some of Austin's baby pics I found the other day, but it is halfway to 3 AM and I have got to find my pillow! Maybe next time. You will be amazed at how much Connor looks like his big cousin.
Where in the world did the time go? It just reminds me how much I miss my family in Atlanta. As much as I don't want to live there, I would be willing to live there just for my family. I am tired of missing out on all the little celebrations. I am tired of them missing out on my babies lives. I am tired of not being able to annoy my brothers. Although they might not miss it. Mostly, I miss my Mommy!! Love you guys!!