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?

Damn that Playground!

I have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to post about Kennedy's hurt feet. The good news is she is on the mend and seems to be dealing with it quite well. But the first hour after she burned them was extremely difficult. I'll start from the beginning.


This past weekend, we went to Brownlee Park to soak up some sun and cool off with a dip in the sprinklers they have. Kennedy loves this park because her school takes trips there in the spring and summer. Brady was having a blast, too. Poor baby didn't understand the concept that if you put your face in the fountain, you suck in water through your mouth and nose. Chris and I had a hard time not laughing at his gasps.
So after about 30 minutes of playing in the fountains, Kennedy decided that she wanted to play on the playground equipment. Brady was still having a blast putting his face in the water. So Kennedy wandered off to get on the slides. A few moments later, she was running straight for me screaming like I'd never heard her scream before. I thought she had been bitten by a bug or was scared of a stray dog. But she lept into my arms and screamed, "PUT MY FEET IN THE WATER. THEY HURT REALLY BAD!"


I cradled her and put her feet in the water and wondered what on earth could have hurt her so bad. When I looked at the bottoms of her feet, I could see they had already bubbled up into a blister that covered the entire ball of each foot with small blisters on her heels and toes. The poor child screamed to the top of her lungs and this was not a "diva" cry. The sweet baby was in serious pain. She was crying so hard that I couldn't understand what she was saying when I asked her what she had stepped on to burn her feet so badly.


Other parents came over and asked if they could help, but we didn't know what to do. She would not stop screaming (not crying... screaming) in pain. So we loaded the kids in the car and I sat in the back seat with Kennedy, trying to keep the bottoms of her feet wet. I poured water on them catching it with a towel in my lap.


When we got home, we put her in the tub so her feet could soak. She eventually started shivering so we moved her to the vanity where her feet were submerged but she could sit on the counter wrapped in a towel. The pediatrician's office advised us to take her to Quick Care, so off we went. Diagnosis: second degree burns on her sweet little feet.


Kennedy was such a trooper (AFTER she was able to calm down). It took an entire hour of soaking for her feet to finally help them feel better. The doctor told us to keep Kennedy off her feet for a few days so the blisters wouldn't pop and get infected.


Really? Keep a four year old from walking, jumping, running, playing? Have you met my daughter? Have you ever had a toddler?


Yeah...... that worked for about 24 hours with movies and and us waiting on her hand and foot (pardon the pun). But the next day, she was ready to walk and said it didn't hurt. I eventually got her to tell me what she stepped on - the metal walkway to get up to the slides. METAL!! On that 100 degree day, I can't even imagine how hot it was.

Moral of the story? Always wear shoes to play outside!