threesixfive, days 23 thru 29

its been a looonnnggg week. molly had a cough sunday night that kept her from sleeping well, so i kept her home from preschool monday. monday night she spiked a high fever and the coughing started back up again. she was like that all week. sleeping a lot, not eating anything really. one of my best friends is a pediatric nurse practitioner and she said it sounded like the flu, but by tuesday when i talked to her, she said it was too late to treat it, and i would just have to ride it out. friday morning her fever was still high and she didnt seem to be getting any better. i called my friend again, and asked her what she would do. she said 5 days with fever is too long, and her fear was that it might have developed into something else. if it was wednesday or thursday she might wait another day, but heading into the weekend, she thought i should take her and let he dr listen to her chest and check her out.

i was at the drs office within the hour (praise the Lord we got in so quickly!!), and molly was sent home with a pneumonia diagnosis and two prescriptions. pneumonia?? really?!?!? the dr said it most likely started as the flu and the pneumonia was secondary. she literally slept the rest of the day with the exception of about 3 hours, and even those she spent on the couch.

this afternoon she perked up a little bit and ate a couple very small meals. hopefully by monday she'll be my healthy happy girl again.

i feel like a big blob. i've been sitting on the couch with her all week, sleeping and eating. i got out a little this afternoon to help with some stuff for our big disciple now youth event coming up next weekend, and allen and i had a double date thursday night with some friends. other than that, it was a pajama week. my pictures will reflect as such.

sunday, jan 23rd

molly wanted her bangs clipped back for church. she loves her forehead to show. she took one look at herself in the mirror and said, "the church will love me." so humble.

monday, jan 24th

we went to a middle school boys' basketball game, and colby, unbeknownst to us, used the bleachers for a drawing pad. you can read about how it all went down on my previous blog post. what a mess....but a fabulous learning experience for all of us.

tuesday, jan 25th

i made sardinian spaghetti for dinner. my kind of comfort food. this stuff is delicious, but i only make it every once in awhile because it calls for saffron, which is crazy expensive.

wednesday, jan 26th

all this time at home has allowed me to finish my very first digital scrapbook!! i used mixbook and found it very easy and fun! i cant wait to get it in the mail!!!

thursday, jan 27th

lots of this going on this week.

friday, jan 28th

every friday, allen takes molly to dunkin donuts before school. she obviously wasnt going to be going to school that day, but asked the night before if she would still have 5D day with daddy (daddy daughter dunkin donut day). he went and picked one up and brought it home to her.

saturday, jan 29th

mimi wanted molly to have some get well flowers, so she asked allen if he would pick some up for her, put them on the porch with a card, ring the doorbell, and run off. she was so happy with them. she carried them around the house with her all day.

as i mentioned earlier, we have a HUGE youth event at the church this weekend. if you think of it, please say a prayer for us. allen and i are both obviously deeply involved in the weekend, and the kids spend the weekend with mimi every year. we all need to be in good health! so far there are about 150 students signed up, and we'll get more this week (our group is notorious for last minute sign ups). they'll be staying at 24 different houses in the area, having worship services, small group sessions, and mission projects. i'll have pictures next week i'm sure! :-)

ugh....consequences

last night the family went to watch one of the boys in the youth group play basketball. 7th grade basketball to be exact. not terribly riveting, but something we can do as a family and it supports one of the youth group kiddos.

being middle school boys, and both very small schools, it wasnt terribly crowded, so colby and mojo were able to walk the stands and keep themselves pretty well entertained.

i looked over at colby at one point and he was laying on his stomach next to allen,very quiet and very still. i assumed he was tired and really didnt think much about it.

when we got up to leave i looked down at where colby had been and say a bright red crayon drawing on the bleacher seat!! i almost didnt say anything because it was actually a really good drawing; good enough that ididnt think colby had done it.

but just to be sure

me: colby did you do that?

colby: (deer in headlights look; totally, undoubtedly busted)

allen: colby did you do that?

colby: (puts his hands up, as if to say 'i surrender', but kind of shakes his head no. verdict:still undetermined)

me: colby...?

colby: (nods head)

allen: lets go. we're not gonna deal with it here.

walking to the car a few minutes later

allen: colby, why did you do that? you destroyed property.

colby: i dont know.

allen: we're going to call the school tomorrow and tell tham what you did and you're going to have to come up here and apologize. and if they want you to clean it you're going to clean it.

colby: (nods head)

me: (aside to allen) i totally know he shouldnt have done it, but is it bad that i kind of want to compliment him on his drawing? that was really good!

we went to dinner, and talked a little more about it. allen addressed the fact that colbys first instinct had been to lie and when we got home he would get a swat as a consequence for lying (which he did), but that he still had to pay the consequence for his actions and that would be determined by the principal.

allen called the school this morning and spoke with the vice principal (the chief was out of the office today), and told him what happened.

allen said he seemed shocked that we would even bother to make the effort, but said he would be more than willing to speak to colby and let him clean it up.

when they got to the school, colby apologized to the v.p. and asked his forgiveness. he was very kind and told colby that he forgave him, and explained why it was so important that it get cleaned up. they have a game there tonight, and if some oter kid sees thedrawing, they'll think its ok if they draw on it too, etc.

it made sense to colby and the walked down to the gym, met the janitor, who colby also apologized to, and cleaned up the crayon.

it was a great learning experience for all of us.

i'm thankful the school allowed us to use the opportunity to use that as a teaching moment fr our little guy.

...and i did ask allen to take my camera and take a few pictures if he could do it without it being inappropriate. gotta keep the threesixfive in mind. :-)

the drawing


the offending crayon (someone had left it there in the bleachers. fail.)

colby and mr garza, the vice principal

after colby cleaned up the drawing, they went back to mr garzas office and he got to try on one of the football helmets. bonus.

threesixfive, days 16 thru 22

we're officially back to our routine!! what can i say, i like consistency. at least in the day to day.

school is consistent, working out is consistent, awanas started back up; all is well.

we had a nice mellow week.

day16, sunday

i've been trying for months to finish up my 2009 scrapbook (yes, im THAT far behind). i'm going to start doing it on the computer so my stuff isnt spread out all over our dining room table. my photos from 2010 are uploading to mixbook as i type this! yay!

sunday i was able to wrap up the '09 book and pack it up.

day 17, monday

my clean dining room table! i havent seen this table without scrapbooking supplies all over it since febuary. and just in time, too. we had 20 people over for dinner monday night, so i needed that table to sit people at!

day 18, tuesday

as some of you know i collect red mugs. my friends, the kristens, bought this for me at starbucks last week. i love it, and was for some reason cold all day tuesday, so this got plenty of use. i also bought this creamer monday at the store. its sooooo yummy.

day 19, wednesday

i remembered at 10:30pm wednesday night that i didnt have a picture for the day. i was up at church in the youth building for band practice, so i took this picture of 'the wall'. everyone that ever comes into the youth building is asked to sign the wall under Jesus's name. allen started this about 2 years ago. i think its so cool.

day 20, thursday

colby had to use some of his consonant blends to write a story. this is what he came up with. i love seeing him grow and learn!!

day 21, friday

the kids and i went to the domain (a shopping area in austin) friday to keep my friend katie company while she spent her birthday money, and wrapped the trip up with a visit to starbucks. right outside is a firepit with rocking chairs and this little play area. its a great place to sit and hang out, and was a beautiful afternoon for it.

day 22, saturday

we had a birthday party to go to today at an inflatable play place. the kids wore themselves out. allen did too.

have a blessed week!!!

bedroom guest

for the past several weeks, the kids have been ending up in our room during the night. molly has been ending up in our room since she moved into her big girl bed; not my ideal, but we figure she'll outgrow it eventually. we just keep a pallet on the floor in there, and she wanders in at some point during the night and lays down and goes back to sleep.
a couple months ago colby started coming in during the night too. he doesn't come in as early as molly does, but when we wake up in the morning there's a kid on the floor on either side of the bed.
allen was putting colby to bed tonight and he said
colby: I should just start in your room since that's where I'm going to end up.
allen: this is a great bed! we paid a lot of money for this.
colby: but you and mommy get to be together in your room and im in here by myself. it doesn't make sense.
allen: you have your own room, and that's mine and mommys bedroom cause we're married. one day when you get married you and your wife will have your own room.
colby: oh, now it makes sense!

but whether it makes sense or not, he will still wake up on our bedroom floor.

threesixfive,days 9 thru 15

week 2 and going strong!

there are quite a few days this week where i'm having trouble deciding which picture to use; we've been busy!

day 9

this is brutus, my parents' dog. they've had him since he was a puppy and hes lived 15 (i think) good long years. hes really had a rough few months and a very quick decline this last week or so. mom called me saturday to tell me that they were going to have to have him put down monday morning, so i took the kids over sunday evening so we could say good bye to him. pretty sad, but we know its the best thing.

day 10

i go grocery shopping every monday, and this week was no different. however, my grocery store recently added curbside service and it was cold and drizzly enough this week that i took advantage of it!!

day 11

the kids had dentist appts this morning. colby was a champ. molly, not so much.



day 12

meet the newest member of the family; fred. some people in our church found him in one of their plants and brought him to us. allen went to the pet store and bought him some crickets. so far so good.

day 13

we woke up wednesday morning to find that one of my clothes rods had fallen off the wall in the middle of the night. our friend brandon came over thursday to help allen fix it, after which i got rid of some of the weight. ;-) brandon is a stay at home dad, so in order for him to hlp allen i had to watch his two boys, jaxon (4) and cannon (4 months). i got my baby fix!



day 14

allen left friday to go speak at an event in east texas, so my parents came over and hung out. mom and the kids put together some 'homeless bags' to keep in the car and hand out. we really want to be proactive this year about giving them opportunities to serve others.

day 15

today the kids went to their friends adlers birthday party. we got to take a tour of a fire station. the kids had a great time.

i dont know how the weather is where youre at, but its been cold and rainy here for a couple days. i wish we could just hole up and stay in our jammies, but life must go on.

stay warm and dry and have a blessed week!!

threesixfive, days 1 thru 8

i'm back on the project 365 bandwagon!

i participated faithfully in 2009, and even made some new blog friends along the way, but felt that my blog became more about that as the year went on , than me posting funny stories about the kids and whatnot.

well last year i didnt participate at all (after the first 2 weeks of the year), and my blog suffered becuase of it. i lost a lot of my readers and wasnt motivated to blog as much.

so im back, and hopefully will stick with it and be glad i did in approximately 357 days.

day 1:

the year begins with black-eyed peas! we eat them every year, but allen hates them, so this year i made cowboy caviar (a cold dip/salad) instead of just cooking a can of b.e.p.'s. super yummy, and allen approved.

day 2:

we went to lunch with the lamberts after church. this is colby and their son adler. and mojo in the background.

day 3:

we went to the library and molly wanted a stamp, so i had her stand in line by herself to get one (after i assured her i'd be "just right over there" where she'd be able to see me). i thought she looked like such a big girl.

day 4:

i had to go to the hospital early for a procedure (i've had crohns disease for 10 years; this was routine. no worries.) and when i went to change into the fashionable hospital garb, saw that i had put on two different flip-flops when i dressed that morning.



day 5:

i parked next to this car at the outlet mall on wednesday. i couldnt resist taking a picture. eyelashes? really?

day 6:

colbys been in swim school since september. he goes once a week and loves it! right now hes trying to master the backstroke. when he can do it for 20 yards, he gets to move to the next station. this ones been giving him some trouble, but i think he'll nail it soon.

day 7:

colby and i did some reading outside today while we were waiting for molly to get out of preschool. taking advantage of the beautiful weather before the supposed cold fron comes thru next week.

day 8:

a lazy saturday at home, complete with a fort in the living room.

have a great week!!!!

seasonal sadness

colby and i were on our way home from his swim lesson yesterday afternoon and i happened to glance back at him. he was looking out the window and his eyes were pretty misty, verging on tears.
me: colby, whats wrong bud?
colby: i'm sad because pumpkin scones are only seasonal.
me: ....what?
colby: the pumpkin scones at starbucks? they dont have them all the time, just at christmas, and now christmas is over and i wont get another pumpkin scone for all year!!
(and now hes crying. hard.)
me: well, you know, that means when you do get them they'll be that much better!
colby: but that just makes me so sad!
me: i bet i could make some! if you want pumpkin scones in the middle of summer, i can get the stuff to make them, and you can have them any time you want. ok?
colby: (shakes his head) its not the same.
me: i'm sorry. i dont know what else to tell you.
colby: i just need one. i need a pumpkin scone right now.
me: well, buddy, it would ruin your dinner if you had one right now anyway. hey, i know! maybe daddy can run up to starbucks when he gets home and get you one to have after dinner tonight. would that be ok?
colby: (big grin. i take that as a yes.)

allen got home with molly from dance class and immediately colby comes over to me and says
colby: ask him. remember? remember what you said? about the scone?

so i told allen what had transpired on the car ride home, and he suggested that i take him the next morning. every friday before allen takes molly to preschool the two of them have a daddy daughter date at dunkin donuts. they call it 5D day; daddy daughter dunkin donut day. so allen said
allen: why dont you go in the morning before co-op? molly and i can have our 5D day and you and colby can have you mommy colby starbucks day.
me: thats a great idea! colby can we do that? go in the morning?
colby: (big grin. i take that as a yes.)

and so it went. and wouldnt you know it. we got to starbucks, and there in the pastry case, in all its pumpkin-y orange glory, sat the last delicious pumpkin scone, which colby promptly walked up to the counter and ordered, lest anyone else get the same idea.

now we just have to see if that sustains him for the next....9 or so months.

getting older

i dont know if this is normal for kids or if its just mine, but the do not want to get older!
it used to bring colby to tears when we'd say things to him like, "when you grow up", or "one day when you're big." he would cry and say
colby: i dont want to get older! i want to stay 5!! (or 4 or whatever age he happened to be at the time).
since he turned 6 in october he doesnt seem to be as bothered by it, but now mollys jumped on the anti-aging bandwagon.
allen had sent her to her room the other day for something and when he went to talk to her about it he said something along the lines of
allen: we punish you, molly, because we love you and we want you to grow up to be a godly yound lady.
molly: well, i'm not going to grow up. i'm going to stay 4.

he also told me that he was putting her to bed a few nights ago and she said
molly: daddy, i dont want to be 5. can you ask God to let me stay 4.
allen: molly, i cant do that. it doesnt work that way.
molly: but you know him!!

she also told my mom last week
molly: grammie, i dont want to have any more birthdays. i want to stay 4, but God keeps giving me all these birthdays! i'm going to have to have a talk with him about that.

so, i dont know how shes going to do it, but that girl is bound and determined to stay 4.