Star Wars

For those of you who aren't aware, my son is a huge Star Wars fanatic. I never thought I'd let my 5 year old get into Star Wars. When I was little, I had nightmares from them! He has seen some of the movies (with Daddy fast FWing certain parts) and he plays the PS games on Saturdays. He really likes the Lego Star Wars games. this is just a little background to the story I am about to tell.

Saturday morning we went to a little festival that is sponsored by a local church at the park not too far away from us. They have had this festival for 10 years and this is the first time that I have gone. Daddy took the kids last year while I was at a ladies retreat with my mom and sissy. There are non-profit booths, craft booths, food booths, games for the kiddies, and a humane society adoption tent (We didn't bring home a dog. I'm still trying) As we walked past one booth, we saw a sign that said "Get your picture take with characters from Star Wars for a donation of $5" It went on to say that they would be there from 12 -3. Since it was only 11:30, we walked around and looked at everything else first. A little before noon, we went back to wait for them. They were late and C was so worried that he wouldn't get to see them. I was going to just have him look and say "Cool" and we would leave. But Daddy wanted a pix of C with them. Once they got there, C was the first in line to get his pix taken (see below). Then we tried to get K to get her pix taken. The only way she would go up there was with Daddy. So I decided we would all get our pix taken with them. So we spent $10 on two 5x7 pictures. But the money went to a good cause and the pix are cool. There was a Sandtrooper, Jango Fett, Bubba Fett, and a Tie Pilot. The Sandtrooper even had a voice changer, so he sounded real. Two of the characters had trading cards that they handed out. These characters are part of a larger group in Indianapolis that makes appearances for certain things. They looked really awesome. C was so excited. Now that I think back, I'm glad Daddy paid for the pictures. It was kinda neat.

Dei Gratia

The Dei Gratia team that I am the leader of, met this morning. For those of you that aren't familiar with Dei Gratia, let me explain. My pastor's twin brother's wife (did you get that?) had breast cancer a few years back. After all her chemo, she started a ministry to encourage other women that are going through cancer treatments. Dei Gratia means "by the grace of God." There are severeal teams at our church that participate in this ministry. One team makes beautiful bracelets that are wrapped up to be given to these women. One team makes soft fleece hats and one team makes beautiful canvas bags for all of the items to go in. My team is in charge of assembling all these items and placing them in the bags to then be distributed (another team) to local chemo and radiation centers. Each bag has a hat, a bracelet, a pink Bible, a tract written by the founder, candy, and donated notions (stationery, bath beads, finger nail polish, lotions, etc). I love my team! The actual people that show up may be different each time, but all are hard workers. We have a lot to do each time but have a great time doing it. For more info, check out www.deigratia.us

After Dei Gratia, we ran errands and met Daddy for lunch. We haven't done that in a long time. Errands took awhile. We left this morning before 9 and didn't get back until almost 3. But the kiddies were good and I got everything done that I needed to. C watched some of his school while we were driving around and did more once we got home. Due to Dei Gratia, he is only doing 1/2 day today. Oh the joys of homeschooling!

A day in the life of.....

A friend had a cute post the other day on her blog. I thought it was such a cute idea, that I thought I would try it too. So here is “A day in the life of….”

Daddy’s alarm clock goes off around 7:30 and he hits snooze at least twice. That has bothered me since we’ve been married, but I choose my battles and that is a losing one. Once he gets out of the shower, I get up to get mine--usually around 10 til 8. The kids are not allowed to get out of bed until it is an 8—on any day.

If the kids are awake and can get up when Daddy leaves, we all stand at the back door and wave as he leaves. The kids usually watch Curious George until 8:30 and then we eat breakfast, usually pop tarts, granola bars, cereal, cinnamon rolls, or chocolate chip muffins. After breakfast, C goes upstairs to start school and K usually watches a little more TV. I clean up breakfast, check what is for dinner, maybe empty the dishwasher, check e-mails and blogs, balance the check book, do laundry, clean, maybe read a little (my Bible or a good Karen Kingsbury book or a new book to read to the kids at night), and lately I have been sorting thru winter clothes for the kids.

We eat lunch around noonish, depending on where C is in his school subjects. We wait til he is at a break between subjects. Lunch is usually hotdogs, popcorn chicken, grilled cheese or leftovers--if there are any. After lunch, C goes to finish school and K and I play or read or do puzzles. K goes to her nap around 2:30 and usually (hopefully) C is done with school by then. He usually watches a movie during her nap time. He doesn’t know it, but he is actually doing “quite time.” I usually go upstairs and exercise and get ready for school the next day. Lately, after all that is done, I have been Scrapbooking—finally!

K gets up from her nap a little before 5 and we sometimes we will have a snack. Dinner is around 6:15 or once Daddy gets home from the gym. After dinner is all cleaned up, we usually sit and watch TV and/or play with the kids. We start our bedtime routine around 8:45 with the kids picking up toys. Then it’s jammies, teeth, and Daddy reads a chapter out of our book (we just finished Charlotte’s Web and I cried when Charlotte died). Then prayers and kisses and off they go! I then sing the “Hallelujah Chorus” as I come down the stairs. Daddy and I watch TV until 11 and then it’s our turn for jammies, teeth and bed.

Mondays are different cuz we go to Wal-Mart and that takes up most of the morning. Tuesdays I used to have my babysitting kids, but that has stopped somewhat. Thursdays I do laundry and Fridays I clean. Monday nights Daddy had softball games, although the last ones were last night (YEAH). Wednesdays we have AWANA which makes for a rushed and late night. Otherwise, I am pretty much a stay-at-home mom all week. Last week I went out Monday morning (Wal-Mart), Wednesday night (AWANA) and Friday night (dinner at Texas Roadhouse) and that was it.

All of this is subject to change depending on our schedule. Right now, potty trips are too numerous to count and that makes for a different day. (By the way, it is still on-going with a little set-back due to the weekend). It will be interesting to look back at this in a year and see what has changed.

Here are some pix from the kids at breakfast this morning. C is eating a college football poptart. He is about to "gobble-up" the yucky Gators. Go FSU!

PS: I must set the record straight. (See comment on this post) My brother informed me that C is not eating a Gator poptart but a Georgia one. I was wrong. I called Daddy and he confirmed the info. Good job brother! (I was told to give him all the credit) But we can still say "Yucky Gators" and "Go FSU!"

Day 2, 3, 4, 5- Are we done yet?

Here is an update on the potty training:

Day 2-Tuesday: She wanted nothing to do with sitting on the potty. I still made her try but got nothing. Daddy did get her to poop that evening, but nothing else. It was a discouraging day.

Day 3-Wednesday: She was a little more interested and peed twice for me and I think once for Daddy before or after church.

Day 4-Thursday: Was a better day. She peed twice for me and wanted to call Aunt when she was done. Aunt just laughed and said she hoped K wanted to call Uncle next. She peed and pooped for Daddy. Wasn't a perfect day but much better.

Day 5-Friday: Even though the day isn't over, it has gone much better. She kept her pull-up dry all morning and peed twice. Then at lunch, she got her pull-up wet. But after lunch she pooped in the potty. Looking good.

Tomorrow should be interesting. Daddy will be home all day. I hope she does well all day to prove my point that Daddy is better at potty training then Mommy. Maybe he will have to stay home from his job until this is conquered.

For those of you that don't want a play-by-play on the potty training (my brother would probably be one)--sorry. Such is my life. Enjoy!

The 'P' word

Well I started potty training K today. I bought a pack of pull-ups at Wal-Mart today---man are they expensive! When we got home I put one on her and kinda explained what it was for and what we were going to do. I then set the timer for 15 minutes and when it went off, I took her potty. She had already peed in it. So much for that. Since it wasn't that wet, I put it back on her and set the timer again for 20 minutes. Sure enough she had peed in it again. By that time it was lunch, so we took a break. After lunch, I put a new one on her and for a little over an hour, every 5 minutes I took her potty. Seriously, every 5 minutes. She never went! By then it was nap time.

Once Daddy got home, I changed her out of her diaper and put another pull-up on. She never went before dinner, so after dinner we started trying again. Daddy took her and guess what? She went! Yeah! A few minutes later, she started running for the bathroom saying "Potty again, Daddy." Sure enough she went again. And she had actually told us before she went and actually went. By the time she went to bed, she had peed in the potty 5 times and pooped twice! A few of the times, she said she had to go, we went in and she actually went. I am excited!

We are going to go at it strong this week. I have no where to go except church Wednesday night. Wouldn't it be nice if I only had to buy this one pack of pull-ups? I would love it! I think once she gets it, she's gonna have it for good. That's just her. I'll keep you posted.

AWANA Carnival

Wednesday night we had our kickoff for our AWANA year. We always have a carnival the first night and the kids are supposed to get registered. This year there was a giant slide for the kids. C stood in line and went down it 9 times! K went down it too--twice I think. A friend took her up and before he could get settled, she was on her way down by herself. She is my dare-devil. She went in the bouncy house too. They also did the dunk tank a few times. K just pushed the button to make him fall in. But she loved the splash cuz she felt some of the water too. We had 166 kids that registered--23 were my Cubbies! That is a high number of Cubbies. If they all come---oh dear! Since I was working registration, Daddy had to register C. When he first walked into Sparkies registration, I thought "He's in the wrong spot. He missed the Cubbies registration." My little C is in Sparkies this year! And my K is in Awanna Beez. (Our church started a program for the 2 year olds-the year before they go to Cubbies). Then last night Daddy said something about K being in Cubbies next year. And I said, "No she has 2 years in Awanna Beez." No she will be 3 next summer-old enough for Cubbies next year. Oh my! My kids are growing up and I can't keep up! Here are my kiddies enjoying the slide.

It seems like I always have a side note on my posts, so "on a side note"
Last night K wanted to sit on the potty and C volunteered to help her. So in they went. He helped her get her shorts and diaper off and helped her up on the potty seat. He came out to get her a book and informed us that she had poopy on her bottom. I said we would deal with it later. He came out for another book later and this time when he went back, she had it all over her hands. YUCK. STINKY. So the kids got an unexpected bath last night. What a night!

9-11

Today was a day to remember what happened 7 years ago. It's hard to believe that it was that long ago. I actually remembered to put my flag out and I tied a patriotic ribbon to the mailbox. It's weird to think that for my children it will be something they will learn in history class. For me, I actually lived it. I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. God bless America!

Along the lines of history, the little boy that comes to my house after school sometimes wanted some milk today. So I gave him a cup with Michael Jordan all over it. I asked if he knew who was on his cup. He had no idea. Once again, he will learn in history class that he was the greatest basketball player-ever! Once again, I lived it. Makes me feel old.

Football and Islam

What a wonderful weekend! Football, football, and more football! Saturday morning started out by a good breakfast and my second massage (bliss). Then home to watch football all day. Florida State was to play at 6 pm but they started about 90 minutes late due to weather. The game was a blow-out! FSU won 69-0--YEAH! I actually stopped watching it for a little while and watched the Yucky Gators and Miami. I don't like either team, but I'll cheer for anyone who is against the Gators. Unfortunately, the Gators won.

Sunday was more football. Nice to take an afternoon nap to. Then the Colts played after church Sunday night. They didn't do so swell. But it's only one game. Hopefully they will get their act together.

For those of you who know, our church had our annual 9-11 service this past Sunday. My pastor always preaches very strongly against Islam. VERY STRONGLY. The first year that he did it (2002) we actually had protesters in the service. Ever since then we have a strong and visible security team in place during the service. Thankfully we haven't ever had anything to report. If you are interested, all his services (including the original one) are on sermonaudio.com.

Praises!

Number 1: For those of you that were praying for my toe-thank you! It is so much better! It does get a little sore if I stub it or bump it or someone steps on it. But nothing like when it was still ingrown. Now it is starting to itch like crazy-I suppose that means it is getting better.

Number 2: Today was Labor Day and Daddy was home. It is always so nice to have Daddy home. I love it when he has a day off and we really don't have major plans. We did get stuff done though. We went to Wal-Mart, the kiddies played in the pool again and Daddy mowed the grass again. We grilled out brats for supper-YUM. It was a good day.

Number 3: Daddy has accepted a new position at work. He will be working for the same company but in a totally different department--marketing. He is extremely excited. This is something that he has wanted for a long time. It will be a good move for him to get out of the department that he is in but also for him to do something more along the lines of what he went to school for. He doesn't have an official start date but he knows it is coming. Congrats, Daddy!

Number 4: This one is a sad praise, I guess. We had to take our new computer back this past Friday. It started going crazy. It had a DVD/CD drive in it but wouldn't recognize anything put in the drive. It's like the computer couldn't find the drive. And there were other minor things that made me really leery of it. But the praise part is--we had 14 days through Best Buy to return it and get our money back. Friday was 14 days. Our usual bad luck would be that it would go wrong on day 15. But praise the Lord it went bad before the 14 days were up! So we took it back and just got our money back. Yes I would have liked a new computer, but with Daddy's new job--right now might not be the best time to have that bill to deal with. And I didn't want to have the possibility of having the same thing go wrong with the next one. So all this to say, I am back on my old laptop. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.

Number 5: My best praise--college football finally started. I love this time of year! Football, pumpkins, my birthday, the coolness in the air, the leaves changing.... how much better can you get? I can't wait to see FSU play on Saturday. Go 'Noles!