I'm ALIVE!!

Remember when I completely lost my mind and invited all of the girls from Cassie's class to come to my place (a duplex) and spend the night here? All 11, not including Cassie. Yeah? Well tonight is that night

And I'm here to report that it is 330 in the morning, the kids are all asleep, and I'm still alive. I've succeeded...overcome...and won! Take that...uh...witches? At this point I feel like I could leap over buildings in a single jump, run a marathon, or save babies from burning buildings. Unfortunately it is 330 in the morning and I should get to sleep before the first of them start waking up. And here I was looking forward to that marathon. Darn!

I'll fill you in on details tomorrow.

Pumping up for the Marathon

I know what you are all thinking, and yet are afraid to say out loud. And yes, I am on a posting streak. Other then NaBloPoMo, I think this may be the longest stretch I've done in a long while. See, staying up until 1:30 - 3:00 has its advantages.

However, there are times that I'd like to be able to go to bed earlier. Tonight is one of those nights. Tomorrow I have to be awake and ready to go once I bring the girls to school. Tomorrow is the Marathon of Knowledge of school and I volunteered to help out all day. They took me up on the whole day thing and I'll be reading to kids for the entire day. Now, while I'm not positive of what this exactly means (I'll find out at 9 tomorrow morning - which is actually this morning) I'm pretty sure this means that I'll spend the day reading questions to the kids and quizzing them. This means lots of reading and therefore, probably a sore throat. I plan on bringing water. And soda. And hard candies. And gum. And maybe some chapstick.

It'll be a fun day over all though, I'm sure. The girls are pumped and I went through questions like 2-3times tonight. We'll go through them one more time in the morning to try to keep the answers fresh in their heads.

Now I'm sure you are wondering what the questions are. I'd love to type them all up right now, but seriously? That would be 200 questions plus the bonus questions. That would be a lot of typing this early in the morning. Maybe I'll work on that tomorrow, but only if I run out of things to do. That is seriously a lot of typing.
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Today I received another call for Cassie's party. The girl is coming to the makeover part, but won't be sleeping overnight. Can't say that I'm overly sad. I don't know what I'm going to do with all these girls. What on Earth was I on when I concocted this idea? And what possessed me to write out those invites and allow Cassie to bring them to school to hand out? The worst part is that I have no one that will take the challenge of spending the night here with me. Something about me making my bed and now having to lay in it.

Now I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that I won't get much time that night to lay in my bed or sleep so I'm pretty much left with 'making my bed'. And I'm getting the feeling that people don't feel bad for me at all. Whenever I talk about it people just laugh.

Honestly though, I know that it is crazy and I should be committed for even thinking about inviting this many girls to my home, but I know that it is Cassie's favorite birthday yet (it hasn't even happened yet) and that she will probably never forget it. And for her, I'd do crazy things. Things that could get me committed because I love seeing that smile. Hearing that giggle. and watching those eyes twinkle.

It is amazing what one child can do to a person. I used to just think about me and now I find myself just wanting my girls to be happy. As long as they are healthy and happy nothing else in the world matters.

To prove that I'm even more insane though, because you need more proof, I'm checking into how much it would be to rent out a roller rink for Kalli's birthday and then inviting her whole class. I'd also let Cassie invite a few friends so she'd have a few kids her age.

So to recap, I'm nuts, but my kids rock because they have awesome parties and awesome parents. At this rate what on Earth will I do for their 16th Birthdays. Someone better tie me up that year.

Taking Care of Paula

Tonight I am taking care of me.


Tonight both the girls are gone sleeping over places. Earlier I cleaned the entire living room, including moving the couch out and vacuuming the couch. I then headed upstairs and cleaned the bathroom before taking a shower.

I just came downstairs and was going to start on the kitchen when I thought... "screw it! I deserve a night off." I made a bowl of popcorn grabbed my last wine cooler and sat down here to play some games and to blog.

I looked over at Andy, who is playing Xbox online as he does every Friday, and he looked at me. I nodded at my popcorn and beverage and said, "I'm taking care of me." He nodded and said that it was good that I do it.

My psychologist would be proud. She is always telling me to take time for me and to allow myself to do nothing. And for the most part, I can't. Tonight though, I decided to just stop and sit... (Not that it is easy to do) and allow myself a break.

Cassie informed me today that it is 11 days until her party. She isn't excited at all. Seriously...I only think the ENTIRE school knows about her party. And I'm more then likely not over exaggerating that much.

Yesterday (the day handed out the invites) evening I received the first RSVP. One girl coming and staying overnight. Then today, Cassie comes home from school and informs me that 4 more girls are coming, but one can't stay overnight. Alright...we are up to 5 for the makeover now and 4 for the overnight. And, again I'll say it, the invites were given out yesterday. I did tell Cassie, though, to have the girls call me, or have a parent call me to make it official.

Have I mentioned the fact that I'm a little scared? Only one no go for sleepover so far. I know that a lot can happen yet, but the nerves are beginning to twitch. I think I may have been under the influence of drugs when I made this decision. Some really strong drugs. So...at the worst, I will have 11 girls, plus my own here for the makeover and then 10 girls, plus Cassie, for the overnight. How bad could it be??

Someone catch me...I'm feeling light-headed.

You said you wanted me to post more...

I have a few problems. And I'm coming to you, my adoring fans...er...fan, for your input. If not....hey, I should be able to at least make you laugh...on my behalf of course. Now where to start.

Let's start off with something more simple. Last night I went in for a Sleep Study to attempt to find out why on Earth it is that I'm so unbelievably exhausted. Ya know...like the fact that I can't keep my eyes from wanting to shut and stay shut when driving a little distance. For some reason other drivers don't care for it when you try to drive with your eyes shut. Also: people within the vehicle you are driving don't really like it also. It makes them nervous. Darn pansies.

So I went for my study and I slept. I woke up a few times to move some, and it did take me a while to fall asleep. HELLO...not the easiest to fall asleep when you are this wired.

This morning they woke me (side note: one will wake faster and be more alert then normal when being waken by a stranger in your not-normal setting. Good Morning Nurse Lady!) and told me that I have Sleep Apnea and will have to come back another night to sleep with a CPAP on to find out what pressure works for me. Yeah...that was a lot of words to get the idea across that I will be going back to sleep in not-my-bed at not-my-home with a scuba diving type mask on forcing air into me. (And I'm now wondering why is it no one has ever inflated and floated away while hooked up to a CPAP...I'm imagining a cartoon of someone floating against the ceiling with the tubing tethering them to the machine. Spouse in the room, looking up..."uh...honey?")

But I digress. All this is to say that I do have Sleep Apnea (in the first 1/2 of my study I stopped breathing every 9 minutes, on average. Cool, eh? Also: Never before did I study for sleeping. Maybe that is why babies don't sleep through the night at first...they are studying how to. Yeah yeah...bad humor. It's 11:48 at night, give me a break.) In a couple weeks I will go back and then work on getting my own CPAP for here at home. I'm hoping to then dream of scuba diving in some beautiful reef and waking up refreshed. Hey, a girl can hope.

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I'm going to once again try to prove that I'm either completely crazy or an awesome mom. At the end of this month I have invited all 11, you read that right...eleven, girls from Cassie's class to come to Cassie's VERY LATE birthday party.

A friend of mine, who is actually a Mary Kaye consultant, and I will be giving the girls mini facials and teaching them a little about skin care. The girls will then be able to put a little age appropriate make up on (aka lip gloss and light shimmering eye shadow) Yup...keeping things age appropriate...no making these girls look like hoochies here. I've also asked my almost sister-in-law to come help do mini-manicures too. Alright, so we are just painting nails...I can make believe if the kids can.

Then, just to test my sanity, I've invited all 11 of these girls to spend the night here. At my home. Where I will be.

Andy has already told me he doesn't care what I do because he will be playing his Xbox all night. That is 'man' for "you're on your own toots!" I figure there is a very low chance that all the girls will be able to come and stay over anyway. Of course, with my luck...

Please stay open that night if I need to be rescued. Thank you :)
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I love Kalli. Really I do. She is so unbelievably sweet. She is gorgeous and very smart. She is very attached to me...maybe too much at times, but that is ok. She is my baby after all.

Kalli is also hilarious. I mean shaking your head laughing hilarious, at times. Most of the time she doesn't even try to be funny. She is just showing you something or telling you something and after you laugh she will blush and try to hide some.

Tonight, I'm sitting with Cassie, checking her teeth after she brushes them and Kalli comes in by us ready for bed (in long shirt) and says, "I can give myself a wedgie. Look...". And then she does. She pulls up on her underwear until it is seated just inside her seat and then she says proudly, "see...".

Now I'm not sure, but when did this become a talent? I just laughed and shook my head and said wow. Cassie looked at me as if to say that her sister was nuts and continued with her teeth. I told Kalli to go show her daddy what she could do and she blushed and hid. I only wish these were the moments that I could get on video because seriously...this is blackmail material in the making!!
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I don't know what to do about this next one. The girls had 'Spring Pictures' at school a few weeks ago. I think that it is silly that they are now taking pictures two times a year and trying to get parents to buy more. I mean hello, 1 sheet (8x10, 2 3x5s, OR a sheet of wallets) is $12. RIDICULOUS!

Well, that is until the pictures came home. See, they send the pics home, you keep what you want, send back any you don't want, and any money for those you've kept. The pictures that came home of my children are breath-taking. I think that they are beautiful. And I'm going to have a very hard time sending them back.


See what I mean?? And then I put the girls' beginning of the year next to the recent ones and...WOW! They have changed so much in just 6 months. Where did my little girls go??

Agreed? I just look at those pictures and am stunned. There are no words....
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Okay, a couple last pictures of things. No long story to go along with them really, I just liked them so there you go :)

Brady wanted to be carried the other day so I put him front facing in the carrier I have. He loved it and I got things done.

I brought some fake flowers from the dollar store the other day to make a little seasonal bouquet here at home. Here is what I made up. Nothing super, but I like it. And it adds color to my kitchen. Besides....they make me smile when I am doing dishes.

I used to be sorta cool

Okay...ready for too much information? You've been warned.

Kalli has constipation. This is an issue that she has had her entire life. She has spent probably about 98% of her life constipated. This is an every day problem. And I have to tell you that spending every day thinking about someone else's bowels is not how I thought I'd spend my life.

Let's flash back to before I had children. I went about life without thinking once about anyone's bowels. Even while babysitting, I never paid that much attention and I thought it was weird if the parents asked if the baby had any poopy diapers while they were gone.

Coming back to the present, I spend my days not only keeping track of my children's bowel habits, but also those of any children I watch that day. This would be one of those things that they don't prepare you for when you are pregnant or thinking about having children. This is also one of those things that I never thought I'd be posting about. Yet with all the talking about it we do here, I thought..."why not?"

This is all to get to this little story.

Yesterday Kalli told me that she had to poop. This is code for 'follow me mother as I wish to talk your ear off in the bathroom as I sit on the throne and then have you make sure that my back end is completely clean'

Usually Kalli will talk and talk and talk and....you get the idea...while we bond in the bathroom. She mostly talks about school, make believe friends, jokes, or little things that she has noticed. And for the most part I find myself leaning on the wall nodding my head waiting for my role of making sure her back end is completely clean.

Yesterday, however, Kalli decided to talk about her poop. As she pooped. She talked about how her belly hurts a lot because she doesn't poop much. She talked about how her poop looks like rabbit poop. And then she told me every time she pooped a piece before finally telling me that she was finished and how many pieces she had pooped.

Yes, folks...this is my life now. And I used to be kinda cool.

I'm hoping to get a post done tomorrow during the day. One with a little less sh*tty of a topic.

NaBloPoMo - Day 19

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Cassie. A field trip that will take pretty much the entire day. A field trip to caves. In paperwork that came home today it states:

• Dress for the weather and plan on possibly getting dirty in the cave. wear old shoes that are suitable for climbing (have i mentioned that my ankle isn't 100% better yet?)
• The temp in the cave is 50 degrees. caves are equipped with steps and tour will be led by knowledgeable guide.
• Bring a flashlight with your mane on it. Check the batteries

Earlier this week there was a note that came home stating that if you had a fear of heights or small spaces, you may want to reconsider chaperoning. What the hell am I getting myself into??

I'm not a fan of heights and I've already told Cassie's physical therapist (who is coming along to help me) that if there are any small areas, she is going with Cassie in those areas. The main reason that I'm going is because Cassie is going to need help manipulating herself to even be able to participate. However, I still find myself asking what I'm getting myself into.

I've been told that there are steep stairs, there were rumors about ladders, and then there is the getting dirty going through caves. I'm going to bring my camera...sling it across my body and make sure to keep it buckled shut when not using it. Hopefully I can get some good pictures. And hopefully we make it back in one piece.

So to recap....heights, small spaces, and darkness. Why don't we just shove me in a coffin and hang me from a cliff. Andy's words of advise for me is to make sure to wrap my ankle. Yeah, because that is my biggest worry.

Pray for me!

I'm packing my anti-anxiety meds in my camera case for safe and close keeping.

NaBloPoMo - Day 11

I can honestly say that I'm not a fan of winter and that fall just makes me realize that winter is on its way. I don't like to have to turn heat on, wear those icky bulky jackets, or listen to the wind that whips through our front window.

Have I mentioned that our place was built in 1978 and I'm pretty positive that the windows are all original windows? There is a draft that comes through our front window that makes the blinds move. I am looking into caulking the windows...or duct taping them...or just heating the outside all winter.

But I digress. There is one other thing that I am not enjoying about fall and the coming winter. Chapped hands. Or rather the chapped hands on my children. Every fall it is the same...as soon as the temperature drops we are struggling to remember to use lotion several times throughout the day. My poor little Kalli seems to be more apt to chapping and dry skin. She has always had issues with eczema and the cooler, drier weather just intensifies these issues.

Yesterday evening I helped Kalli put lotion on her hands because they were red with chapping and cracked in a couple areas. It is at this point that the sobbing began. It burned. I tried to keep rubbing in the lotion. I tried to wrap her hands in a towel hopefully calming the burning. Nothing helped. Finally I had an idea and I helped Kalli wash her hands to get the lotion off. The back of her hands were bright red and just looking at them made me cringe...feeling like a horrible parent. I then went in search of a few items around the house.

With an old pair of stretchy gloves, scissors, and the jar of Vaseline at my side, I pulled Kalli next to me on the floor and explained that Vaseline doesn't burn and helps immensely with chapped hands. However, it takes a long time to go into the skin so the gloves would help keep it against her hands instead of rubbing off on things. The scissors? Here is the super mommy part of my story. Kalli sucks her thumb, especially at night, so I cut the thumbs off the gloves.

I coated the back of Kalli's hands with Vaseline and then slid the altered gloves onto her hands. She put her thumb in her mouth to try out the alteration to see if it would work and smiled when it did and her hands weren't burning. We cuddled and I honestly did feel like super mommy at that point.

This morning, when we took the gloves off, her hands were smooth, normal color, and not bothering her at all. The look on her face when she saw her hands was priceless. I was like magic and her hero all wrapped into one.

Now we'll just try to stay on top of lotioning, but if they do get too chapped again we have the gloves put to the side. And I'm sure we will need them again. In the 3 hours that I'm in Kalli's classroom in the morning the kids wash their hands 2-3 times.

I may need to stock up on Vaseline.

(stained, yet useful gloves)

October 23, 2009

Ever get into a week...or month...that just seem crazy busy? You feel like you are just constantly running and doing things, yet your 'to do' list doesn't seem to get much shorter and at the end of each day you hit this wall and suddenly your brain quits and forces you to head to bed before it forgets where bed is and how to walk up a set of stairs? That kind of sums up my life lately. Let's just look at the past few days.

Wednesday: Volunteered at school from the start of the day until 11:40. Lunch with my Becky, and then I watched my niece from 2-4. Then it was supper, dealing with the kids (which is an everyday thing, but still...some days exhausting) and getting them off to bed, and trying to get some things ready for the following day as Kalli was suppose to have a field trip.
Thursday: Volunteer at school from start of day until 2 (Kalli's classroom until 11:40 and then Library until 2) The field trip was canceled which totally bummed out the kids, but it allowed me more time in the library and therefore I learned that I now have more 'jobs'...I can now check books in and out, shelf books, and shelf read if I run out of crafty stuff to do. :) At 2, Trina dropped off Kaitlynn by me at school and I had her overnight.
Friday (today): After getting the girls off to school, and feeding Kaitlynn breakfast, I headed to my mom's to pick her up. We had a blast going to the DMV, the store for a quick trip, and then to my 11:00 appointment. From there I dropped my mom back at home, dropped Kaitlynn off to her mommy, and then went to school to volunteer in the library til the end of the school day.

Yes, I am thinking about just putting a cot at the school and living there. It has something to do with the fact that I love helping and that I also like the fact that there are real adults there all day that I can talk to and it gets me out of cleaning all day. :)

Tomorrow doesn't look much better either, actually. We are helping out at an event called the 'Hiss and Howl Halloween Hullabaloo' (try saying that even twice fast) that is put on by the no-kill shelter that Andy and I go to every now and then to walk dogs, Happily Ever After. Andy, the girls, and I have to be at the event starting at 11:30 and then until it is over at 5. Of course the most fun part is that we will have a dog for a day...which I'm sure is a mistake because I'll be hearing about it for the next several days from the girls. The dog that will be 'ours' is a shih-tzu named Rosie. Trust me, there will be pictures in the next post.

No promises that the post will be up tomorrow though as after we are finished at the Hullabaloo we are pretty much heading right over to the Gamblers Hockey game. We got very reasonable tickets through the girls' school and it is Family Night which means $1 hot dogs and sodas. Andy figures that by the time we get home it will be about 10pm and we will send the girls right to bed. And I'm sure I'll follow not far behind them.

I love this go, go, go that I've been doing and keeping myself nice and busy, but it also feels crazy like because I have to keep my planner at hand so I know where I'm going next.
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Drum roll please.....

Tonight was a HUGE night in our little family. We went out to dinner and then to walk around the mall. While there we stopped in several places to look at stuff and anytime we passed a jewelry store I would ask Cassie if she wanted to get her ears pierced...something I have been asking her since Kalli got her ears pierced over a year ago. Cassie's answer is always no.

Tonight though I pushed a little harder showing her earrings that she could get and asked why she didn't want them. It all comes down to being scared and worried about the pain. I told her that it only hurt for a little bit and that being scared about something unknown is normal. Then came the part that had me hurrying to get papers signed and things paid for. Cassie asked me if I would hold her hand. I said that I would and she replied with "ok then...I'll do it"

She picked out the earrings that she wanted since I told her that it was completely her decision. I showed her the ones that she could pick from (the higher grade ones so they don't contain nickle...not sure if she is/will be, but I'm allergic to nickle) I pointed out some green ones since that is her favorite color, but she pointed to a pair that were a very pretty blue and in the shape of a flower. Upon looking closer, I saw that they were actually her birthstone (December) with a diamond-looking stone in the middle.

As they got everything set up, her ears cleaned, and the placement dots there were tears, but she kept taking nice deep breaths and holding a bear they gave her to hold. When they were ready, I squatted down in front of her and held her arms telling her to take a deep breath and they counted and pierced both at the same time. She cried and said that they hurt/itched. They showed her a mirror and she said that they were pretty through tears. After her bravery she definitely deserved custard so we headed to Culvers.

By the time we got there she was all good and I think the ice cream really helped. Seriously...custard fixes most everything.

Once we were home for the evening she played as if nothing had happened and while brushing her teeth she kept checking her ears out in the mirror. And the sweetest part?? When I was tucking the girls into bed tonight, Cassie sat up holding her blankie under her chin and said with a smile that went from ear to ear, I'm pretty. "yes you are", I responded. She always has been beautiful, but starting tonight, I think that she will feel more girlie pretty. And to a tween...that is important.

August 26, 2009

So I said that I would do a day 2 from camping tonight. Sorry...I lied.

Ends up that I'm the most wonderful mom in the world because I surprised my girls today with a day with there cousin...spent hanging around home because I wanted to get a little bit done. Then I became the most wonderful auntie in the world because I decided to keep my niece overnight. Then I decided to become crazy because I took the 3 girls to 2 stores to do back-to-school shopping. I've never heard the phrase 'Can I have...' so much.

I'm still not done with the girls' back-to-school shopping as a few things are sold out at the stores we visited. But I am tired.

Also...Andy came home tonight and informed me that for the rest of this week and probably all of next week he will be working 10 hour days. He is at this moment staring at me wishing us to go to bed. For some reason the poor guy isn't looking forward to getting up 2 hours earlier in the morning. Hmmm....

So, hopefully I'll get the post that was suppose to be up tonight, up tomorrow sometime. No promises though as I'll have 4 girls for a majority of tomorrow as I'll add my 8 month niece to the circus that I've created.

PS. Only 6 days left until school starts. I'm giddy with excitement.

June 29, 2009

As I sit here typing this I am child-free. And it is 2:43 on a Monday. How is it that I am able to do this? Well...The girls have new friends. Today we were outside and the girls were playing with chalk and bubbles and we noticed a little girl that looked about Cassie's age standing outside the house across the street. She was just watching Cassie and Kalli playing.

Hmmm...I thought to myself. Wonder if she wants to play. I asked the girls if we should go over and say hi. Cassie, of course, said "um...no?" She isn't real good at the meeting new people thing. Just like me when I was younger. I used to like to sit in the background wishing that I could talk to new people, but not sure how to go about it. (Side note...I still do this some) Tony, would just walk up to kids and say "wanna be my friend?" I'd watch him thinking, 'it can't be that easy...I don't know how to do it.'

But I digress. After a little bit I saw what looked like 2 more young girls across the street looking at Cassie and Kalli. I told the girls, let's go say hi. And we did. We made our way over there to meet the 3 little girls that live over there now. The oldest is 9, middle is 6, and youngest is 5. And of the three the little girl is the talker. She invited Cassie and Kalli into the backyard to see stuff and we all followed. There, I met the mom...who like me is a stay at home mom. The girls ran around playing, the mom and I talked, we went inside to see the place, and the girls played more. I spent about 1.5-2 hours talking with the mom and watching the girls play. The best part is when the middle girl asked if she could go over to 'her new friends' house'. We agreed that today they would play there and tomorrow we could play here. (Down side of this is the fact that tomorrow I'll have 5 kids here...but I can live with it because my girls have new friends.)

So right now I'm sitting here loving the fact that I'm child-free. And not because I can get stuff done, but because I know that not only do my girls have more friends, but because their mom said that her girls were worried about making friends here and I've helped to ease that.
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Announcement time: In one month, we'll be moving. We are moving to a duplex that it exactly 1.3 miles from where we are now. We're very excited about the move and are hoping to keep the girls at the same school. I'm working on it because according to where the place is, they should be going to a different school, but seriously...it isn't that far away from where we are now.

As Cassie was following her new friends around she looked at me and said, "Now I wish we weren't moving". I told her that we aren't going that far and that she can still play with these girls. The mom, even agreed saying that they could absolutely still play together.

And besides...they have a whole summer in front of them.

I'm off to get some stuff done now. Wish me luck on getting my kids home later.

FYI: there will hopefully be another post tonight about my weekend. Unless I'm dragging my kids kicking and screaming from across the street. In which case, that'll be a story. I'll try to get Andy to take pictures of the scene.

June 3, 2009

She has made her announcement known, so now I can share too. For those of you that don't know, my friend, Becky, is pregnant. Can you feel my smile reaching out over the web? I'm so thrilled for her. Today, however I felt like I was ready to burst. Becky called me and had me wait for a minute. Then I heard it...the whoosha whoosha woosha that every mother knows the minute she hears it. Becky had shared with me the sound of her baby's heartbeat. You have no idea how honored I felt and how hard it was not to jump up and down. Thank you, Becky, for sharing with me.
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Monday thru Thursday Kalli has school until 11:15. On these days we do one of two things. We either run errands or we go straight home to have lunch. After lunch we hang out and most days Kalli asks if she can cuddle in my bed with me. This has become a routine to us and is her way of saying that she is tired and wants to take a nap. (Yes, she still takes naps. And I love it! A child that knows the importance of a good nap.) We go cuddle in together under the blankets and talk some before Kalli rolls over, covers her head and goes to sleep. (Yeah...she covers her head. Cassie did the same thing when she went to sleep) After I know that Kalli is asleep, I sneak out of bed.

Today, however, as we were laying together, Kalli started playing with some of my hair. Twirling it around her finger some, holding it in her tiny fingers, and brushing it back behind my ear. It is at this moment that I realized how much I love being able to be a stay-at-home mom. There are times that I want to pull my hair out...yes. But over all I love it and I feel that lately I'm really growing into it. I enjoy spending the time with them and I'm paying closer attention to the little things.

There are still moments that I yell and there are still moments that I want to close myself in my room away from them. But, I find that I'm becoming more patient and wanting to try new things with them. I am even looking forward to this summer and have told them so. The other day the girls and I were discussing how much school is left when Cassie said, "and then we will be annoying you all day." I looked at the two of them and said, "Actually, I am looking forward to it. I think that this summer will be a lot of fun." And I do.

Spring Break - Day 2 & 3

I was just making a sad face with my bottom lip sticking out, when Kalli saw it she said "back that lip up" Andy and I burst out laughing because it is just something that Kalli would say. I have no idea where some of the things she says come from.
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So today was day 3 of spring break and I'm proud to report that I'm still alive and sane. I know...impressive isn't it? Yesterday I let each of the girls invite one friend over for a 4 hour play date. That means that for 4 hours I had to keep 4 little girls happy and fed. I did pretty well and was pleased with how well everyone did. Kalli cried when her friend left and has been talking about how much she misses her friend since then. Cassie's BFF came back later in the afternoon and stayed overnight last night, making Cassie possibly the happiest child alive.

Then today we started the day off with 4 little girls (Cassie, Kalli, Cassie's BFF, and my niece... Kaitlynn who I'm lucky enough to have had overnight again :) The girls played, Cassie Kalli and I had lunch with my BFF, and Cassie had a field trip for Girl Scouts. That leaves us at tonight. Cassie is spending her first night at a friend's house tonight and is thrilled beyond belief. At 8:00, I went to ready Cassie for bed and I can tell you that Cassie is having a blast. I'll have to go back at about 8 tomorrow morning to help her get ready for the day, but it is worth it to see Cassie having a good time and being able to stay at someone's house. When Cassie was a wee babe I didn't know how slumber parties would ever work. Would she have friends that would be willing to have her overnight (Cassie has to crawl once her braces are off) and would we be able to work out the changing when at someone else's home. Tonight is proof that she can do 'normal' things. I always knew that we'd be able to do it, I just wasn't sure of the logistics. I'm so proud of Miss Cassie. And of her BFF. (Side note: Her BFF will be going to different school next year. BOO! :( But I'm hoping to keep them playing together and friends) Cassie's BFF is very accepting of everything about Cassie. She asks questions, likes learning more about Cassie, and knows Cassie wears diapers but is accepting of it. BFF helps Cassie walk when she leaves her crutches behind and also encourages Cassie to walk solo by standing a little away from Cassie and catching her in a hug when Cassie starts to fall. I love seeing the two of them together and the fact that BFF is very well behaved makes it even more pleasant.

All of this is to say that we're on day 3 of Spring Break, we're actually happy and sane, we haven't had nearly as many fights as I predicted by this point, and I'm thinking maybe summer won't be that bad. Here's to hoping.
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Ok...one more Kallilian. (that would be the word that we use to describe something Kalli says) She is laying on our bed as we are settling down for the night and we have just finished watching American Idol. She says to Andy "Handsome is for boys and Pretty is for girls. Right, daddy? Handsome is the same as Pretty and Pretty is the same as Handsome." From time to time I am surprised at things she says. At this point you would think that I would no longer be surprised by things that she says...but I still am.

Guess I'm not a fast learner after all.

March 14, 2009

Today while we were at my parents', Andy went to help move a few pieces of furniture from his grandma's to his aunt's. While he was gone, I took advantage of the nice weather and took Cassie out for a walk. We walked down the road to the elementary school, around the school, and back to my parents' home. Camera in hand we made our way along slowly, checking things out along the way.

We stopped to watch snow runoff rushing down the curbs and into the sewers, Cassie spotted bubbles so we followed them to see where they were originating from, and I showed Cassie how you can step on the edges of the snow/ice to break the edges off. As we walked back to my parents she took her time using her crutch to break all the ice like I had shown her. I remember doing this when I was young, breaking the ice in the spring and playing in the puddles some. Until today I never had really thought about having the girls enjoy this part of spring. So during my walk with Cassie today, and the second walk that we took Kalli along for, I didn't rush them. I didn't constantly ask them to move forward or stay out of all the puddles. (though I did ask them to stay out of the large ones) Instead, I took pictures and let them just enjoy the beginning of spring.

We stopped along the way to listen. We heard a Cardinal (which we then found as well), water running down into the sewers, cars from the nearby highway, and lots of people out and about. We weren't the only ones to enjoy the nicer weather.

Once we arrived back from our second walk, I got some chalk out for the girls to play with on the driveway and sat down to draw with them.



It was a very pleasant day overall and I am hoping to be able to get out and enjoy the warmer weather that we are predicted to get this week.

January 30, 2009

It is 1:11 right now. In the A.M. I've just told the six 8 year old girls that they are confined to their sleeping bags unless they have to use the restroom. I'm hoping to get a little sleep before they announce that they are hungry again. And before the parents begin to arrive at 8:00 to pick up their darling daughters.

I have to admit that while I was a little worried about having six girls spend the night in one area with me as supervisor, it has gone amazingly well. They are awesome young ladies and I'm proud to have them in my troop. Seriously. They all played well together and there were no big fights. At one point tonight the 4 that were playing in Cassie's room (Cassie and her BFF were hanging out in the living room watching Chronicles of Narnia) called me into the bedroom. They had cleaned up Cassie's entire room and made her bed. Mind you, they did this without any prompting. They said that it would be easier for Cassie to walk in the room this way. I gave them all a huge hug and told them how much I appreciated them and their kindness.

At one point in the evening we did projects to earn them each 2 badges. One badge they earned by doing a scrapbook page with pictures of them that I took at the beginning of the evening. The other badge they earned by taking part in a dance party that we had. We turned up the music, turned off the lights, and danced with flashlights. They had a good time and I got more pics. :)

After getting on jammies tonight, we sat around in a circle and I told them a little more about Cassie. They notices how small her feet were without braces and we compared her feet to everyone else's feet. They all commented on how soft her feet are. We then talked about what Spina Bifida is, showed where she can feel and can't, and answered questions that the girls had. I want the girls to understand things about Cassie and be comfortable with her. I think that tonight helped with that and it was fun to play show and tell with Cassie.

In the morning I'll be all the girls' hero and give them mini donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast before sending them on their way. Then I'll be going down for a nap. Lord knows I'll need it.

I just went and turned the tv off, tucked the few girls that are still awake in, and said good-night. It's 2:00 and I'm off to get a little rest before they are up again. Why again are they called sleepovers?