Spelling Lessons

A new dog has taken up residents at the IL's house. They already have three dogs, two of which were strays. They chased the dog off once but it returned again two days ago. It must not be shy because it's been sleeping in Black Dog's doghouse. Poor Black Dog hasn't set foot in it since the dog's first visit. While visiting the IL's house last night Elvin told me that he is going to have to S-H-O-O-T the D-O-G because it has the mange real bad and that explains why it stinks so awful. They don't want Olivia to know because she might get upset. Just then Olivia turns around and says, "Are you going to kill that dog?" I guess they didn't know she's been taking spelling lessons.

"I hate you"

It finally happened. Olivia said the words “I hate you”. She’s been testing the waters lately with “I don’t like you”. I knew it was going to happen soon. She said it in response to Jody being “mean”. Life is so hard at her age. She wants to be babied one minute and is on her way to adolescence the next. Jody and I had to keep ourselves from laughing when she said it. She went down the stairs and fussed and whined for a few minutes. After her drama episode was over I told her that those weren’t nice words and they hurt Daddy’s heart. I don’t expect it will be the last time we hear them though. There is a touch of sadness in all of this. Slowly Olivia is losing her innocence. And I know I will struggle with this as she gets older and more mature. Watching my baby girl grow up is so bittersweet. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

A cold winter's day

There's nothing better then a cold winters day. There is a feeling that comes with looking out your window to see a white covered landscape. I love seeing the icicles that hang from the trees and the roof. I love seeing the tracks the animals leave behind as they scurry by. I love how the world is stuck in a fragile, frozen stillness.

And I feel a touch of sadness as it all begins to melt away. First a small drip and then a slow steady flow of water falling to the earth. And all that is left behind is a wet, muddy mess. But, for a moment, the world was a cold winter's day.

I love nap time. It's such a serene part of the day. Lunchtime tends to be a zoo around here. The kids are grouchy and hungry and I can't seem to do anything fast enough. It's nice to have a little bit of peace and quiet after all the madness.
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I'm going to get my serger this evening. It's my Valentine's Day present. We are "sew" in love. I'm going to meet Jody after work and pick it up. I want to get it before the ice storms move in and we're stuck at home bored out of our minds. I'm moving up in the world - first a KitchenAide Mixer and now a serger.
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Sometimes I wish I was more of a Go-Getter. I get into my comfort zone and don't want to get out. Just something I need to work on.
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How can it be 70 degrees one day and 30 degrees the next? This state is so weird sometimes.
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I was reading about the difference between male and female brains in my Parents magazine. Could brain development explain why Paxton has the need to dump anything in its proper place on the floor? And why Olivia says "Your my best friend forever" and "I don't like you!" in the same breath of air. Man, these kids are fun!

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. -Robert Brault

I have heard stories of people who have lost loved ones and it's all the little things that they miss the most. I often think about this with my relationship with Jody.

Jody has the inability to keep his clothes off of the bathroom floor. It drives me crazy! There isn't room for a laundry basket in the bathroom and it's maybe 6 feet from the bathroom to the laundry room so I don't understand why he is incapable of my simple request. He "tries" but the message just doesn't stick. And there are other things: the used glass that he puts on the back of the kitchen sink instead of in the sink, the shirt he hangs on the rocking chair that makes an annoying whacking sound against the back of the seat when you try to rock, and the eBay junked stacked precariously on any surface it will fit.

But sometimes I think this is what makes him Jody. All those little quirks are what makes him unique. And I wonder if he should leave this earth before me, would it be all those little things that I would miss the most? So I'll try to ignore the clothes on the bathroom floor and not question why there are glasses all over the back of my sink. I will try to treasure every moment and every quirk and enjoy the little things, for someday they might be the big things .

Kids Say the Darnest Things

We were doing Olivia's lesson for HIPPY (home-based preschool program) this morning. We read the book Is Your Mama A Llama and then I was supposed to ask her some questions. This is how the conversation went:

Me: What are some animals we saw in the book?
Olivia: a bat, a swan, a seal, and a kangaroo
Me: Where does the bat live?
Olivia: in a cave
Me: Where does the swan live?
Olivia: in the water
Me: The seal lives in the water too. What does the seal like to eat?
Olivia: fish
Me: The mommy kangaroo has a special pocket. What does she carry in her pocket?
Olivia: Kleenex

Too funny! You hate to laugh at them and give them a complex, but sometimes it is so hard to suppress the laughter. Kids say the darnest things!

The sky is falling

Anyone who has lived in the South knows that snow fall is a big deal. Grocery stores are packed with nervous customers who empty the shelves of milk and bread. Schools close at the first site of snow flakes and employees leave work early eager to avoid the harsh road conditions that are soon to come. If there is actually some accumulation of snow, every hillbilly in the state feels the need to go out and drive the streets, a problem perpetuated by the fact that snow road crews are almost non-existant and the roads turn into a big, slippery mess.

I remember those days as a young child being glued to the t.v. in hopes that school would be canceled due to the half inch of snow that splotched the ground. More often then not, it seems, it was. And then I moved to Nebraska.

The only snowfall in Nebraska that is worthy of mention is the first one of the season, and only because it takes everyone a little time to become accustomed to driving in those less then ideal road conditions. After that, it's just snow. And school is hardly ever cancelled. It doesn't matter if there is foot and a half of fresh snow on the ground and a wind chill of -15. Life must go on. It's just snow.

So with my broadened perspective of winter weather I can look with amusement at the Arkansan's reaction to snow. Today was one of those days. It started out with a slow steady rain fall. And as the day progressed, the rain turned slushy and then into giant snowflakes. Schools were cancelled left and right and everyone rushed home to wait out the "Winter Storm". The snow continued until about 3:00 pm and has since tapered off. It was beautiful while it lasted - almost like the world had become a giant snow globe. But it was over all too soon. And all that is left is a dusting of snow and 10 minutes of the half hour local news broadcast dedicated to the Winter Storm of 2006.

Poor baby

Tuesday night Olivia climbed in bed with us and slept restlessly. I figured something was up. Wednesday she had a bit of a runny nose. Wednesday night she was back in bed with us. Thursday the poor thing looked awful. Her face was red and puffy, her sinuses were congested, her nose was runny and her left eye was weepy. She laid around like a little rag doll all afternoon and evening. Last night I had our hometeacher come give her a blessing. In it he said I would know what to do to take care of her. Last night she ended up back in our bed. I got up at 2 and gave her medicine because she was running a fever.

After consulting with my dad this morning, I decided to make her an appointment. The ped. said she has an ear infection that is affecting her eye (explaining the weepiness). Apparently there is an ear-eye yuck that is going around and Olivia was unfortunate enough to catch it. She's on a new antibiotic (that I pray she doesn't have a reaction to) and motrin for the fever. She insisted on going to Mamaw's house so she is up with her. It's probably for the better since Paxton tries to climb all over her when she lays on the couch here. I worry about my poor baby girl. Say a little prayer for her.

Pancakes

The appropriate way to eat pancakes: Put a pancake on the plate. Squeeze a quarter amount size of syrup on top. Place another pancake on top. Squeeze a quarter amount size of syrup on top. Place another pancake on top. Cover with syrup - not so much that it soaks the pancakes but enough that they get a little soft. How I know I married the love of my life? He eats his pancakes the same way.

Just another day

Today has been like any other. The kids woke up, the kids woke me up, breakfast, dressed and ready to start our day. I had to run some errands. The most important was taking packages to the Post Office. Now that Jody is working 12 hour shifts I'm the lucky one who gets to take on that responsibility. Luckily we live in a little town and there is never a line - one of the perks of small town living. Then we headed south to nearest "big town". K-Mart has their booster seats on sale for $39.99 and Olivia is getting too big for the one in MIL's car so we wanted to get her a new one. Well the one on sale was out of stock (nice considering its only Tuesday) but the friendly associate referred me to the clearance merchandise stacked in the middle of an aisle. Lo and behold there was the carseat we were looking for clearance marked for $40.00. It was one penny more then the sale price but I figured we could suck it up and pay the difference. When we went to check out the seat rang up for $30.00. Another successful day of bargain shopping!

One small step

I need to write some things down. Things I don't want to forget. Things I want to forget. Things that might matter in 40 years and things that probably won't. So I've hopped on the blog bandwagon and I have no idea where it will take me.