Pretty (clingy) girl

My sweet girl has been coughing a lot this past week. She is never sick. In the past 3 years, we've been to the doctor twice.. other than annual check-ups. As a baby, she was sick A LOT. So I'm glad she hasn't been a sick toddler. When Kennedy doesn't feel well, she likes to crawl in my lap and snuggle. There's nothing more wonderful than when either one of my kids crawls into my lap and puts his/her head on my chest. It fills me with so much happiness that I feel like I will burst into tears.

In fact last night when when I was putting Kennedy to bed, she started clinging to me more than usual. She gives me extra "loving" when she's about to ask for something.

K: "Mommy, can I please sleep with you? I can't sleep in this bed. Puhhhhleeeease?"

Me: "No honey. Mommy sleeps in the bed with daddy. You sleep in your very own hot pink polka dot bed. It's perfect for sweet girls like you!"

K, with teary puppy dog eyes: "Mommy, I promise I won't kick or roll around. I'll be real still. I just want to sleep with you. I LOVE you..."

She promised to be still because I told her the last time we slept together, she kicked me, hogged the bed, slapped me... unintentionally, of course. We've shared a bed when staying at a friend's house for out-of-town trips. And then when Brady was smaller, I pulled her into bed with me every once in a while when Chris was out of town and Brady kept getting up. I can't handle two kids waking me up every hour, so I would throw her on Chris' side of the bed and pass out.

Okay, back to the story. She is officially crying now. It's not the whiny/annoying cry that she does when she wants something. It's the "my-feelings-are-hurt" cry.

This is where I normally give in. Crying child = wimpy mommy. But I didn't give in. I told her that I loved her more than anything, but sleeping time was meant for her pink polka dot bed. I held her in my lap, which is getting harder to do the older she gets. I played with her hair. I kissed her sweet face. And I cried.

I didn't "boo hoo".... (I am trying to be the parent here). Tears just flowed down my face as I thought about how much my baby girl has grown up. I calmed her down and I tried to regain my composure, not letting her see my teary face. I snuggled in the bed with her until she got sleepy. I held her longer than usual because I think she needed extra snuggles. And in a few years, she won't want me to hug her or snuggle with her... so I'm going to take advantage of every bit of it now.

And besides, could YOU resist this face?

Updates

So much to update! I have been MIA this week with a lot of work, birthday party planning, sick Brady, Texas house issues, etc.


Okay... so here we go.

1. Kennedy's feet - they are slowly healing, but this week we have been dealing with a lot of peeling. Since she went back to school, her feet have been sweating in her socks and shoes... which is making the huge blisters bubble up and pop. She had quite a bit of loose skin flapping on her feet this week. I've been trimming it back and she's been very whiny about it. She's been wanting to wear flip flops, but her feet aren't able to handle it yet. It's so hot, though! Poor kiddo...
2. Roscoe - things are ..... well.... okay. They're not ideal just yet, but they are much better than before. Kennedy doesn't scream when he looks at her, but she does get this panicked look in her eyes when she sees that he's walking towards her. She and I have taken him on walks at night to help her adjust. I have asked her to hold the leash and she's done very well! The first time we walked him and he started to veer off the path, she panicked and dropped the leash. I explained to her that all she needs to do is gently say, "Come on boy! Come back here!" So the second time, she did it without any problems!


Oh and Roscoe is definitely enjoying living in the air conditioning! One of his favorite places to sleep is on the floor on my side of the bed.


3. Texas house - for sale AGAIN. After putting $6,000 of work into it, we are praying that it sells soon. It doesn't help that a house down the street (about the same size and in the same price range) had a contract on it within TWO DAYS of being listed. Our house has been on for six weeks. Okay, so six weeks isn't bad... but the first time we listed it - it sat on the market for a year. I'm trying to be optimistic. Trying really hard.


Other than that - we are preparing for Kennedy's birthday party in a few weeks (more on that later), and a few weeks after that - KINDERGARTEN! I have so many emotions about my baby girl starting school.... but that will have to wait for the next post!

Books

I love books. I love the way the pages smell... the way a bookstore smells... the way the pages feel between my fingers. I love the crispness and newness of a book fresh off the shelf. I love the way all the pages are the exact same size, perfectly bound with a paperback cover. (For some reason, I like paperback more than hardback.... not sure why).

I love the look of different colors and fonts designed on the spins of each little masterpiece on a shelf. We have a bookcase at home that is so full of books that we are starting to stack them on top of the bookcase. And we have rubbermaid tubs in the garage and upstairs full of books, some of which have been read... some have not. In the office, the bottom shelf of our bookcase is dedicated entirely to Kennedy's books. It's easily accessible and each night, she picks one or two books for us to read to her. But even her shelf is full! When we finish our bonus room upstairs, I plan to have some built-in bookshelves to display all of our lovely treasures.

Now here is my problem: reading. Don't get me wrong, I love reading. I just don't have enough time and when I do find a few minutes (that I'm not picking up toys, snuggling with kids, or preparing for the next work day), I can't keep my eyes open. I'm zonked at the end of the day. Magazines are more my speed. I read an article (10 minutes tops) and then pass out. Perfect.

One of my favorite memories from living in Dallas was being in a Book Club. Not every book we read was interesting, but some of my favorite reads came from those days: Comfort Me With Apples, The Lovely Bones, In Her Shoes, Girl With a Pearl Earring.... I do miss having a monthly book club gathering. The group came from different backgrounds, different professions, some of them rich housewives. But we all enjoyed reading... even if we didn't all enjoy the monthly selection. It was enlightening to get together with 10 other women and intelligently discuss our interpretations of that month's novel. Before kids, I could spend an entire weekend day laying on the couch reading. Ahhhhh.....

My sweet husband doesn't love the actual books like I do. He loves reading them. I have never met anyone who loves to read more than my husband. I have read a handful of books this year. He's probably read a dozen or more. He has a few authors he really enjoys reading and they just can't write books fast enough for him.

What's a book lover to do? Maybe I'll get to read more in a few years when the kids are older and pre-occupied with computer games, talking on the phone, etc.

Until then, I guess I'll try to read each night, one chapter at a time.

Laundry Roller Coaster

Brady is very clingy these days.... but only clingy to me. He could be perfectly entertained by toys, hear my voice - and start to whine and "hunt" for me by the direction of my voice. So as I tried to write an entry about our Firecracker race, Brady was pulling at everything! The camera, its cord, the laptop cable, my leg... and whining the entire time. I would pull him into my lap but this is what you'd read:

ai hdsa oiht aohrr jioaraho rehra ,ms nx maflkj;aui daoiusea ljc a hldsf

Jibberish.

So, Chris (bless his heart) has been trying to keep him occupied while I try to do a few things without a drooling kid clinging to my leg.

Today - Chris gave him a ride on the Laundry Roller Coaster. He loved it.

And the minute the ride was over, I could hear the faint sounds of a whimper.....

Sleeping Beauty

My mom ("Nina") and I took Kennedy to see her first play this weekend. We thought she would enjoy the show and be at the age where she could sit in the seat and not talk so loudly that she would disrupt the other folks in the theater. She absolutely LOVED it! She sat back, paid very close attention to each word the young actors said. She clapped at the end of each scene. Mom and I enjoyed it, too! We didn't disrupt or talk loudly either. Ha!

On the way home, I asked her to tell me her favorite part. She politely said she had two favorite parts. First, the singing fairies.

(These fairies were modern day, wearing bright neon colored costumes and wigs... very cute!)

Her second favorite part was when the prince kissed and awoke Sleeping Beauty. Of course!

Firecracker 5K

Chris and I both enjoy running, but with the kids - it's definitely harder for both of us to fit weekly runs into our schedule. We rarely get to run together. So we decided to borrow DeAnn's double jogging stroller (thanks DeAnn!) and see if the kids would enjoy a run.... or a ride, I guess. Chris and I would do the running.

Side note: We tried taking Kennedy on a run in the neighborhood with us pushing Brady in our single jogging stroller. She can't run for very long and she can't ride her bike as fast as we need her to.

Chris graciously agreed to push them. (THANK GOODNESS! I have been running more frequently lately, but Chris most definitely has more strength than I do.) We calculated how much weight it would be. With Kennedy (45 pounds), Brady (25 pounds), and stroller (10 pounds) - he pushed 80 pounds for the 5K. I never would have made it. The heat, no doubt, made it tougher. He was such a trooper.

But the kids had a blast! We let Kennedy run the last tenth of a mile. Chris let her out of the stroller and she and I crossed the finish line holding hands. She felt the rush of everyone cheering as she crossed. It was her first race, complete with an official race number and t-shirt.

Brady enjoyed looking at all the runners and walkers. A ride in this heat requires a tasty post-race orange. He devoured it.

I hope she likes running like we do, but as long as she enjoys being outside - I don't have a preference what activity she chooses. But after today, I have a feeling she'll want to "run" with us more often now.... even if she spends the first 32 minutes of a 35 minute run riding in the stroller. And that's just fine with me. But let me check with her chauffeur Chris first.......

My purse

My purse is the subject of much banter from my sweet sister. Once, she lifted my bag and I believe her words were, "GOOD EARTH!?! What do you have in here?"

Everything.

And I mean that. I have anything and everything in my bag. But you never know when you might need a highlighter.... or a post-it note... or lotion... or headache medicine... or a toy to keep a cranky kid quiet.

And let me just tell you that my bag-o-goodies came in handy when Kennedy and I were waiting in Quick Care this weekend for an hour. When she started feeling better and was getting bored, I whipped out a notebook and three different colored highlighters and it was art time, right there in the waiting room.

So I thought it would be a fun exercise to see exactly what's in this thing. So let's play.... What's In The Bag?? Please hold your laughter until the end.

Make-up bag (contents: lip gloss - 3 shades, lip liner, eyelash curler - which can also serve as a toy to a one-year-old, mascara, powder, chapstick, fingernail file, fingernail clippers, tease comb)

Planner with lots of paper, lists inside

Blackberry - when it's not in my hand, it's in my purse in the side pocket for easy access

Keys - also a toy for a baby

Cuticle oil pen

Tampons

Post-it notes

Oil blotting sheets

Business cards in pretty little silver case

Gum - usually two flavors

Tic tacs - usually two flavors (which also came in handy when in waiting room with K)

Headache medicine

Sharpie(s)

Highlighter(s)

An array of pens and pencils. I like to use different writing utensils, based on my mood.

Scented lotion

Wallet - with the obvious items inside

Kennedy's prescription lotion for her severe dry skin

Brush

Ponytail holder and bobby pins

Sunglasses

Camera and adapter cord - you NEVER know when you will need to take a picture of something for the blog!

Snacks - now, I usually only have snacks and mini bottles of water when I'm headed out with the kids. Otherwise, they get squished and inedible.

Tide-to-Go pen

Individually wrapped Anti-bacterial Wet Ones

........ There you go! Do you think I'm missing anything?